Spook cycle

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Spook cycle (English: The Wardstone Chronicles ) is a cycle of books for young people by the British fantasy author Joseph Delaney , which belong to the genre of dark fantasy . They are about the boy Thomas J. Ward, who is supposed to learn the trade of a ghost hunter, a spook , at the age of 13 . Of the 14 parts so far, the first five have been translated into German.

genre

The books have many typical fantasy elements. These include magical beings such as demons or witches , supernatural abilities of some people and a world of their own in which the fictional is real. They also play against a historically instructive background that quite aptly reflects Europe in the Middle Ages. There are also subliminal features of horror.

Magic of the fantasy world

Below is a brief explanation of how magic works in the author's imagination.

Occurring beings

The Spook, also known as the ghost hunter, frees the land from the dark beings hostile to humans, predominantly Boggarts and witches. He is still hated and lonely because people find him scary and therefore avoid him. Only those who were born as the seventh son of a seventh son can take up this profession. At the age of 13, the seventh son begins a five-year apprenticeship with a Spook.

Boggarts

Boggarts, magical beings, exist in several types and levels. The most dangerous is the so-called ripper , which is constantly thirsting for the blood of animals or people. Boggarts move along so-called ley lines , old force fields under the earth. These can shift or change, for example, due to landslides. If a Boggart is stuck in one place due to such a change, it is called "naturally banned". However, if any villages or settlements are within range of the captured Boggart, they can cause considerable damage. Then you have to free them and “artificially ban them” in another place.

Witches

Witches can also be divided into several types. There are good ( benign ) and bad ( malignant ) witches as well as ignoramuses who are unaware of their power. There are also the Lamia witches from Greece , who in their wild form have a scaled, lizard-like shape and walk on all fours or who are winged ( vaengir ). If lamia witches are in the company of people for a long time, they also take on human form and, apart from a narrow strip of scales on their back, can no longer be distinguished from real people. Water witches live in water and move particularly quickly there.

Witches use bone, blood, or guardian spirit magic. If they use blood magic, they need blood from animals or humans for food and to strengthen their powers. Baby blood is particularly helpful here. If, on the other hand, they use bone magic, they need bones for their power, most of which come from corpses; knuckle or finger bones are most effective. With guardian spirit magic, the witch has to sacrifice her own blood to a cat or toad. It is the most dangerous form of magic.

Witches - with the exception of water witches - fear water and cannot cross flowing water. All witches are sensitive to a mixture of salt and iron that affects other dark beings as well.

The old gods

The ancient gods ( Golgoth , Ordeen , Morrigan , Pan , Zeus , Hera , Siscoi , etc.) are ancient, powerful, and immortal beings. With the exception of the Ordeen, they can only come to earth if they have been summoned.

The devil

The devil or the enemy is evil incarnate. Banished into darkness, three united covenants of witches freed him to use him for their own purposes. After three days he was free and has since tried to gradually transform the earth into his kingdom. He has special powers, so he can show himself in any form and influence time and even stop for a short time.

Others

There are also ghosts or ghost images, which are also divided into different levels; however, they do not play a major role.

The work of the spook

The locking up or burying of witches or boggarts is called "banishing". There are two types: natural and artificial ban.

To artificially ban Boggarts, a hole must first be dug, the same rubbed all over with a special mixture and finally the Boggart must be lured into the hole with human blood. Then a perfectly fitting stone must be quickly placed over the hole, which is also coated with the mixture.

Since the only ways to kill a witch are very cruel, they are banished. To banish witches, another hole is required, into which the witch is lured. 13 iron bars are attached above. With more powerful witches it is sometimes necessary to bury them upside down so that they cannot get out of the pit as quickly. However, when witches are dead but trapped in their bodies, they can invade the smallest holes and take possession of the bodies of others.

main characters

Thomas Jason Ward

Tom is the main character of the novel cycle and tells the story from his perspective. As the seventh son of a seventh son, he has the gift of sensing creatures of darkness as well as seeing what normal people are unable to do. He is also the son of a powerful Lamia witch. Thomas is the 30th and best apprentice of the Spook John Gregory. In the first volume he is not quite 13 years old. He has green eyes and is quite short for his age. Like most Spooks, he's left-handed. He is friends with Alice, a young witch from the Malkin tribe, even if his master does not approve of it.

