Some of This-Ranger's Apprentice

I began a new experience a few years ago: I started reading, and fell in love with, a series of books published first in another country. This series of books has been written and published, I believe to completion, in Australia. After reading book 3 or 4 I confess I was sorely tempted to order the rest of the series, balking only at the knowledge that the shipping charges from Australia would place the books out of my reach for the time being. I have waited with varying degrees of patience as each book has been released here in the US.

So what is this series? The Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan. He began writing the series, if I recall correctly, for his son. They aren't perhaps at the same level as Tolkein, or my own favorites Robin McKinley and Tamora Pierce, but they tell a compelling story of a young boy chosen as an apprentice by a legendary Ranger, the heart of the intelligence corps of the country Araluen. Pulling from many different cultures, John Flanagan guides his young character as he learns his craft and brings something special into the lives of those around him. Epic battles, fierce adversaries, harsh environments and more shape young Will into a well-prepared and dynamic Ranger.

Book 7 was released this last week, and I welcome the addition to the series. It covers the last year of Will's apprentiship, which had been skipped when book 4 jumped several years into book 5 with Will taking up his first posting as a full Ranger. Erak's Ransom takes Will, the legendary Halt (his trainer), Ranger Gillan, and Will's friends Horace and Princess Cassandra (addressed through most of the series as Evanlyn) with a crew of Skandian sailors (much like Vikings, I imagine) to the arid desert lands of the Arridi people, who have taken Erak (the Skandian leader and friend to Will, Halt, Horace and Evanlyn) as a prisoner and are holding him ransom.

One of the things I love the most is how John Flanagan introduces his young readers to the various methods used by his characters-in regards to the Rangers, the concepts of stealth, highly advanced archery, gathering information and knowing how to use it. Few authors take the time to show their readers in such detail how to analyze what the characters do, mentioning such things as the fact that those in pursuit of someone rarely look up, and how if you're severely dehydrated in a desert you shouldn't gulp down as much water as possible when the opportunity comes around but sip it slowly. While I know that if I tried to employ some the concepts I've been introduced to I wouldn't really meet with the success of characters crafted and written to follow a certain plot-line, I find them all fascinating. I now eagerly await the US release of books 8 and 9 and highly recommend the series to you :)

On a side note, I did finally get myself a wall calendar. No castles, no waterfalls, but a full year of beautiful horses :)