Will is small for his age, but agile and energetic. All his life, he has dreamed of becoming a great knight like the father he never knew, so he is devastated when he is rejected as an apprentice to Castle Redmont's Battleschool. Instead he is apprenticed to Halt, the mysterious Ranger whose uncanny ability to move unseen is thought to be the result of black magic. Reluctantly, Will learns to use a Ranger's secret weapons: a bow and arrow, a mottled cloak and a stubborn little pony. It may not be the sword and battlehorse he longs for, but when Will and Halt set out on a desperate mission to prevent the assassination of the King, Will finds that a Ranger's weapons are not so useless after all . . .
The Ruins of Gorlan
Teenage books appealing to the "older reader" seems to be the big thing these days. Ranger's Apprentice is one such series.
Rangers are seen as mysterious figures who help protect the Kingdom of Araluen and the story follows Will through the first stages of becoming a Ranger himself.
Characters are teenagers themselves and live out the life any teenager who's ever hear of Robin Hood would love to live. A fun, easy to read action adventure and if all books in the series turn out to be this much fun, I'll be reading till the very end.
Guest, 26/12/2009