John Gregory

Like every Spook, he is the seventh son of a seventh son. At the time the story begins, only two of his brothers were still alive - a pastor with whom he fell out some time ago and who died of blood loss after being attacked by a tear in the second volume, and a locksmith named Andrew, who was a good friend of his life. He used to be a priest, but later he was apprenticed to a Spook. In his life he was with two women: Emily Burns, who was already engaged to someone else, which tore the family apart, and the Lamia witch Margery Skelton, also called Meg. He is a strict spook and does not tolerate breaking the rules, although he broke his own rules with Meg and did not ban her to a pit forever.

Alice Deane

Tom's only friend is originally from the Pendle area. Her mother was a witch from the Malkin tribe and her father from the Deans tribe. However, she grew up with her aunt bone lizzie; It later turns out that Bone Lizzie - a malignant witch who practices bone magic - is her real mother and The Enemy is her father. She is often torn between the good and the bad. Because of her friendship with Tom, she has to constantly prove her loyalty to the light. She has helped and supported Tom many times, but not always as the master ordered and often she comes too close to the darkness.

John Ward

Is Tom's father. He used to be a seaman and got to know Tom's mother on his travels and saved her from certain death. After he married her, he gave up the boat trip and moved to the farm in the country. He dies of pneumonia in the third volume. The only memento Tom keeps of him is a tinder box. Tom's older brother, Jack takes over the farm. His mother returns to Greece. Morgan later seizes John's soul to show Tom his power.

Jack Ward

Jack is Tom's oldest brother. After the death of his father, he takes over the farm. He likes the job that Tom didn't have to take and he thinks it will bring bad luck to the family. His wife is called Ellie, with whom he has two children, Mary and one who has not yet been born. Probably a boy. But the child dies before it is born.

The lamia

Tom's mother is, as he learns in the fourth volume, a witch of the genus Lamia. She is the oldest and most powerful lamia, the mother of all. She used to live in Greece with her "sisters" who are really only distant relatives. She was tied to a cliff with a silver chain so that the sun's rays would burn her. John Ward saved her from this death. She married him and decided to have seven children for him, since he is a seventh son himself. Their seventh son, Tom, was supposed to be a gift to the country. So it was, and she apprenticed him to a Spook. She lived with her husband on a small farm in the country. She took her two “sisters” with her, trapped in chests. After the death of her husband, she moves back to Greece. However, she must return as she needs Master Gregory and Tom's help in the fight against evil. In the ninth volume, which has not yet been translated, her name, Zenobia, appears.

Morgan

Morgan is a former apprentice of the Spook and the son of Emily Burns. After attempting to summon the ice god Golgoth for more power, the Spook refused to teach him any further. Since then he has been searching desperately for the Grimoire, the only book in which there is a saying about calling Golgoth. In the third volume he steals the book from his old master, but is unaware that this is just a copy of the original. He falls into the trap of the Spook, makes a fatal mistake during the summoning and ends up as a victim of Golgoth.

Mab Moldheel

Mab is a member of the Moudheel clan and can see into the future if she has drank blood before. In the fourth volume she falls madly in love with Tom and does everything to get together with him. However, he does not reciprocate her love and makes her an archenemy. She has two younger twin sisters.

Volume 1 - The Ghostbusters Student

Thomas lives on a farm with his mother, brother Jack, his wife Ellie and his father. His other five brothers are already out of the house. At the age of 13 he should learn the profession of spook. It is very important to his mother that her son passes the first month of probation with old Spook, completes his apprenticeship and frees the country from witches and boggarts as an adult.

