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Ranger's Apprentice: The Royal Ranger #7
Ambush at Sorato
Will and his apprentice, Maddie, are in Toscana to help with negotiations between the Toscans and the Arridi. When a scout brings word that their old enemies the Temujai are moving into Toscana, Will and Maddie leap into action, knowing that a Temujai advance is always bad news. To have any kind of chance, Will must convince another former foe, the Genovesans, to contribute crossbowmen to the fight – but the mercenary Genovesans require payment. A trap is set for the Temujai in the valley of Sorato, but can Will and his uneasy new allies make sure the Temujai fall for it?
244 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 12, 2024
About the author
John Flanagan
80 books8,862 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
For mysteries by this same author, see John A. Flanagan.
John Flanagan grew up in Sydney, Australia, hoping to be a writer. It wasn't until he wrote a highly uncomplimentary poem about a senior executive at the agency where he worked, however, that his talent was revealed. It turned out one of the company directors agreed with John's assessment of the executive, and happily agreed to train John in copywriting.
After writing advertising copy for the next two decades, John teamed with an old friend to develop a television sitcom, Hey Dad!, which went on to air for eight years.
John began writing Ranger's Apprentice for his son, Michael, ten years ago, and is still hard at work on the series.
He currently lives in a suburb of Manly, Australia, with his wife. In addition to their son, they have two grown daughters and four grandsons.
For mysteries by this same author, see John A. Flanagan.
John Flanagan grew up in Sydney, Australia, hoping to be a writer. It wasn't until he wrote a highly uncomplimentary poem about a senior executive at the agency where he worked, however, that his talent was revealed. It turned out one of the company directors agreed with John's assessment of the executive, and happily agreed to train John in copywriting.
After writing advertising copy for the next two decades, John teamed with an old friend to develop a television sitcom, Hey Dad!, which went on to air for eight years.
John began writing Ranger's Apprentice for his son, Michael, ten years ago, and is still hard at work on the series.
He currently lives in a suburb of Manly, Australia, with his wife. In addition to their son, they have two grown daughters and four grandsons.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
October 16, 2024
OMG that ending!!! My heart practically jumped out of my chest haha. I need some time to recover xd but although this was an unusual volume, solely about war strategy and defending a country, I really enjoyed it!
October 7, 2024
Don’t get me wrong, I loved this book. But I do miss the banter between the rangers. The past books have been: war, war and war.
I miss the old banter of just will and halt talking. Halt teaching stuff to will. The yearly rangers get together. Their jokes and all.
We barely have gotten to see that with Maddie. I hope the next book will be more like that. Because that is what makes the books feel like home.
I miss the old banter of just will and halt talking. Halt teaching stuff to will. The yearly rangers get together. Their jokes and all.
We barely have gotten to see that with Maddie. I hope the next book will be more like that. Because that is what makes the books feel like home.
Read
July 15, 2024Nie jestem w stanie ocenić tego na konkretną ilość gwiazdek 🤷♀️ Ta część nie będzie jedną z moich ulubionych, ale nadal pałam wielkim sentymentem i miłością do tej serii. Dobrze było wrócić po dłuższej przerwie szkoda tylko, że akcje skrócono do minimum.
October 8, 2024
Decent book, bit of a shame because it's far below my reading level but I can't miss out on new books from my fav series when I was a child :)
June 19, 2024
Jedna z najlepszych części 🤌👌🤩
I dobrze wiedzieć, że to nie koniec 🥳🥳
Podoba mi się strona, w którą to zmierza 👌👌🏹🏹🏹⚔️🗡
I dobrze wiedzieć, że to nie koniec 🥳🥳
Podoba mi się strona, w którą to zmierza 👌👌🏹🏹🏹⚔️🗡
July 13, 2024
tak mnie boli że z każdym kolejnym tomem tracę trochę miłości do tej serii
September 24, 2024
w porownaniu z innymi czesciami dosc slabe, ale i tak kochamm
July 4, 2024
*długie westchnięcie*
Ta seria jest dla mnie zbyt ważna, żeby postawić taką ocenę i po prostu zamknąć aplikację, więc lecimy. Zacznę od ogromnej zalety. Podobało mi się zwrócenie uwagi na nierówności między stanami i wskazanie na konsekwencje tego dla uciskających. Miło też było spotkać się ponownie z Selethenem.
