The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Jun 20, 2010 Shannon rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: color-black, male-protagonist, 2012, novels, made-me-cry, buddy-reads, color-blue, fantasy, short, favorite-books

This book was a pleasant surprise for me; I really had no expectations going in and I didn't read anyone's reviews beforehand so I ended up being completely blindsided by this awesome story, which is definitely a good thing! I'll admit I wasn't expecting much, I figured I'd get a good time-waster and a fun story, but I never thought I'd be moved to tears by the honor, loyalty, and friendships forged within.

This is the story of Will, an orphan raised with fellow wardmates, and it tells the tale o This book was a pleasant surprise for me; I really had no expectations going in and I didn't read anyone's reviews beforehand so I ended up being completely blindsided by this awesome story, which is definitely a good thing! I'll admit I wasn't expecting much, I figured I'd get a good time-waster and a fun story, but I never thought I'd be moved to tears by the honor, loyalty, and friendships forged within.

This is the story of Will, an orphan raised with fellow wardmates, and it tells the tale of his growth into a young man and Ranger, who are the eyes and ears for the fiefdom. At a certain age the castle wards each must choose a Craftmaster to study under, such as the castle's chef, Horsemaster, or Battlemaster. Young Will is a bit scrawny but he has always dreamt of becoming a mighty knight, because although he never knew his father he believes he died the heroic death of a brave knight. Unfortunately, the Baron has other plans for Will, and even though he's crestfallen at not being able to enter Battleschool, he has a much more important fate awaiting him: the Rangers.

Will is a great character - not too smart, not too cocky, not too bratty - but full of heart. In the beginning we get to meet him when he's still living with his friends before they've all chosen their crafts and it's shown that the kids don't always get along. There's a particular boy, Horace, who bullies Will relentlessly. Will isn't exactly an angel though as he ends up mouthing off to Horace and riling him up constantly. These two are at each other's throats for the majority of the book and it's fascinating watching their relationship change and mature. Two of the scenes with these boys were the ones that made me tear up. I don't know why it got to me, but their camaraderie really turned into something special in the end.

I also really enjoyed Will's budding master-apprentice relationship with the Ranger, Halt. Halt is a prickly character who (almost) never smiles. He's brutal on Will but he does so because he sees his potential. The last scene with these two at the end was another one that filled me with emotion because I couldn't help but feel proud for the two of them myself.

Will's point of view is the main one throughout most of the book, but we do get glimpses of what's going on in other characters' heads, and up until the halfway point almost each chapter switches back and forth between Will and Horace, though that didn't bother me at all. I really enjoyed the fact that even the horses, as well as some of the monsters, had thoughts that we were privy to, and I think this added some depth to the tale without being overwhelming or difficult to follow.

There are some really great themes throughout this story that I think are great for kids to read about. There's the aforementioned bullying and teasing that eventually gets resolved, there's emphasis on hard work and discipline, and there's the stress placed on following your gut and doing what's right. There are also monsters, archery, sword fighting, learning to sneak around unseen like an assassin, and all sorts of fun stuff that boys (and some girls) enjoy reading about. I think this would be a great book for reluctant readers since it's action-packed, suspenseful, and heartwarming as well. It's the type of book you can't put down because you need to know what happens next.

I really loved this book and I had no idea the wonderful story that it contained. This is a middle grade epic fantasy that I think people of all ages can enjoy, and I highly recommend you give it a shot. ...more

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Nov 01, 2010 Melissa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: absolute-favorites, fantasy, ya, to-buy, another-time-period-world

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. WOW! I was a bit doubtful about this book, but WOW. I jadored it! The idea for the ranger apprentice series isn't all that original and it's certainly not without its problems. Still it left me wanting more. More likely i think because it brought a sense of wistfulness back to me. Mainly because it reminded me of the Jedi Apprentice series by Jude Watson. In fact i'm quite curious if the JA series did inspired John a bit. I know he said he wrote this book for his son, but it so reminded me of Ju ...more

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May 15, 2010 Samantha wickedshizuku Tolleson rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, life-lessons, books-i-own, title-r, not-manga, male-lead, 2012, reviewed, make-the-kids-read, read-it-again

This was a very enjoyable book, and recommend that you go to your nearest bookstore to get it. The adventure continues in book 2 which I will be starting on sometime this week.

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