Wrath of the Bloodeye

****This post contains spoilers****

In Wrath of the Bloodeye Tom meets one of his fiercest opponents yet: a witch named Morwena. Not only does this witch have horrible power and a blood-filled eye that can paralyze you, but she is the daughter of the Fiend.

Wrath of the Bloodeye was fantastic. Of course, I expected nothing less from Delaney’s fifth installment, but it also left me a bit depressed. The books have always been dark, but now there is hardly any light left. In addition, Delaney has brought some very adult themes into play and I’m more certain than ever that this series is too heavy for a middle school audience.

In this book Tom stays with another Spoon who used to be Mr. Gregory’s apprentice. Because of a troubled past Arkenwright drinks…a lot. And when he drinks he gets mean and violent. And not just toward the dark, but toward Tom. Those parts were really hard to read. Tom considers leaving, but then stays, knowing that it is what his master wants. It is clearly a commentary on the evils of alcohol. Not only does it make Arkenwright violent, but the night before Tom and Arkenwright go to hunt the Fiend’s daughter Arkenwright drinks a lot. In the morning he is still slightly drunk and very hungover, and he insists that they still have tohunt for the Bloodeye. Bad choice. Because he is feeling so poorly, Arkenwright is taken by the Bloodeye.

For the past three books Alice has been wonderful. But now? Now I want to throw things and cry. We found out in this book that Alice is actually the daughter of Bony Lizzie and the Fiend. Fabulous. Which means the Spook sends her away. Alice and Tom should be together…I know they are only 14, but it is plain that they love each other, even if Tom doesn’t realize it yet.

Related to Alice is Delaney’s discussion of what makes someone evil. Alice maintains that although she uses dark, she uses it for good, to save Tom. And Tom’s Mam was once dark, but now uses her powers to fight the dark. She also asks Alice to use anything necessary to help Tom. But the Spook thinks everything is more black and white, those who use the dark are evil and to use to dark makes you vulnerable to it.

So which is it? I always have believed that we have both light and dark inside of us, and because I am Wiccan a phrase from the movie “The Craft” comes to mind:

"True magic is neither black, nor white - it's both because nature is both. Loving and cruel, all at the same time. The only good or bad is in the heart of the witch. Life keeps a balance on its own."

But that is in this world, not necessarily Tom’s. Only more reading will tell. I just hope Tom and Alice can be together!

I am very excited for some things in the books to come. One is that Mam has asked for Tom’s help. We don’t know yet what she needs, but I am excited to find out. I like Mam. She is one of the few rays of light and hope in these books.

I am also excited for more Grimalkin.

She appeared again in this book, but not as Tom’s enemy, as an ally. She allies with him to stop Morwena, which was awesome, but also unexpectedly terrifying. Seeing what she can do to six or seven witches at once can only make me realize what a terrible adversary she will be when Tom fights her again. Grimalkin also confirmed what I had guessed, Tom did in fact use some sort of magic that night when he fought her. What the Spook will have to say about that…I will be excited to hear.

I give book five a five out of five. I know, I’m making a pattern here with these books all being fives, but they deserve them! I will be reading book six tomorrow. Look for the next post!

Have you read this book? Let me know what you thought about it!

Have a suggestion for me to read? Suggest a title and I will add it to my To-Read List!