A teraz umówmy się, "Zwiadowcy" nigdy nie byli wybitnym dziełem literatury, ale zdobyli sobie rzeszę fanów wartką akcją, emocjonującą przygodą i cudownymi relacjami, więziami między bohaterami. Te punkty chcę poruszyć.
Wartka akcja jest bardzo ważna, zwłaszcza w książkach przygodowych jak ta. Okazuje się, że może być aż nazbyt wartka, co nie działa na korzyść książki. Od ważnego wydarzenia, do ważnego wydarzenia. Żadnych retardacji (które naprawdę są potrzebne i nawet Homer o tym wiedział! (jeśli naprawdę istniał, oczywiście)). Co więcej, wszystko dzieje się za krótko. Książka została okrojona do minimum, bohaterom zbyt łatwo przychodzą zwycięstwa. Przez to w ogóle nie byłam w stanie zaangażować się w historię. Kolejne wydarzenia po prostu się działy i wiedziałam, że zaraz dziać się przestaną i zaczną się kolejne. Jedną z cech powieści jest wielowątkowość. Pod tym względem czułam się, jakbym czytała długie opowiadanie.
Kolejna rzecz, co stało się z bohaterami? Teoretycznie wiodącą postacią w tym cyklu jest Maddie. W tym tomie była zaledwie tłem, Mat'zaka było znacznie więcej. Cały czas miałam wrażenie, że Will nie jest sobą. Pisałam też o tym w recenzji poprzedniego tomu, ale ich relacja n i e i s t n i e j e. Spodziewałam się, że Maddie stanie się dla Willa córką, której nigdy nie miał, tak jak Will był takim synem dla Halta. Raz było powiedziane, że Will nie chciał, żeby coś jej się stało, ale tego zupełnie nie widać. Zabrakło jakichkolwiek dialogów, które pogłębiałyby relacje między bohaterami, nie tylko tą dwójką.
Czy przeczytam następny tom, jak tylko wyjdzie? Na sto procent. Może jestem naiwna, ale nie przestaję wierzyć, że seria wróci do dawnego poziomu.
Ta seria jest dla mnie zbyt ważna, żeby postawić taką ocenę i po prostu zamknąć aplikację, więc lecimy. Zacznę od ogromnej zalety. Podobało mi się zwrócenie uwagi na nierówności między stanami i wskazanie na konsekwencje tego dla uciskających. Miło też było spotkać się ponownie z Selethenem.
A teraz umówmy się, "Zwiadowcy" nigdy nie byli wybitnym dziełem literatury, ale zdobyli sobie rzeszę fanów wartką akcją, emocjonującą przygodą i cudownymi relacjami, więziami między bohaterami. Te punkty chcę poruszyć.
Wartka akcja jest bardzo ważna, zwłaszcza w książkach przygodowych jak ta. Okazuje się, że może być aż nazbyt wartka, co nie działa na korzyść książki. Od ważnego wydarzenia, do ważnego wydarzenia. Żadnych retardacji (które naprawdę są potrzebne i nawet Homer o tym wiedział! (jeśli naprawdę istniał, oczywiście)). Co więcej, wszystko dzieje się za krótko. Książka została okrojona do minimum, bohaterom zbyt łatwo przychodzą zwycięstwa. Przez to w ogóle nie byłam w stanie zaangażować się w historię. Kolejne wydarzenia po prostu się działy i wiedziałam, że zaraz dziać się przestaną i zaczną się kolejne. Jedną z cech powieści jest wielowątkowość. Pod tym względem czułam się, jakbym czytała długie opowiadanie.
Kolejna rzecz, co stało się z bohaterami? Teoretycznie wiodącą postacią w tym cyklu jest Maddie. W tym tomie była zaledwie tłem, Mat'zaka było znacznie więcej. Cały czas miałam wrażenie, że Will nie jest sobą. Pisałam też o tym w recenzji poprzedniego tomu, ale ich relacja n i e i s t n i e j e. Spodziewałam się, że Maddie stanie się dla Willa córką, której nigdy nie miał, tak jak Will był takim synem dla Halta. Raz było powiedziane, że Will nie chciał, żeby coś jej się stało, ale tego zupełnie nie widać. Zabrakło jakichkolwiek dialogów, które pogłębiałyby relacje między bohaterami, nie tylko tą dwójką.
