Free eBooks: The Last Apprentice Pre-Orders

Back in June, Amazon.com had 10 of the books in Joseph Delaney's Last Apprentice young adult series (originally published in the UK as the Wardstone Chronicles) available for pre-order for free. They weren't available at that price for long, as it was most likely a pricing error; I didn't act quick enough to get all of them and only managed to order 9 of the 10 before the prices changed.

Those of us who were lucky enough to pre-order them for free weren't sure if they would ever be delivered, as the delivery date was pushed back several times, past when the books were released in the U.S. (Amazon.com honors whatever price was listed when you clicked "pre-order," even if that price was incorrect. If Amazon and/or the publishers don't want to honor that price, they'll sometimes just keep pushing back the delivery date indefinitely.)

Today, though, the books were finally delivered to my Kindle apps. Thanks to these pricing error pre-orders, I now have 9 of the 13 books in the series without having paid a penny.

Read on to see the descriptions of the 9 books I was able to snatch up.

Revenge of the Witch
a.k.a. The Spook's Apprentice
(#1 in the Last Apprentice young adult series)
by Joseph Delaney

For years, Old Gregory has been the Spook for the county, ridding the local villages of evil. Now his time is coming to an end. But who will take over for him? Twenty-nine apprentices have tried—some floundered, some fled, some failed to stay alive.

Only Thomas Ward is left. He's the last hope, the last apprentice.

Curse of the Bane
a.k.a. The Spook's Curse
(#2 in the Last Apprentice young adult series)
by Joseph Delaney

The Spook and his apprentice, Thomas Ward, rid the county of witches, ghosts, boggarts, and other creatures of the dark. And there's some unfinished business to attend to in Priestown. Deep in the catacombs lurks a creature the Spook has never been able to defeat; a force so evil that the whole county is in danger. The Bane!

But the Bane is not their only enemy. The Quisitor arrives, intent on hunting down anyone who meddles with the dark. Thomas Ward and the Spook must prepare for the battle of their lives.


Night of the Soul Stealer
a.k.a. The Spook's Secret
(#3 in the Last Apprentice young adult series)
by Joseph Delaney

As the weather grows colder and the nights draw in, the Spook and his apprentice Tom Ward must be even more vigilant in their battles against the boggarts, witches, and ghosts roaming the county. When they receive an unexpected visitor, the Spook decides it is time to move to his winter house in Anglezarke. It is a bleak, forbidding place, full of witches and secrets. Tom hears rumors of menacing creatures stirring on the moors nearby, including the evil beast called Golgoth. Who was the mysterious visitor? And is Tom prepared for what he will find in Anglezarke?


Attack of the Fiend
a.k.a. The Spook's Battle
(#4 in the Last Apprentice young adult series)
by Joseph Delaney

"I see your future clearly. Your master will be dead, and you will be alone. It would be better if you had never been born."

Thomas Ward is the apprentice for the local Spook, who banishes boggarts and drives away ghosts. But now a new danger is threatening Tom's world: the witches are rising and the three most powerful clans are uniting in order to conjure an unimaginable evil.

Tom and the Spook set out to stop the witches before they unleash the demon. But when Tom finds himself on his own, he wonders if he has the courage and cunning to defeat the most powerful enemy he has ever encountered.


Wrath of the Bloodeye
a.k.a. The Spook's Mistake
(#5 in the Last Apprentice young adult series)
by Joseph Delaney

Thomas Ward has spent two years as the Spook's apprentice. He's faced unimaginable peril, and survived. But a new danger has emerged: an ancient water witch, Bloodeye, is roaming the County intent on destroying everything in her path. To strengthen his skills, Tom is sent to the far north to train with the demanding Bill Arkwright. Arkwright lives in a haunted mill on the edge of a treacherous marsh, and his training methods prove to be harsh and sometimes cruel. Will Tom's new bag of tricks be enough to overcome a mistake that leaves him confronting Bloodeye alone?

Clash of the Demons
a.k.a. The Spook's Sacrifice
(#6 in the Last Apprentice young adult series)
by Joseph Delaney

"You can't make alliances with witches and suchlike and hope to avoid being drawn toward the dark."

As the Spook's apprentice, Thomas Ward's first duty is to protect the County from ghosts, boggarts, and other dangerous creatures. But now his mother has come back from her homeland to seek his help. One of the most dangerous of the old witches, Ordeen, is about to return to earth, bringing with her suffering and devastation. Tom's mother has mustered a powerful army—including Tom's friend Alice, the Pendle witches, and the assassin Grimalkin—to confront Ordeen. If Tom joins them, the Spook will refuse to take Tom back as his apprentice. What sacrifices will be made in the battle against the dark?

Rise of the Huntress
a.k.a. The Spook's Nightmare
(#7 in the Last Apprentice young adult series)
by Joseph Delaney

Things can never be the same again.

The Spook and his apprentice, Thomas Ward, have returned to the county after a long journey and a hard battle. But their troubles are far from over. Their home has been over-run by enemy soldiers. The Spook's house is in ruins, the boggart protecting it has fled, and the malicious witches imprisoned in the gardens have escaped.

Tom, Alice, and the Spook must flee, too, across the ocean to the island of Mona. And it's on Mona that this small band fighting against the dark will face an old enemy grown terrifyingly powerful. Will they be able to vanquish an evil that crawls beneath the ground itself? At what cost? Will Tom and the Spook ever be able to return home?

The Spook's Tale and Other Horrors
(a short story anthology in the Last Apprentice young adult series)
by Joseph Delaney

These short stories are narrated by secondary characters from the popular series, giving insight into some of Tom Ward's well-known companions. A "Gallery of Villains" section identifies additional characters and gives a citation to the novels.


A Coven of Witches
a.k.a. The Spook's Stories: Witches
(a short story anthology in the Last Apprentice young adult series)
by Joseph Delaney

Beware a girl in pointy shoes!

A girl wearing pointy shoes might be a witch. And the first thing a spook's apprentice learns is never, ever to trust a witch.

In this bone-chilling collection of tales, you will learn exactly why that is, as you encounter:
- a fair and beautiful woman with green scales running down her spine...
- a dead witch who lurks under rotting leaves and hunts for blood...
- Alice, Tom Ward's best friend, who once lived with one of the darkest witches of all...
- and a witch whose cry of revenge can kill.
The dark is all around. Who will survive?

In addition to the 9 pre-orders, I also picked up The Spook's Stories: Grimalkin's Tale for free from Amazon.com for Kindle; as of this writing, it was still available for $0.00. The short ebook features one of the stories from A Coven of Witches (a.k.a. The Spook's Stories: Witches) as well as the first chapter from The Spook's Stories: I Am Grimalkin, the 9th book in the series.