The Sorcerer of the North: Book Five (Ranger's Apprentice) by John Flanagan

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The Sorcerer of the North: Book Five (Ranger's Apprentice) by John Flanagan

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Buy The Sorcerer of the North: Book Five (Ranger's Apprentice) by John Flanagan at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Category: Confident Readers
Rating: 4/5
Reviewer: Loralei Haylock
Reviewed by Loralei Haylock
Summary: A fast paced and exciting instalment, with enough familiar elements to remain comfortable, but enough new ideas to keep it interesting. Perfect for readers aged 9+ still building in confidence.
Buy? Yes Borrow? Yes
Pages: 304 Date: July 2009
Publisher: Puffin
ISBN: 978-0142414293

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Will Treaty is now a fully-fledged Ranger, with his own fief to look after. Seacliff is a peaceful backwater, and hasn't had any serious trouble for years, but this suits Will just fine. After all, he's daunted enough at the thought of taking his first solo post, without the threat of invasion to worry about.

Then, in the far north, Syron, Lord of Castle Macindaw, a vital part of the country's border defences, falls ill with a mysterious ailment. The local people suspect sorcery, and though Will and his master, Halt, are sceptical about it, with the fate of the whole country hinged on Syron's castle remaining strong against the Scottis, Will heads north to investigate.

Undercover as a jongleur, Will gains the trust of the local people, and learns what he can about the supposed sorcerer. At Castle Macindaw he meets Orman, son of Lord Syron, and his more popular cousin Keren. The people of the castle are afraid that, should Lord Syron die, his scholarly son would not be a strong enough leader to defend it. With all this unrest, and Lord Syron fading every day, Will has to find and stop the sorcerer fast, before it's too late.

While this fifth instalment of the Ranger's Apprentice series has many of the same old ingredients as other fantasy sagas – bows and arrows, horseback riding, rangers and people with silly names – it's surprisingly fresh and original. Don't be fooled by the cover and the title, because this isn't just another rehash of The Lord of the Rings. It's much better than that.

While the twist in the tale was glaringly obvious long before the characters figured it out (at least, it was to this reviewer, but maybe she just reads too much of this kind of stuff) it doesn't really matter, because the story is fast paced and exciting. Flanagan deals with character driven scenes as well as he does action, and when the narrative isn't galloping along, it slows down for some tense, scary moments. Once picked up, this book is hard to put down.

My only real criticism is that it doesn't feel quite like a whole book. Much of the conflict is left unresolved at the end, and though that's part of sustaining a series, it felt a little like the book had been cut in half. I can understand why it's been done – to tell the rest of the story would probably make book five too long and daunting for the younger end of it's audience, but it may leave older readers feeling a bit unsatisfied. Of course, with up to book eight already published in Australia, I doubt that book six will be far behind this one, so you won't have to wait long to find out the fate of Macindaw.

You can tell Flanagan started this series to get his son interested in reading – with enough familiar elements to remain comfortable, but enough new ideas to keep it interesting, this book is perfectly pitched to readers who are still building in confidence, but will be enjoyed by the older end of the age spectrum too.

My thanks to the publishers for sending a copy.

If you enjoy fantasy series, Bookbag highly recommends the Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman, and the Imperial series by Mark Robson. Slightly older readers might appreciate Gifted by Donald Hounam.

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Buy The Sorcerer of the North: Book Five (Ranger's Apprentice) by John Flanagan at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy The Sorcerer of the North: Book Five (Ranger's Apprentice) by John Flanagan at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
Buy The Sorcerer of the North: Book Five (Ranger's Apprentice) by John Flanagan at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy The Sorcerer of the North: Book Five (Ranger's Apprentice) by John Flanagan at Amazon.com.

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