This fantasy novel by John Flanagan is an introduction to the main characters that will be throughout the 10 books in the Ranger's Apprentice series (Ruins of Gorlan is book 1). Young, orphan Will wants to become a soldier in honor of his father that was killed in a battle but Battle School won't accept him because he's too small. No one will take him as an apprentice except for the mysterious Ranger, Halt. His apprenticeship starts with a dull and boring start but before he knows it, he's swept away into adventures he never expected he would encounter.
-Pages: 256
-Age: 12 and up (some gory battle scenes)
-Gender: Both
-Reader Type: fantasy, medieval, action
-Our Rating: We loved this book! Though it wasn't our favorite book in the series, it is a great introduction to the wonderful series with a very satisfying ending. Books in this series are on Zig's favorites list and even inspired her to start writing her own stories.
I really loved this book. It had a great blend of action and character development. I enjoyed learning about all the different characters in this book and can't wait to see where the rest of the books take them. Another aspect I liked was that at one point I thought I figured out what was going to happen, but Flanagan did the complete opposite. It was like Flanagan was throwing it in my face that I don't quite know his characters well enough to make such assumptions. I know this is a vague comment, but it would be a spoiler if I added any more information. Flanagan also does a great job at describing what is going on around you without letting it bog down the story. I felt that when description was necessary it was there.
ReplyDeleteI was really surprised that I loved "Ranger's Apprentice" so much because it is intended for younger audiences; however, I didn't really notice this while reading. I feel like anyone looking for a good fantasy series will enjoy this book no matter if you are 10 or 110. I guess the only thing that it is missing is romance, but in this instance I didn't care. If the only bad thing I can say about a book is that it doesn't have enough romance, then I consider it a winner.
Thanks again for your opinion Sverige :)
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