The Ranger's Apprentice Collection (3 Books)
by John Flanagan
List Price:
Our Price: $12.95
You Save: $11.02 (46%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $10.90 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: John FlanaganEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Box set
Published: 2008-09-11
ISBN: 0142411736
Number of pages: 848
Publisher: Puffin
Book Reviews of The Ranger's Apprentice Collection (3 Books)
Book Review: The boy with the silver leaf
Summary: 4 Stars
Imagine if the Rangers from "Lord of the Rings" took apprentices -- what kind of life would that be?
John Flanagan does a decent job answering the question in the first three books of the Ranger's Apprentice series, compiled in "The Ranger's Apprentice Collection." It's a solid trio of fantasy books with plenty of weapons, monsters, a medieval backdrop with some very familiar cultures, and a teenage hero who risks it all for his land.
Hoping to be selected for Battleschool, Will is shocked when he's chosen as an apprentice for the Ranger, Halt. His new life is out in the woods, doing chores and learning unglamorous lessons, but slowly he realizes the importance of the Ranger's skills. And at the same time, his fellow orphan Horace is being tormented at Battleschool by a gang of bullies.
Unfortunately, the kingdom is in new trouble -- the evil baron Morgarath is starting to send his monstrous Wurgals out once more, and there are even rumors that the ghastly Kalkara are also abroad. When it seems that the king himself may be Morgarath's target, Will and Halt are sent on a mission to stop the Kalkara -- except that the target isn't who they expect.
"The Burning Bridge" takes Will, Gilan and Horace out into the land of Celtica, only to find that the Wargals are swarming all over the place, and the Celts are missing. Even worse, the boys stumble across a tunnel and bridge meant to allow Morgarath's army out into the open -- and a vast collection of mercenary Skandians who have been hired to help crush the king's army. And to stop them,. Will may end up in the hands of his worst enemies.
And "The Ice Bound Land" sees Will and and a girl calling herself Evanlyn captured by the Skandians, and forced into a life of slavery -- and unfortunately the harsh life and a local drug threaten to destroy Will. Meanwhile, Halt is determined to save his apprentice even if he has to defy the other Rangers, so he sets out across the vaguely European continent with knight-in-training Horace.
The world John Flanagan conjures up here is pretty recognizably a medieval England-that-never-was, with hints of similarly semi-familiar lands to explore (Gallica, Temujai, Celtica, Skandia) and some nicely familiar weapons Except he also adds in some fantasy monsters, a complex backhistory to Araluen, and the elite woodland-warriors known as the Rangers.
The first half of "The Ruins of Gorlan" is a fairly slow experience, mostly made up of Will and Horace finding out what their new lives are all about (knife study, ponies, stew and tracking exercises). But then the plot speeds up into a darker, bloodier affair -- and by "Burning Bridge" it's expanded into a true epic with sabotage, clashing armies and a climactic duel.
And Flanagan has a knack for fast-moving, detailed prose and lots of suspenseful moments (such as the cat-and-mouse game with the Kalkara, or the infiltration of Morgarath's fortress). While there's a twist at the end of "Burning Bridge" that not many fantasy stories have, he keeps the more personal quests going right through the end of the third book. Unfortunately, it still leaves us on a cliffhanger that presumably is fixed in the fourth book.
Will is also an excellent hero in the Lloyd Alexander mold -- he dreams of being a valiant knight, but as he matures, he begins to see that the Rangers have a special value to the kingdom. And Flanagan is unafraid to put his poor hero through the wringer, especially when he's reduced to a drug-riddled wreck. Halt is quite the reverse -- quirky, taciturn and incredibly tough and deadly. And over the course of these books, he forms a sort of father-son relationship with Will and Horace.
The first three books in the "Ranger's Apprentice Collection" start off slow, but rapidly blossom into a solid, epic fantasy series full of kidnappings, monstrous enemies, and all-too-human characters. Definitely a good read... but have the fourth on hand.
Summary of The Ranger's Apprentice Collection (3 Books)
Here are the first three titles in John Flanagan's New York Times bestselling series, all collected in one boxed set, perfect for gift giving! The Ranger's Apprentice series has taken readers by storm, captivating them with the adventures of Will, apprentice to the secretive Ranger Halt.Animals Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Animals Books
The Book of Dragonsby Michael Hague
HarperCollins; Published: 2005-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.99
Once I Ate a Pieby Patricia MacLachlan, Emily MacLachlan Charest
HarperCollins; Published: 2006-04-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.98
Price in other shops:
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness #1: Wolf Brotherby Michelle Paver
Katherine Tegen Books; Published: 2005-02-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops:
The Grouchy Ladybugby Eric Carle
HarperCollins; Published: 1996-10-11; Library Binding; Book
Best price: $16.45
Price in other shops:
Runny Babbit: A Billy Sookby Shel Silverstein
HarperCollins; Published: 2005-03-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
Little Bear (An I Can Read Book)by Else Holmelund Minarik
HarperCollins; Published: 1992-02-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.84
Price in other shops:
From Head to Toeby Eric Carle
HarperCollins; Published: 1997-03-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.80
Price in other shops:
Danny and the Dinosaur (An I Can Read Book, Level 1)by Syd Hoff
HarperCollins; Published: 1958-08-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.80
Price in other shops:
The Darkest Hour (Warriors, No. 6)by Erin Hunter
HarperCollins; Published: 2004-10-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $16.45
Price in other shops:
SAN DOMINGO (The Marguerite Henry horseshoe library)by Marguerite Henry
Aladdin; Published: 1989-06-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $47.80
Similar Books and other products
Ranger's Apprentice: The Lost Storiesby John Flanagan
Philomel; Published: 2011-10-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.20
Price in other shops:
The Emperor of Nihon-Ja: Book Ten (Ranger's Apprentice)by John Flanagan
Puffin; Published: 2012-03-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.99
Halt's Peril: Book Nine (Ranger's Apprentice)by John Flanagan
Puffin; Published: 2012-03-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.99
The Emperor of Nihon-Ja: Book 10 (Ranger's Apprentice)by John Flanagan
Zonderkidz; Philomel; Published: 2011-04-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.28
Price in other shops:
Halt's Peril: Book 09 (Ranger's Apprentice)by John Flanagan
Philomel; Philomel; Published: 2010-10-05; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.21
Price in other shops:
Kings of Clonmel: Book Eight (Ranger's Apprentice)by John Flanagan
Puffin; Published: 2011-09-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.41
Price in other shops:
Erak's Ransom: Book 7 (Ranger's Apprentice)by John Flanagan
Puffin; Published: 2011-09-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.40
Price in other shops:
The Siege of Macindaw: Book Six (Ranger's Apprentice)by John Flanagan
Puffin Books; Puffin; Published: 2010-05-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.39
Price in other shops:
The Sorcerer of the North: Book Five (Ranger's Apprentice)by John Flanagan
Puffin Books; Puffin; Published: 2009-06-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.23
Price in other shops:
The Battle for Skandia: Book Four (Ranger's Apprentice)by John Flanagan
Puffin Books; Puffin; Published: 2009-01-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.50
Price in other shops: