The Sorcerer of the North (Book Five, Ranger's Apprentice)

Will is now a fully-fledged Ranger, with his own sleepy Fief to protect. However, Will finds it a little too sleepy. The only real action he has seen is from a small group of raiding Skandians. Just as he begins to settle in, his childhood friend, courier, and sweetheart, Alyss, appears with an urgent message. Will has been given a mission in the frozen north and will receive the rest of the information at the Ranger Gathering. At the Gathering, it is revealed that in Norgate Fief, the leader of the local garrison was struck down by a strange illness. The townsfolk claim that it was the work of the Evil Sorcerer Mallakam, who lived a thousand years ago, reborn. It is Will's job to pose as a jongleur, a traveling performer, a cross between a bard and a jester, and discover who is really behind the murder. As clue leads to clue, Will begins to realize that there is more to this mystery than meets the eye. When Alyss is captured, the intel mission soon becomes a desperate rescue that may very well decide the fate of Araluen.

The Sorcerer of the North is the first book in which Will is a Ranger. The transformation seems abrupt from an apprentice with at least two years remaining, to becoming a fully-fledged Ranger. John Flanagan realized that he never wrote about how Will became a Ranger. He does so in Book 7, Erak's Ransom.

The Battle for Skandia (Book Four, Ranger's Apprentice)

After escaping from slavery, Will and Evanlyn, whose true identity is the Princess Cassandra, King Duncan's Daughter, have taken refuge in a cabin in the wilds of Skandia. Out hunting in the woods with her sling, Evanlyn is captured by passing bandits and disappears without a trace. Will, noticing her absence and fearing the worst, sets out to find her. Horace and Halt, after defeating the evil Gallican warlord Deparnieux (and numerous other challenges across Gallica), have finally made their way to the Skandian border. However,   as they cross over, they find a disturbing scene. All of the guards at the checkpoint have been slaughtered by arrows. Halt, recognizing that the arrows are Temujai in origin, rushes farther into Skandia, fearing for Will and Evanlyn's life even more. Horace, ignorant of history, asks who are the Temujai. Halt explains that they are a vicious tribe from the Eastern Steppes (Think of the Huns) that nearly conquered the world, and that they failed in their conquest due to a dish of bad clams (You'll have to read to understand) and have returned to conquer the world once more. Halt infers that they plan to use Skandia's boats to cross the Narrow Sea and take Araluen and the rest of the world; if Skandia falls, the world falls with it.


The Battle for Skandia is the only book in the series that includes the Temujai. They are mentioned in numerous other books, however, this is the only one in which they appear. 

The Icebound Land (Book Three, Ranger's Apprentice)

Morgarath is dead, killed in single combat by Horace, Will's friend and battleschool apprentice. His Wargal army lies defeated, without purpose following Morgarath's death. The Skandians have fled with Will and Evanlyn as prisoners. Halt knows he must rescue them, however, his duties as a Ranger prevent him from putting his personal feelings above the well-being of the country. His plan: relinquish his post as a Ranger and find Will. After making numerous caustic remarks about King Duncan, Halt is relieved of his duties as a Ranger and banished from the kingdom for a period of twelve months. Upon his departure, Horace intercepts him and demands to accompany him to rescue Will. After some argument, Halt relents. Will and Evanlyn are to be taken to the Skandian capital of Hallasholm to be made into slaves. First, with a storm brewing, the Skandians are forced to take refuge on the small island of Skjorghijl. With the revelation of Evanlyn's true identity as the Princess Cassandra of Araluen, King Duncan's daughter, and new knowledge of the Skandian King's oath to kill any of Duncan's family, Will and Evanlyn must make sure that her hidden identity remains a priority. The question now that looms over both their heads is soon becoming a reality: What will happen to them when they finally reach Skandia?

The Icebound Land is the first of two books in the ten part series to revolve around Skandia. 

The Burning Bridge (Book Two, Ranger's Apprentice)

The battle against the Kalkara is over. Both of Morgarath's monstrous assassins are dead. Halt, Will, Baron Arald, and Sir Rodney all survived, not unscathed, but alive. Sent to the neighboring nation of Celtica as an emissary, Will, his friend and Battleschool apprentice, Horace, and Halt's former apprentice, Gilan, find a very dire situation. All of the villages of Celtica have either been destroyed or abandoned. The situation worsens when a young girl named Evanlyn, a survivor, reveals that the Wargals, servants of Morgarath, were the culprits. Gilan leaves Will, Horace and Evanlyn to report to King Duncan what they have discovered. As they wait for Gilan's return, a Wargal raiding party passes them, prisoners in tow. The group simply cannot miss this golden opportunity to find Morgarath's base of operations. After miles of trailing the Wargals, they make a startling discovery. Morgarath has formed an alliance with the Skandians, a fierce nation of men from the north, and is building a bridge across the impassible fissure that separates them from Araluen. To stop the imminent invasion, Will must act quickly and do the one thing he can. Burn the bridge.

The Burning Bridge is the last book that features Wargals and Morgarath. John Flanagan also introduces the Skandians in this book, whom he also features in books 3 through 7, and book 10.

The Ruins of Gorlan (Book One, Ranger's Apprentice)

Will is a orphan, a ward in Castle Redmont in the Kingdom of Araluen. He dreams of becoming a warrior, a knight, to train at Redmont's Battleschool and do heroic deeds. After all, his father, whom he never knew, was a brave and valiant warrior. However, on the day that he will be apprenticed to one of the Castle's trademasters, Will is rejected from Battleschool, and by all other trademasters. Instead, he is accepted as the Apprentice to Halt, Redmont's Ranger. As far as Will is concerned, Rangers perform black magic, hide in tree trunks, and are practically useless. Unbeknownst to Will, Rangers are actually the elite force of fifty archers that secretly protect the kingdom and represent Araluen in foreign affairs. Dismayed, Will has no choice but to become Halt's Apprentice. Slowly, Halt and Will form a bond, not quite master-apprentice, but one that is more like father-son. Will soon learns that being a Ranger is far more than Sorcery, especially now that Morgarath, the Lord of Rain and Night, is rising once more. If he isn't stopped, he will crush Araluen and all that it represents.

Ranger's Apprentice is an excellent book, filled with suspense, action, mythical beasts, medieval warfare and, of course, archery :-). John Flanagan creates a perfect blend of action, romance and 'rest periods' filled to the brim with cold rations and hot coffee. I highly recommend this book and the series.