The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, Book 1)
by John Flanagan
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It’s the time of knights and kings, evil lords, grotesque armies of telepathic monsters and hideous, almost invincible creatures from an ancient race of assassins. The forces of good and evil are massing for a final showdown and you are a clueless fifteen year old boy who dreams of battles, adventure and glory as a knight in the king’s service. What do you do when your dreams are shattered? And what do you do about all that homework?
Choosing Day is the big day for 15 year-old Will and th...more
Choosing Day is the big day for 15 year-old Will and th...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
people who like alex rider
The book I read was Rangers Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan. It is the first book in the series by John Flanagan. It is set in an imaginary world in a country much like medieval Britain. It is a medieval setting so the main weapons of the time are bows and arrows and swords. The main character in this book is Will an orphan who lives in a castle. Because he is an orphan and can’t follow his parents trade, when he is fifteen he is chosen by a Craft master to become apprentice. Will is chosen, b...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
Grades 3-6
Enter into an exciting new world of historical fantasy with John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice Series. When Will turns fifteen, he and the four other orphans with whom he has been raised find out what path they have been chosen to follow in life. Will longs to join the knights but is bitterly disappointed to learn he is apprenticed instead to the Rangers, a secretive guild whom many in the kingdom fear. As he begins to acquire the skills and values of the Rangers, however, Will comes to underst...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
12-15 year-old boys
This was a great book. It is a mideval based book about a 13-year old boy named Will. Will wants to be a warrior but he is too weak to be accapted. There is one thing Will is great at though and it is being stealthy. One of the Rangers see him sneaking into the kings room to find a book. At the selection to see what class he will be in he is not accepted. Afterwards the Ranger who saw him seeks him out and gets him to join. The rest of the book is about Will being trained at being a ranger an...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
Pre-teens, girls and boys
My son was given the first book of the series. He has a sensitive heart and the cover looked like it may be too much for him. So I read it first. Loved it. Of course, it is written for pre-teen/teen boys but I loved it anyway. It was better than Eragon. My son, who is 9yrs old, read it but didn't care for it. My 11yr old daughter then read it and loved it. The two of us both read the first three books within 1 week and have pre-ordered the 4th (due in US in March '08). The author is cur...more
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Read in April, 2008
The characters are what makes this series so enjoyable. Will, the apprentice of the series title, is instantly likeable, but I really liked the treatment of Horace. Instead of making him a rival and a thorn in Will's side for the entire series, he develops from a braggart and a bully to Will's true friend before the novel is half over. I also liked the adult characters. Halt, the ranger who takes Will in, is a bit of an Aragorn figure, outwardly stern but inwardly caring. Baron Arald, the m...more
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Read in May, 2008
I'm excited to continue reading the Ranger's Apprentice series. I've heard good things from several people. I liked the Ruins of Gorlan. At first I had a few concerns--the job choosing felt like the Giver's Ceremony of Twelves. I thought, "Oh no! Not another terrible knock-off like Eragon." I got over it quickly.
The book took a little while to win me over-a chapter or two-and then I was hooked. I still have a few concerns over wording; the book doesn't feel as natural as the Percy...more
The book took a little while to win me over-a chapter or two-and then I was hooked. I still have a few concerns over wording; the book doesn't feel as natural as the Percy...more
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Read in March, 2006
recommends it for:
fantasy fans, adventure fans
One of the best of the recent crop of fantasy books for middle schoolers, this book has definite boy appeal! It has lots of action, adventure, great characters, and no magic, so it's perfect for those kids who like adventure stories but not particularly fantasy. When I first read the book, it was moving through the 5th and 6th grades at the town I was working at like wildfire! So many boys came up to me and told me they loved it. What I loved was the writing and characters and I'm eagerly aw...more
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Read in February, 2008
A young boy, Will, is dying to be chosen to go to Battleschool. But when he is sadly denied to join because of his physical appearance he is also denied to join every other school, except Ranger school. When Will passes an unexpected test he joins Ranger school and becomes an apprentice of Halt. Halt and Will go through a lot together trying to fight Morgrath and his mercenaries. I loved this book because it is action packed and always keeping the reader at the edge of their seat.
