John Gregory (The Spook)
''Spook's'', published as ''The Last Apprentice'' series in the U.S., is a dark fantasy series of books written by British author Joseph Delaney and published in the UK by The Bodley Head division of Random House Publishing. The series consists of three arcs, titled ''The Wardstone Chronicles'', ''The Starblade Chronicles'', and ''Brother Wulf''. Plot ''Spook's'' follow Thomas "Tom" Ward, the seventh son of a seventh son who is apprenticed to Gregory to become a Spook - a master fighter of supernatural evil. John Gregory is the Spook for "the County" and gives Tom practical instruction on tackling ghosts, ghasts, witches, boggarts, and all manner of other things that serve "The Dark". Tom soon discovers that most of John Gregory's apprentices have failed for various reasons, including being killed in the process of learning how to be a Spook. As the Chronicles progress the focus expands to other characters such as the assassin Grimalkin and the young witch Alice Deane; overall ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Spook's Apprentice
''The Spook's Apprentice'' (American title: ''The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch''), written by Joseph Delaney, is the first story in ''The Wardstone Chronicles'' arc of the ''Spook's'' series. The plot centres on a 13-year-old farm boy named Tom who lives in the countryside of the county, loosely based on the English county of Lancashire, where the author resides with his large family. As Tom is the seventh son of a seventh son, he is able to see things others cannot, such as boggarts, ghasts, ghosts and others. Plot Tom Ward has lived his whole life in the County (loosely based on the English county of Lancashire). Because he is the seventh son of a seventh son and thus has the ability to see ghosts and fight other Non-physical entity, supernatural beings, his parents have apprenticed him to the Spook, a cloaked man named John Gregory (because only seventh sons of seventh sons have the aforementioned abilities, all spooks are seventh sons of seventh sons). Tom's mother, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster (, ) is a city and the county town of Lancashire, England, standing on the River Lune. Its population of 52,234 compares with one of 138,375 in the wider City of Lancaster local government district. The House of Lancaster was a branch of the English royal family. The Duchy of Lancaster still holds large estates on behalf of Charles III, who is also Duke of Lancaster. Its long history is marked by Lancaster Castle, Lancaster Priory Church, Lancaster Cathedral and the Ashton Memorial. It is the seat of Lancaster University and has a campus of the University of Cumbria. The Port of Lancaster played a big role in the city's growth, but for many years the outport of Glasson Dock has become the main shipping facility. History The name of the city first appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086, as ''Loncastre'', where "Lon" refers to the River Lune and "castre" (from the Old English ''cæster'' and Latin ''castrum'' for "fort") to the Roman fort that stood on the site. Ro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent acting family and appeared on the television series ''Sea Hunt'' (1958–1960) alongside his father, Lloyd Bridges, and brother, Beau Bridges. He received the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as an alcoholic singer in the 2009 film ''Crazy Heart''. Other Oscar-nominated roles include ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971), ''Thunderbolt and Lightfoot'' (1974), ''Starman'' (1984), '' The Contender'' (2000), ''True Grit'' (2010), and '' Hell or High Water'' (2016). Bridges has also starred in other roles such as ''The Fabulous Baker Boys'' (1989), ''The Fisher King'' (1991), ''The Big Lebowski'' (1998) and ''Bad Times at the El Royale'' (2018), along with the commercially successful films ''King Kong'' (1976), ''Tron'' (1982), '' I ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ben Barnes (actor)
Benjamin Thomas Barnes (born 20 August 1981) is an English actor and singer. He is best known for his roles as Prince Caspian in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' film series (2008–2010), Logan Delos in ''Westworld'' (2016–2020), Billy Russo/Jigsaw in the Marvel series ''The Punisher'' (2017–2019), and The Darkling in the Netflix series '' Shadow and Bone'' (2021–). He also played young Dustan Thorn in '' Stardust'' (2007), the titular role in ''Dorian Gray'' (2009), Neil McCormick in ''Killing Bono'' (2011), Alejandro in ''The Big Wedding'' (2013), Tom Ward in '' Seventh Son'' (2014), Samuel Adams in ''Sons of Liberty'' (2015) and Benjamin Greene in ''Gold Digger'' (2019). Barnes released his first single, "11:11", with a music video in September 2021 ahead of the release of his debut extended play, ''Songs For You'', including a music video for "Rise Up" in October. The EP features the songs "11:11", "Rise Up", "Pirate Song", "Not The End", and "Ordinary Day". Early l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Seventh Son (film)
''Seventh Son'' is a 2014 American fantasy film directed by Sergei Bodrov and starring Ben Barnes, Jeff Bridges, Alicia Vikander, Kit Harrington, and Julianne Moore. It is loosely based on the 2004 novel ''The Spook's Apprentice'' (titled ''The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch'' in the United States) by Joseph Delaney. The story centers on Thomas Ward, a seventh son of a seventh son, and his adventures as the apprentice of the Spook. After having its release date shifted numerous times, the film was released in France on December 17, 2014, and in Canada and the United States on February 6, 2015, by Universal Pictures. ''Seventh Son'' received generally negative reviews from film critics and it earned $114 million on a $95 million budget. Plot In 1572, the witch Malkin is imprisoned underground by Gregory, the last of the Falcons, a knightly order which defended mankind against supernatural threats. Years later, Gregory works as a "spook" – a roving witch hunter. Malkin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sergey Bodrov