He passed the trial month despite some dangerous and scary incidents and accepted the entire teaching. He now lives with the Spook in his summer house, which a Boggart defends against any kind of unwanted visitors. When his master is on a trip one day, Thomas is tricked and accidentally frees the evil but powerful witch Mother Malkin from the pit in which she was banned. He has to face her if he doesn't want to answer for any misfortunes.

First he kills the witch by pushing her into a river. But powerful witches are undead and can take possession of other bodies, making Mother Malkin an even greater threat. So Tom must feel persecuted a second time. However, he can recognize the danger in good time and avert it.

This volume was filmed under the name The Seventh Son , although fundamental changes were made in the film plot. The planned theatrical release for the remake has been announced in the Anglo-American region for January 17, 2014.

Volume 2 - The Ghostbusters Curse

At the beginning of the second volume, Thomas receives the order from his master to save his brother, a pastor. He and the entire area are threatened by a terrible ripple. The master cannot do the task himself because he is sick. Tom banishes the tear, but any help comes too late for his master's brother.

The Spook wants to go to the funeral, even though he has not spoken to his relative in 40 years. The burial takes place in the port city of Priestown, where there are many pastors and therefore all of them are not very good at Spooks. There is even an inquisitor, a blond giant, represented in the city. He is quite suspicious and Tom soon realizes that he wants to have Alice executed, among other things. The apprentice desperately wants to save his acquaintance.

Mr. Gregory is against attracting attention through such a rescue operation, but at the funeral the two are recognized by a citizen, so that they are in danger anyway. The Spook cannot leave town because he finally wants to defeat an old adversary: ​​the Bane . This demon lives under the Priestown Church and has driven many pastors to suicide. However, he was locked up down there. Mr. Gregory now wants to open the gate and face the mighty demon once and for all.

The master is arrested, however, and Tom barely escapes. He realizes that his master is now likely to be interrogated under torture. Through a map of the same, Tom notices that there is a way to the dungeons through the catacombs. He realizes that he has to free Mr. Gregory and Alice, which he finally succeeds. He kills the Bane, where he dies himself, but is brought back to life by Alice.

Volume 3 - The Ghost Hunter's Secret

Tom moves with his master into his winter quarters, an old dark house whose basement is full of spellbound witches and Boggarts. Meg Skelton , a very tame witch and the great love of his master , also lives here . However, it also harbors danger - her sister is held captive in the cellar and she herself is only kept quiet with a potion. An old apprentice of the Spook also turns up who wants to conjure up an old god and with whose help control the country.

Volume 4 - The ghost hunter's fight

Tom, Alice, and the Spook head to Pendle, a witch-infested area that Alice came from. There Tom meets a witch from the Mouldheel clan. She falls madly in love with Tom, but Tom does not return the love. Therefore, Mab, this very witch, threatens to join the two other clans who want to summon the devil personally, but can only make it with the help of the Moldheels. If Mab lives up to this threat, they could summon the devil and let go of Tom and the whole world.

Volume 5 - The Ghostbusters' Enemies

Tom Ward has made enemies that will challenge even the Spook. He is sent to Master Arkwright, another ghost hunter, in the swamps to the north. There he should be prepared for the impending danger. Master Arkwright makes a big mistake that he faces a diabolical water witch. The Spook and Alice rush to his aid.

Volumes 6 to 14 and special volumes

These volumes have not yet been translated due to the low demand in the German-speaking area.

Press reviews

“The events are always either exciting or moving or informative. So the author knows how to keep the reader engaged. The scenes are vivid and sometimes do not lack a certain subliminal comedy and irony. The violent scenes are very limited because both the Spooks and Alice are completely unarmed. But that does not mean that there are no dead, after all, the Bane is also going on. "

- buchwurm.info

"Delaney gives his readers a pleasant shudder with his cleverly crafted story."

- randomhouse.de

"Exciting and creepy to the last page!"

