The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, Book 1) | John Flanagan

The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, Book 1) | John Flanagan | Start here, read them all, and not just for kids

books:

The Ruins of Gorla...

	The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, Book 1) John Flanagan Amazon Remainders Account, 2005 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 90 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Great!!!

How would it feel if you wanted to follow in your father's footsteps and become a knight but get rejected? Well obviously it wouldn't feel too good. Will has to go through it in a great fantasy novel called Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan.
Will is a young, teenage boy living in Redmont Castle. Will lives in the ward with his friends. Horace, one of the stronger kids living in the ward, always picks on Will. Horace is much stronger but Will seems to be able to run and get out of Horace's way because he is so agile. Will has always been a short boy, but everyone has told him he just has to wait for a growth spurt. Well, the choosing is coming up and he is still just as small.
Will has always looked forward to being a Knight just like his father used to be. The choosing comes and they all go to pick their profession that they want to be. All his friends get their pick of choice but not Will. He asks to be a Knight but he gets rejected. He sits there not knowing what to do thinking about having to work in the farms. Halt, the ranger of Redmont Fief, slides a note onto the baron's desk. They all exit out of the room and go back to the ward. Will, curious about the note, sneaks over to the courtyard, using the shadows to conceal himself from the guards, and climbs up the wall and into the room with the note on the desk. He gets caught by Halt, not even noticing he was there. Halts reports him to the Baron and Will thinks he is done for, be he's not. It was all a test to see what Will would do and the note said that Halt wanted Will to be his apprentice.
Will goes through lots of training with Halt. Throwing knives, shooting bows, up-close combat, and riding horses. Eventually Will becomes very skilled, the same with Horace. Rumors come that Morgarath, the Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces, and soon to come, something devastating will happened.
Ranger's Apprentice is a really great book that you won't be able to put down. There are more books in the series that I am sure will be great also. I look forward to reading them soon.

for more information click here

Start here, read them all, and not just for kids

The Rangers Apprentice series is a series of "juvenile" adventures written in a spare intellectually engaging style that will appeal to pre teens of both genders and to parents of all ages. I actually think that anyone of any age who has not read them will enjoy them, and would not limit this to juveniles any more than I would the Dragon Riders of Pern.

The third book (for my money) is the best in the series, although my son has read the Australian versions and likes the fourth book the best. (There are 7 books out in Australia, with an eighth due to be released.)

The Australian versions are aimed at a slightly older audience, with the words spelled differently but not much is lost in the American version. What readers should know though is that Mr. Flanagan is a warm and engaging guy and responds to all emails on his web site. The books started as a labor of love, as stories told to his son at bedtime. (Like Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin). So the earlier books like this one are a bit cliched in setting and plot, and therefor a little tough to get into. But what comes through is the warm relationship between the orphaned apprentice ranger Will, and his teacher Halt. Many virtues are taught, to include discipline, perseverance, ascetism and as it builds, the series works nicely with temptations and vices as well -- to include dealing with drug addiction in a very constructive way.

for more information click here

A good start.

I first discovered the Ranger's Apprentice series with the third book "The Icebound Land." As the first book in the series, "The Ruins of Gorlan" starts off a little slow compared to the other books, but it really provides some essential background information about Will, Halt and the Ranger way of life. Like the other books in the series, John Flanagan writes a well-developed story that appeals to readers of all ages and skill levels. I would highly recommend The Ruins of Gorlan, if for no other reason than as an excuse to buy the rest of the series which provides clean stories in an extremely well-developed and historically accurate medieval world.

for more information click here

Rangers Apprentice The Ruins of Gorlan

The Rangers Apprentice is a breath taking novel where you will find yourself biting your finger nails throughout the book. The writer uses a unique style of in most cases writing about Will and then the next chapter is about Horace his former wardmate. Although, in some parts you will find that the book may be repetitive as he uses 1 or 2 pages for explanations. This is nothing to worry about because this will lead to action and the start to adventures. This book is a great book 9-10+ year olds.

reviews: 1, 2, page 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

products you might be interested in