The Royal Ranger (Ranger’s Apprentice: The Royal Ranger #1)

I do believe that the author deserves at least four-star rating for this book, but I also believe that the tragic motivation given to our hero Will breaks from the tone of the series and snatches away any good feelings left by book 11. While it was well written it reeks somewhat of “girl in the refrigerator.” If the author had set up in previous stories that characters could die then it would not have been so bothersome for an important character to have perished off page given the time jump in the series. So while the book is written well it does feel like the author decided to try and change the tone of the series the last book . Which leaves a lot to be desired .

That said let me tell you why you want to read this book. First and foremost this book does bring the series to a close that many readers wanted to see. That is to say Will gets an apprentice. The title of the book gives away the origin of our new apprentice and it makes sense given the progressive nature of the story what will make this apprentice standout. The relationship between Will and his apprentice is enjoyable and almost a trip down memory lane as they are many callbacks to pass stories. You will find yourself laughing and crying at some parts of the story .

If this series had continued with the new apprentice as the focal point then I think this book would have served as a great gateway to the second half of an awesome series. The location at the end of the series does taint my view of the work.

If you have read the The Lost Stories and felt content with that ending like I did, don’t read this book. I personally just pretend that it ended with The Lost Stories whenever I think of the Rangers Apprentice series and until the Brotherband Chronicles directly comes to the same timeline and they intertwine I don’t see any reason to change it. Now if this was maybe a start of a series or a standalone book, it wouldn’t be too bad. But after ruining a major part of the whole series and not even featuring a lot of our favorite characters except for a scene or two, to me I can’t stand it.

MINOR SPOILERS
If you haven’t figured it out by reading the first chapter and the summary, Alyss is dead. Yep a major subplot and sometimes part of the main story throughout the whole series, is unnecessarily ruined. There was no good reason for this book to kill off a awesome character due to a fire started by thugs. Then about 6 or 8 thugs somehow beat, who Halt himself said, was the best archer he knew. And then the apprentice saves the day. And I personally didn’t like that character either. To me it was just an unoriginal character used to drag on a series with a perfect ending because he fans and business people wanted it too. Maddie, the new apprentice, is Evanlyn and Horace’s daughter who is rebellious (hmmm sounds familiar) uses a sling to hunt and play pranks at the castle (I feel like this is just like another character) is royalty (I can almost place it) and has a horrible attitude at times with authority. Ya it’s the exact same character as Evanlyn rewritten as Wills Apprentice in another book. More to it the story didn’t even have a good interesting villain like the others did. Only reason I gave it 3 stars is because it has Will and all my other favorite characters in it, even if they don’t live up to how they were in the other books.

Just getting the seller portion out of the way: Book came as described, but was mildly damaged, with the bottom left corner being pushed in a bit.

As for the book itself, a slightly underwhelming end to the series.
Don’t go in expecting a Ranger’s Apprentice book. Go in expecting something of a time-skipped sequel of sorts. Because that’s what it is.
This isn’t another one of Will’s adventures with all the main characters like Halt, Horace, Evanlyn, etc. This details Will and his new apprentice, and actually focuses around 60% on the apprentice instead. Most if not all the old/main character make appearances, but are VERY minor roles, there only to be there. Basically, the series ended with the Emperor of Nihon-ja, and this book just lets readers know what happened after, with Will training his apprentice.
However, that aside, it’s still a well-written book by all means. It kept me more or less hooked, despite the “main character change”. It may not hold the same charm as the previous novels detailing Will’s achievements, but the dry humor, superhuman archery, and action is still present.

It’s been 18 months since the death of his beloved Alyss. Will Treaty’s world has become nothing but heart ache and shadows…and the need for revenge…revenge against the man who “killed” his wife. But, while his friends all worry about him and feel him drifting away, THEIR worlds need to go on. For Horace and Cassandra that means dealing with an out of control teen aged princess of a daughter.

At their wit’s end, they have no clue how to solve the problem that is Madelyn – Maddie to her friends and family. But the solution to THAT problem, as well as that of their life long friend Will, might actually be one and the same. But…that solution will not work for a “princess”. What’s needed is a NEW Ranger’s Apprentice.

For 11 books…and 8 years, John Flanagan has been writing stories about the world of Will Treaty and friends in the Ranger’s Apprentice series. Now, taking a 16-year leap through time, Flanagan brings the story full circle as the apprentice now becomes the master and all that requires. Here are so many of those wonderful and humorous creations that Flanagan gave us as we watched Will and his master Halt find each other and develop into the characters that we loved so well.

While this book is titled as book 12…and at the time many of the readers were distressed and upset that this was touted to be the LAST book in the series…as it turns out, it was actually the first in a completely new journey called the ROYAL RANGER. With 3 books out…and a 4th already scheduled for publication…as well as the spin off Brotherband series, there are a 25+ exciting novels that readers can lose them selves in…and hopefully…25 more to come!!!

Forget the moaning Minnie’s and negative Nora’s who didn’t think this book was very good or up to standard . (Seems like there always has to be someone who comes out with a negative without really explaining why .) This is an excellent book and to prove it I read it in a day – and it’s a long time since I did that .
The characters are well rounded and have developed from the first book . If you have read the series you can see all the characters develope .
I won’t give anything away but you can feel Will’s loss and pain . The solution was well thought out and fitted in perfectly . As I’ve said to friends just because a book is aimed at teens/young adults doesn’t mean you can’t read it . I’m 61 and this series has been excellent , a real roller coaster . Loved the horses – Tug in particular .
I cannot recommend this book higher . Read the series and then go onto The Brotherband series which are even better .

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