Jordan Williams

The Kings of Clonmel, book eight of the Ranger's Apprentice, adds to Halt's background, with a fairly run-of-the-mill story, though it fits the mold of the series.

The plot is straightforward, with Halt, Will, and Horace being the key players, trying to uproot a cult uprising in the kingdom of Clonmel, Halt's hometown. As it turns out, Halt is the rightful king, which is something that didn't seem to be foreshadowed at all in any of the previous books. Ergo, it felt derived and fake, though the ties between him and his brother are interesting. More world-building is done in Clonmel, which is fairly similar to Araluen, with the Genovesan assassins as a cool new addition.

Halt, Will, and Horace move from point A to point B with little trouble on their part and everything goes pretty much according to plan, making the entire storyline pretty uneventful. The intensity primarily lies in the first chapters, Halt's trapped position on the cliff, and the last, the duel. Halt's weak back story and character humor are the most interesting parts, with little in the way of character development or deep dialogue. The main character development seems to be that Halt is complaining about his old age, with Horace and Will being their same old selves. Character development isn't a problem in the series, and putting it on the down low in certain books can be a nice change of pace. However, there are too many weak spots in book eight, especially after the diversity and excitement of book seven, to make support the lack of growth.

The Kings of Clonmel offers decent back story and builds the world a little with Flanagan's favorite trio. Still, this isn't enough to save the book from a straightforward, almost-everything-goes-right plot and the lack of character and dialogue depth. I'm interpreting this book as a flimsy predecessor to a killer second part, so book nine had better deliver!

Erak's Ransom is an edge-of-your-seat ride, heavier on the intensity, while still supporting hefty character development and world-building. Despite Will being younger than in the previous two installments of Ranger's Apprentice, this one finds heavier themes and closer proximity to death. Erak's Ransom is the best writing Flanagan has done for the series thus far.

The pacing of the book is a welcome two notches up from books five and six. Erak is captured and held for ransom in a foreign land, Arrida. With a plea to Araluen, Svengal, Erak's first mate, finds help among everyone's favorite characters: Will, Halt, Gilan, Horace, and Evanlyn. The crew runs into all sorts of trouble, one after another, on their mission to ransom Erak. There ends up being a lot of desert and nomadic tribesmen, which Flanagan plugs for smooth world-building. In the midst of the action and conflict, it was difficult to even notice that world-building was taking place. The world just came into being, growing as the story progressed. There isn't a bunch of information up front or in large, boring monologues, but it eases out in the pages. It is very well done world-building, managing to introduce a whole new chunk of land, people, and culture, in an easy to digest and undistracting fashion.

The development focuses on two primary issues, growing up into positions of responsibility and letting go of those under your wing. Evanlyn and Will are in similar positions, eager to stick there necks out and prove their ability, but also hampered by self-doubt. At the same time, King Duncan must allow Evanlyn to bear responsibility so that she may one day rule as queen, and Will is mere months away from becoming a tried and true ranger. Throughout the story they make mistakes, learn, and begin to find their own paths as life moves forward. It's awesome and one of the Ranger's Apprentice biggest draws: watching the characters grow. There is no shortage of that here, for all of the action, and there are plenty of other characters to add in their distinct personalities and bantering, making the atmosphere convivial. The new characters are strong and distinct, too. The antagonists are the only problem. The issue is not that they are a bad character, just that they fall into a typical stereotype, and that isn't terribly dynamic. Keren, in The Siege of Macindaw, shows regret and ends up seeming human. There's MacHaddish, too, who never really seems that bad though he is considered a “bad guy.” These kinds of villains are more realistic and interesting because the reader can empathize with them, if only a bit. Not so much the villains in Erak's Ransom, sadly, who are plain evil. They are still pretty good baddies.

One major annoyance, rewinding to the beginning, is the fact that Pauline has no female friend around her age to be her bridesmaid. Alyss and Jenny are cute as bridesmaids, however it is only logical that Pauline would actually have a companion around her own age other than Halt. The fact that she didn't is disconcerting and irritating.

The only other consideration in Erak's Ransom is that the scenes involving death are more intimate in detail than previously, providing an accurate, uncomfortable taste of dying. Death is ever present in fantasy, especially this kind, and Flanagan has never ignored it. The last breaths of a character dying have never been so described in the series. This shows a sign of maturing in Flanagan's stories, one that is exciting as I look forward to development of the characters and deeper themes in the coming adventures.

Somehow, despite going back in the time line and the fact that I knew the outcomes of this book, I couldn't help my racing pulse as I sped through Will's journey in Erak's Ransom. I was worried for characters who I knew would be fine, and still felt Will's emotions as my own. This empathy and intensity is no easy task to achieve. It's an arcane magic that comes about when a book works. Flanagan achieved this magic in a thrilling story, with plenty of conflict, character, development, and world-building. His Ranger's Apprentice style hit new heights and maturity, making this his strongest installment yet.

The Siege of Macindaw matures Will's story, focusing on his abilities and developing character relationships. World-building takes a back seat, but the adventure follows Flanagan's typical pattern, except the danger has never been so grim.

Picta, Scotland, is the new portion of The Ranger's Apprentice here, though only cultural elements appear, such as the clothing and spiritual reliefs of the Picta. You also learn that they are highlanders, but that is really all the world-building.

Much of the book focuses on interactions between characters, particularly between Will and Horace and Will and Alyss, but also with the Skandians, Orman, and Malcolm. Will and Horace continue with their usual banter, although more aware of each of other and their conversational style. They also start discussing their feelings about some ladies in their lives. The plot thickens. Will has undisclosed feelings towards Alyss, and near the end you get a great picture of how inefficiently people can handle their desires.

Will and Horace work together to plan a siege using limited resources in a short amount of time. The perspective alternates between Alyss and Will, which is fun and provides a moving dynamic that doesn't allow the book to drag. This is Ranger's Apprentice, so it comes as no surprise that there is no slowdown within the short number of pages. The planning, complexities, and inventiveness of the duo are interesting and goofy, though fairly simple. There was nothing of great surprise in the siege, but the story is still enjoyable, especially with the character humor and interactions.

There are two big signs of maturity compared to the previous Ranger's Apprentice novels. First, the potential dangers that appear, primarily for Alyss as a captive, are big concerns for Will. His mind leaps to dangerous outcomes for her, and the final battle between Will and Keren is surprisingly rife with distressing possibilities. This may be a glimpse of things to come in the series. As for the second sign, Will is not nearly as innocent. He thinks less selflessly and more in terms of his own goals and desires. His squabbles with Horace reveal this thought process, where he tries to manipulate things into going his way. In addition, he seeks out a pretty girl in Seacliff Fief for comfort from his loneliness.

The themes are maturing with the characters, their relationships, and their adult lives. That's awesome and, with Flanagan's consistent writing style, adds to the anticipation for next installment!

The Sorcerer of the North is a detective and infiltration tale that is new for the Ranger's Apprentice series. Alyss is back in action and the pacing is faster than before.

The plot is new. It's a mystery about a sorcerer, with eyes on Alyss and Will's relationship. Jongleurs are introduced, as are the Scotti, which aligns with Flanagan's habit of adding small world-building features in every book. We only hear tell of the Scotti, but the Jongluers are fleshed out in an interesting manner. With Will's new disguise, his keen dog, the mystery, the politics, and his romantic relationship with Alyss, everything is getting more and more complex. This is a great sign for the series, maturing the themes and circumstances as the characters age with a varied plot.

Pacing is rough compared to all of the other books up to this point. Flanagan really picks up the speed, cutting out all small portions of the story that would have been slower, such as various traveling portions. Also, the gap between this book and the last installation is huge, where some very important developments are missed. Will is a Ranger at the beginning, having already completed his apprenticeship and formed a romantic relationship with Alyss. It's very awkward skipping such an important chunk of Will's life, especially when the books have been basically back-to-back up to this point. Also, Will's hasty training as a Jongleur is skipped, which also means a new character, Berrigan, was robbed the chance of a place in the story. So, with the time time-leap and the faster pace of this book, we lose a bit of the focus on characters that has made this series stand apart.

Stylistically, The Sorcerer of the North is very similar to the other books, however, the characters don't feel quite as deep because there are very few moments to explore them in the heat of this complex adventure. It's exciting and a good installment to the series, with the main frustration being all that time that was skipped between book four and five!

The Ranger's Apprentice is beginning to get very predictable, especially with Halt's peril, where guessing the eventual outcomes and even how those outcomes come about, takes away from the excitement. The characters continue to develop, but very, very slowly, and besides a couple of heartfelt moments, the banter steals the spotlight. The balance that could have made Halt's Peril a classic alongside it's brethren, isn't present.

The characters do develop, in a slow and sure manner. They mature as they face the traumatizing predicament of their familial mentor, Halt. This brings a heavier mood, while forcing the characters to mature, including Halt a little, who realized he was so close to death. That's about it however, and the rest of the book focuses on the never ending characters' banter and the plot line. The natter is the same as before in style, though Halt's Peril has a dense amount. This undercut the seriousness of the story a bit.

The storyline itself was extremely predictable. This series is meant for a younger age group, who probably want see the twists coming, but I had determined the predicament and solution for Halt way before the characters themselves had. That made the book less intense and interesting.

Still, it is a decent addition to the series. I would like to see an even more mature plot, but the themes themselves in this novel were pretty deep for Ranger's Apprentice, though Happy Ending Syndrome has infected the series, weakening the fretful moments that are further hindered by the copious bantering.