Ranger’s Apprentice: Book One: The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

Flanagan, John.
Ranger’s Apprentice: Book One: The Ruins of Gorlan.
Philomel Books:
New York City, 2005.

Fifteen year-old orphan Will has hopes of becoming a knight. Instead, however, he is assigned by the Baron to become an apprentice to a Ranger named Halt, one member of a mysterious corps that protects the kingdom from danger. Though local superstitions of the rangers’ craft leave Will reluctant to join this secretive militia, this first in a fantastical series of books follows the exciting journey of an ambitious young man learning the skills of a cunning and stealthy group of resourceful soldiers. As former enemies of the kingdom begin to cross back into its borders, Will must summon his courage to use his newly learned skills and save his village and the kingdom from harm. These perils are just a glimpse of the dangers soon to come as the series progresses.

Less about its fantastical elements and more about the characters, Will and his friends are brought into stark reality with vivid descriptions of their daily lives. Without losing momentum in the story, the reader learns as Will learns, getting to know more about him, his friends, and the world in which they live. Though each young character seems to learn and grow in maturity, there is a strange lesson about bullying in which the victim is allowed to seek a rather graphic revenge on his tormentors. It doesn’t exactly fit with the element of forgiveness propagated elsewhere in the book. The reader is brought into the ups and downs of their daily lives, as they overcome the difficulties of learning new skills. Excitement and anxiety about what lies ahead for Will are often present and bring the reader into the book’s atmosphere.

This review was originally written as coursework for a class on Young Adult literature.