The One with The Ruins of Gorlan

197. Title & Author: Ranger’s Apprentice Book One: The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan (249 pages)

Genre: Fiction—Young Adult & Fantasy

Completed: 12 September 2011

Summary & Review:

Orphaned at a young age, Will grows up in the care of the Baron who rules the fiefdom in which he lives. As part of the Baron’s care for orphaned children, they have the opportunity, if selected, to become apprentices to the various craft masters in the castle at fifteen. Will desires nothing more than to be chosen to become a knight, yet he is rejected by the master of the battleschool because of his small size and build. One by one, each craftmaster rejects Will as an apprentice except for the mysterious Ranger named Halt. At first disappointed by the assignment, Will soon learns to love the craft of the Ranger: stealth movement, tracking, hunting, and gathering intelligence for the Kingdom. As his skills grow, so does the danger within the kingdom as an old enemy reignites the war between good and evil by sending out his two fearsome beasts to hunt down and assassinate old enemies.

This is the first book in a series of ten, so the plot serves largely to set up the upcoming major battle between the forces of the kingdom and those of its enemy, Morgarath. The reader is introduced to the major characters, learns about Will’s role as a Ranger’s apprentice, and then a small action sequence hunting down the first of Morgarath’s fearsome creatures occurs. Overall, I enjoyed the book and sped through it pretty quickly. It is a familiar formula for a series, especially in young adult books: a seemingly misfit youth, not cut out for anything special, is handpicked by an elite group because of the many skills he actually possesses and becomes a hero after all. Even though this was a familiar template, it did not detract from the fun of the novel.

Rating: 7.5