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
fantasy lovers
This book was so original, it is like Harry Potter and Eragon in that it takes you to another world altogether, but it really got you routing for Will, the main character who is a ward of the caslte, his mother died in his birth and his father died a hero, and so when he is chosen as an apprentice all he wants is to live up to his father, it did build me up to this big battle, (which I was hoping for) but then just had a fight, but was enthralling the whole way through.
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This is the first book from a great young adult series that was written in Australia. So far, you can only get the first four books in America. Will is an orphan who becomes apprenticed to become a Ranger. It is not what he wanted--Rangers are feared and mistrusted by most people. They are stealthy and mysterious. He finds out that Rangers are actually the first line of defense for his country and that they are highly skilled spies and fighters. Will subsequently has to use his training to help ...more
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This is the first book in the ranger's apprentice book series and it was really good. This book is about a young boy named will who has always been a small, quiet young kid who was orphaned. When he turns fifteen he gets chosen to be a ranger, not a warrior like he wanted, but what he soon learns is that the rangers have a very important job, stopping wars before they start.
The author's purpose for writing this book is to show you that no matter how unimportant you seem, you fit into the mix. ...more
The author's purpose for writing this book is to show you that no matter how unimportant you seem, you fit into the mix. ...more
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Read in April, 2008
I got about a quarter through this book and then had to put the thing down. The story itself has some promise but the writing is too clunky for me. The point of view rockets between characters and much of the story is in passive voice, told to the reader rather than shown. It makes for a slower pace, long blocks of text and major, major info dump on almost every page. Rather annoying. I appreciate the author has put a lot of time and effort into his world building - I just don't want to read an ...more
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I have never actually "read" this book. I checked out the audio book from my library. I really enjoyed the preformance. Beyond that, I found the book to be a fun and rather exciting adventure. One of the aspects of the books that I really appreciate is the language the author uses. Because the books are written for youth, the author keeps most of his language at that level. However, occassionally Flanagan uses less common words to expand the vocabulary. I truly enjoyed Flanagan's writi...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
fans of lord of the rings/harry potter
I really enjoyed this book. There is just enough action and I think the author did a good job of not over-explaining everything. I didn't find myself wanting to skip any part for being too slow. One criticism would be that I wasn't a fan of the prologue. It didn't seem to jive well with or set up the rest of the book, but other than that, I thought it was a solid book! I'm excited to check out the rest of the books and hope they are as good as this one.
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So I am not completely sure if this book was just the right story at the right time for me or if the writing is really as smooth and fun as it seemed.
Either way, I thouroughly enjoyed this book and can not wait to get my hands on the next one. I liked the characters and the language and the voice and the content. It was exciting and refreshing and a good read for anyone who likes Lord of the Rings, King Aurthur tales or just solid writing.
Either way, I thouroughly enjoyed this book and can not wait to get my hands on the next one. I liked the characters and the language and the voice and the content. It was exciting and refreshing and a good read for anyone who likes Lord of the Rings, King Aurthur tales or just solid writing.
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Read in June, 2008
recommended to Lisa by:
my cousin Junerecommends it for: young knight fantasy readers,
Hey! A great read, after you get through the rather trite, typical lord trying to take over the world intro. Once into the real chapters, you meet wonderful characters, and are gripped into the drama of the kids finding their apprenticeships; the difficulties of Horace in his apprenticeship, and growing to love the taciturn Halt. Good plot and character development.
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
teenage boys 12-14
I thought this book was very entertaining, and a good fit for a teenage boy. It reminisces of the Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney, although it is a little more fantastical, and a lot less gritty and scary.
The reader of the audiobook is amazing. He has a sexy Scottish accent that he tries to hide most of the book, but comes out in unexpected places.
The reader of the audiobook is amazing. He has a sexy Scottish accent that he tries to hide most of the book, but comes out in unexpected places.
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Read in June, 2008
I've been working my way through the personal library of my friend's 14-year old son, mostly Fantasy. They are quick reads and this book is my favorite of his recent recommendations. This series was written for the author's son. I love the relationship between the two main characters and the way the author weaves life lessons into the dialogue without pretense.
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I bought this for my pre-teens (who liked the Percy Jackson and Harry Potter series), but I wound up reading it faster than them. This first book is good - as others have noted it has good character development. But like Harry Potter, it seems to be targeted as slightly younger kids in the first book and then gets a bit more complex as the series goes along.
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