- Bayern2 radio

"In the creepy and captivating novel, the reader is immersed in the mysterious world of ghosts and witches."

- Rhein-Neckar newspaper

"Joseph Delaney digs deep into his bag of tricks and weaves stories full of magic and with a clear horror factor."

- Kathja Theiß : kjl online

"Spook is a very exciting, entertaining book that you never want to stop reading!"

- Westphalian news

literature

Original editions

  • Joseph Delaney: The Spook's Apprentice. Random House Children's, 2004, ISBN 0-370-32826-4 .
  • Joseph Delaney: The Spook's Curse. Transworld, 2005, ISBN 0-370-32827-2 .
  • Joseph Delaney: The Spook's Secret. Bodley Head Children's Books, 2006, ISBN 0-370-32828-0 .
  • Joseph Delaney: The Spook's Battle. Bodley Head Children's Books, 2007, ISBN 0-370-32892-2 .
  • Joseph Delaney: The Spook's Mistake. Bodley Head Children's Books, 2008, ISBN 0-370-32931-7 .
  • Joseph Delaney: The Spook's Sacrifice. Transworld, 2009, ISBN 0-370-32932-5 .
  • Joseph Delaney: The Spook's Nightmare. Bodley Head Children's Books (Reprinted in the United States as Rise of the Huntress. ) 2010, ISBN 978-0-370-33200-0 .
  • Joseph Delaney: The Spook's Destiny. (Reprinted in the United States as Rage of the Fallen. ) 2011.
  • Joseph Delaney: The Spook's I Am Grimalkin. (Reprinted in the United States as Grimalkin, the witch assassin. ) 2011.
  • Joseph Delaney: The Spook's Blood. (Reprinted in the United States as the Lure of the Dead. ) 2012.
  • Joseph Delaney: The Spook's Slither's Tale. (Reprinted in the United States as Slither. ) 2013.
  • Joseph Delaney: The Spook's I Am Alice. 2013.
  • Joseph Delaney: The Spook's Revenge. (Reprinted in the United States as The Last Apprentice: Fury of the Seventh Son. ) 2014.
  • Joseph Delaney: Spook's: A New Darkness. (Volume 1 of the Starblade Chronicles Series trilogy ), 2015, ISBN 978-1-849-41638-2 .

Short stories, special editions and spin-offs

  • Joseph Delaney: The Spook's Tale / Interception Point. Short story, combined with interception Point of Mark Walden as a special edition of the World Book Day UK in 2009, in 2009.
  • Joseph Delaney: The Last Apprentice: The Spook's Tale And Other Horrors. Collection of four short stories ( The Spook's Tale, Alice's Tale, Grimalkin's Tale, A Gallery of Villians ), 2009.
  • Joseph Delaney: The Spook's Stories: Witches. Collection of four short stories ( Meg Skelton, Dirty Dora, Alice And The Brain Guzzler, The Banshee Witch ). Released in the United States as The Last Apprentice - A Coven of Witches. 2009, ISBN 0-370-32996-1 .
  • Joseph Delaney: The Spook's Bestiary. A guidebook to the creatures found in The Wardstone Chronicles universe. Published in the United States as The Last Apprentice - The Spook's Bestiary: The Guide to Creatures of the Dark. 2010.

German translations published so far

filming

In 2015, a film adaptation of the first volume by Legendary Pictures was released under the title Seventh Son . The film was planned much earlier, but shooting was repeatedly postponed. Seventh Son has been shown in the USA since February 2015, and in Germany it was shown in mid-March 2015.

Web links

swell

  1. ↑ Books by Joseph Delaney from Randomhouse, accessed June 15, 2016.
  2. ^ Seventh Son (2014) . On: Internet Movie Database . Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  3. ↑ randomhouse.de: Collected press reviews except for the buchwurm.info review
  4. ↑ Fantasy Book Review of The Spook's Tale . Accessed in 2014.