Sergei Vladimirovich Bodrov ( rus, Серге́й Влади́мирович Бодро́в, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej bɐˈdrof; born June 28, 1948) is a Russian film director, screenwriter, and producer. In 2003 he was the President of the Jury at the 25th Moscow International Film Festival. Life and career Bodrov was born in Khabarovsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia). In the post-Soviet period he emigrated to the United States. His son, actor Sergei Bodrov, Jr. was killed in an avalanche in the mountains of the North Caucasus on September 20, 2002, while shooting a film titled ''The Messenger''. Bodrov's paternal grandmother was an ethnic Buryat, which influenced his decision to make the movie ''Mongol''. Bodrov currently has an apartment in Los Angeles and a ranch in Arizona. He is married to American film consultant Carolyn Cavallaro. Awards *''Prisoner of the Mountains'' **Nika Award for Best Picture and Best Director. **Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film nomi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Comcast through the NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment division of NBCUniversal. Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane, and Jules Brulatour, Universal is the oldest surviving film studio in the United States; the world's fifth oldest after Gaumont, Pathé, Titanus, and Nordisk Film; and the oldest member of Hollywood's "Big Five" studios in terms of the overall film market. Its studios are located in Universal City, California, and its corporate offices are located in New York City. In 1962, the studio was acquired by MCA, which was re-launched as NBCUniversal in 2004. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Legendary Pictures
Legendary Pictures Productions, LLC (doing business as Legendary Entertainment or simply Legendary) is an American film production and mass media company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull in 2000. The company has collaborated with the likes of Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures and Netflix. Since 2016, Legendary has been a subsidiary of the multinational Wanda Group and Apollo. History Thomas Tull founded Legendary Entertainment after raising $500 million from private equity firms. It was one of the first companies of its kind to pair major motion picture production with major Wall Street private equity and hedge fund investors, including ABRY Partners, AIG Direct Investments, Bank of America Capital Investors, Columbia Capital, Falcon Investment Advisors, and M/C Venture Partners. Legendary Pictures, Inc. was incorporated in California in 2000 and in 2005 it signed an agreement with Warner Bros. to co-produce and co-finan ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members as of 2021. History During the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, 103 librarians, 90 men and 13 women, responded to a call for a "Convention of Librarians" to be held October 4–6 at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. At the end of the meeting, according to Ed Holley in his essay "ALA at 100", "the register was passed around for all to sign who wished to become charter members," making October 6, 1876, the date of the ALA’s founding. Among the 103 librarians in attendance were Justin Winsor (Boston Public, Harvard), William Frederick Poole (Chicago Public, Newberry), Charles Ammi Cutter (Boston Athenaeum), Melvil Dewey, and Richard Rogers Bowker. Attendees came from as far west as Chicago and from England. The ALA wa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Association For Library Service To Children
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is a division of the American Library Association, and it is the world's largest organization dedicated to library service to children. Its members are concerned with creating a better future for children through libraries. ALSC's membership is composed of more than 4,000 members, including children's and youth librarians, children's literature experts, publishers, education and library school faculty members, and other adults dedicated to library services for youth. ALSC has nearly 60 active committees and task forces carrying out the work of the Association, including developing programs for youth and continuing education; publishing resources and journals for youth librarians; and evaluating and awarding media for children. ALSC sets a standard for library service to children through the regular updating of Competencies for Librarians Serving Children in Public Libraries. The most recent competencies, adopted in 2015, empha ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Abhuman
Abhuman is a term used to distinguish a separation from normal human existence. This is different from ''inhuman'', which typically connotes an ethical or moral separation from others. The term was used by William Hope Hodgson in his novel ''The Night Land'' and his Carnacki stories. Similar concepts, although not the term itself, also appear in the works of Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling, and Bram Stoker among other notable American and British authors.Jerrold E. Hogle''The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction''page 190 (Cambridge University Press, 2002). The term is also used within the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000 to refer to populations of humans who have mutated, naturally or otherwise, to adapt to extreme environmental conditions. In literary studies of Gothic fiction Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Mi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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World Book Day (British Isles)
World Book Day is a charity event held annually in the United Kingdom and Ireland on the first Thursday in March. On World Book Day, every child in full-time education in the UK is given a voucher to be spent on books; the event was first celebrated in the United Kingdom in 1995. The event is the local manifestation of the original, global World Book Day organized by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing, and copyright, and widely observed on 23 April. Organizers in the UK moved the observance to avoid clashes with Easter school holidays and with St George's Day. Conversely, the World Book Night event organized by independent charity The Reading Agency is held on 23 April. History The United Kingdom's own version of World Book Day began in 1998, launched by Prime Minister Tony Blair at the Globe Theatre in London. Several million schoolchildren in the UK were given a special £1 World Book Day Book Token (€1.50 in Ireland) which could be redeemed against any book in any UK bo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |