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The Ruins of Gorlan (The Ranger's Apprentice, Book 1)by John Flanagan |
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$7.19 |
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$7.67 |
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$7.99 |
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He had always wanted to be a warrior. The Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways, made him nervous. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now fifteen year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger?s apprentice. What he doesn?t realize yet is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied . . . .
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Read it!.... But You Might Want To Wait On Buying -  |
The Ruins of Gorlan Review |
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Why do I say to read but not buy? Because all though I loved the book it took me only a few hours to read. So, unless you have a disposable income or a younger child i would strongly recommend that you take a visit to your local library; or a used book store and get it for cheap.
With that said i will now tell you why you will like this book (or why you won't.) I personally loved this breif book; the characters had some depth, and were (naturally) likeable. It's the opening book to the series so its mostly about Will being accepted as a Ranger's apprentice and the subsequent training with a little more action near the end. If you enjoy the genre of knights, castles, kings and the inevitable occurence of some mysterious faction which people regard with both fear and respect, this book is for you. If you loved those books where some luckless(?) youth/orphan happens to be taken on by the sage mentor and who quickly wisens under their tutelage (yet still has much to learn) then this book is for you. It's all very predictable, the same old formula with a little extra dash, but, as I noted before I loved it. It doesn't come out flat as one might expect from the synopsis, the environment is detailed which definitly adds some life. But if you're a person looking for Tolkien or R.R. Martin incarnate do not read this book. Because if you're looking for that type of epic than this will doubtless be dissapointing and will lead to further less-than-stellar reviews. Instead go for the Deeds of Paksenarrion trilogy if you have not already read it and it may satisfy your craving. |
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Enjoyable Juvenile/Teen Fantasy - Recommended -  |
The Ruins of Gorlan Review |
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The "The Ruins of Gorlan" is the first book in The Ranger's Apprentice series. While the writing style is geared for younger readers, the story telling and flow are engaging and are able keep adults interested (both my wife and I enjoyed the book).
The story centers around a young orphan named Will (no last name) and his transformation from a child living as a Baron's ward into an apprentice Ranger. No spoilers from me, but being a Ranger was not high on Will's list of possible occupations, despite some early indications that he some natural talent for the position. The author did a reasonably good job of character development and the main players were fairly well fleshed out by the end of the book. The plot and story lines moved along nicely and, while sticking to the normal fantasy formula (young unproven hero, experienced mentor, evil bad guy, long traveling quest, etc), was nicely written. This book was clearly written to establish the characters and settings for the sequel The Burning Bridge (The Ranger's Apprentice, Book 2), which we are looking forward to reading. Recommended! For a non-fantasy look at a coming of age story in a medieval society, I also recommend the classic Men of Iron |
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Entertaining YA Story - |
The Ruins of Gorlan Review |
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I listened to the audio CD for this book, so I really can't comment yet on the quality of the writing. The quality of the storytelling is decent. I feel like I've heard the story about a trillion times. It's worth experiencing once, but I don't think it's the type of thing I would go standing in lines for hours over.
Ruins of Gorlan has everything a YA fantasy should have, a young orphan (why can't these hero types ever keep their parents around?), some tough decisions, an almost unspeakable evil bad guy whose name must inevitably begin with "m", etc. Will is a likable character. Purposefully not the hunky hero type (those can all be found in the chick lit section), Will is a small, agile, intelligent lad who finds his dream of being a knight crushed, and so settles for becoming a Ranger's Apprentice. His friends aren't very well developed, but being book 1 of 9ish so far, I'll let that go for now. |
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Addictive.. - |
The Ruins of Gorlan Review |
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This is the first in the Ranger's Apprentice that I've read, and I loved it. I'm 36 so not in the obvious target age range, but I was quickly engrossed. I agree with the many reviewers who said that Flanagan's strong point is his characters. I quickly found myself caring for both Will and Horace, and becoming part of their struggles and their triumphs. I also loved the often subtle humour, particularly the baron who hates that nobody dares laugh at his jokes. The relationship between Will and Holt is also endearing and believable. Many reviewers have complained about Flanagan's tendency to switch POV. Personally I found it unusual, but in no way distracting from my enjoyment of the story. I also disagree that his tendency to stop the action for description distracted from the flow. He does have a tendency to tell rather than show, but I felt his descriptions were vivid and didn't distract. If I were to list the one thing that I didn't like it would be the odd hybrid mediaeval/fantasy world the characters inhabit. In my mind it didn't feel real or thought out, and some of the apparent anachronisms grated (coffee? showers?). It's a testimony to Flanagan's skill as a storyteller that despite this I still enjoyed the book immensely. As a 12 year old I would have adored this book, as a 36 year old I enjoyed it and would recommend it to all ages. |
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2 Thumbs Way Up!!!! - |
The Ruins of Gorlan Review |
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I honestly did not think that it was a plagerism of Tolkien but rather a venue to read more about rangers. They fascinate me so and Tolkien gives a lot of insight into their world, but not as much personality. I find these books amazing and wonderful books for children's and adults of all ages and, as a writer, I find nothing wrong with the writing! It's writen for children and so the writing is simpler! Nothing wrong with that! Nothing at all! Besides, not all children can read Tolkien, but maybe the Ranger's Apprentice Series is a good opener to Tolkien's works, especially in the case of younger kids. Anyway, I want to close with thanking Mr. Flanagan for his AWESOME books! I can't wait for the next ones!!!
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