Czy przeczytam następny tom, jak tylko wyjdzie? Na sto procent. Może jestem naiwna, ale nie przestaję wierzyć, że seria wróci do dawnego poziomu.
July 9, 2024
Kolejny tom Zwiadowców fabularnie nie zaskakuje - te same postaci, te same miejsca, ci sami wrogowie. Niemniej to nadal ci sami Zwiadowcy, którzy bawią i umilają czas niezależnie od tomu i wieku czytelnika.
Tym razem Will ze swoją uczennicą biorą udział w pokazie 'zbrojeń' dwóch państw, z nadzieją, że w przyszłości połączą one siły i uzupełnią słabe strony swoich sojuszników. Sytuacja zmienia się wraz ze zwojem dostarczonym przez zwiadowcę jednego z przywódców, w którym zawarte są informacje o dosyć licznej kawalerii naruszającej granice państwa. Will rozpoznaje w opisie wrogów Temudżeinów, którzy zaszli mu za skórę już wiele lat temu i razem z Maddie decyduje się ukrócić ich działania, dając im do zrozumienia, że nie mają szans na najazd.
Książka nastawiona głównie na działania 'militarne', gdzie raz jeszcze widzimy zwiadowcze popisy bohaterów i ich walkę o spokój. Klasycznie poza Maddie i Willem, główną bohaterką staje się kawa, pita przez bohaterów litrami (z miodem oczywiście!).
Tak jak kilka ostatnich tomów - nic specjalnie zaskakującego. No ale to nadal Zwiadowcy, ciężko nie polecić!
Tym razem Will ze swoją uczennicą biorą udział w pokazie 'zbrojeń' dwóch państw, z nadzieją, że w przyszłości połączą one siły i uzupełnią słabe strony swoich sojuszników. Sytuacja zmienia się wraz ze zwojem dostarczonym przez zwiadowcę jednego z przywódców, w którym zawarte są informacje o dosyć licznej kawalerii naruszającej granice państwa. Will rozpoznaje w opisie wrogów Temudżeinów, którzy zaszli mu za skórę już wiele lat temu i razem z Maddie decyduje się ukrócić ich działania, dając im do zrozumienia, że nie mają szans na najazd.
Książka nastawiona głównie na działania 'militarne', gdzie raz jeszcze widzimy zwiadowcze popisy bohaterów i ich walkę o spokój. Klasycznie poza Maddie i Willem, główną bohaterką staje się kawa, pita przez bohaterów litrami (z miodem oczywiście!).
Tak jak kilka ostatnich tomów - nic specjalnie zaskakującego. No ale to nadal Zwiadowcy, ciężko nie polecić!
August 14, 2024
90% tej książki to opisy działań wojennych, wszystko dzieje się szybko, chłodno i bez emocji, a liczba wymienionych zdań między Willem a Maddie nie przekracza 5
Uwielbiam tę serię, wiadomo że przeczytam kolejną część, chociaż nadzieja na utrzymanie poziomu z pierwszych tomów całkowicie już we mnie umarła
A, no i nie było Halta (a ja kocham Halta)
Uwielbiam tę serię, wiadomo że przeczytam kolejną część, chociaż nadzieja na utrzymanie poziomu z pierwszych tomów całkowicie już we mnie umarła
A, no i nie było Halta (a ja kocham Halta)
July 29, 2024
Oh gosh, I'm back at it again. The second Royal Ranger book in a row that's breaking my "I never normally write reviews" thing. Again, This review is personal and you should make your own decision buying this book. Consider this a place only to vent my frustrations.
After my extremely negative review of the disastrous Arazan's Wolves, I'm back again venting my absolute disappointment. What is going on with this series now?
My problem with this book is really, boiled entirely down to just one thing: Where is Maddie?
We're seven books into this series now, named the Royal Ranger for Maddie, the princess ranger. But you wouldn't know it, since Ambush at Sorato is a book about Will. Everyone else is accessory. Now, I like Will, but Maddie, the main character of this book and series, gets maybe 10 lines of dialog in the whole book. She does nothing. If she wasn't in this story, nothing would change. She's already not in most scenes. (Even that scene with the scouts, what would have changed if they hadn't chased Maddie? I suppose without it, we wouldn't have got any rangering at all. Which is sad.)
Other secondary characters barely get any more screen time than that, but it is still more than our "main" character Maddie. Selethen makes a return from Erak's Randsom in the first series, and appearences in Brotherband, which I hope you've read, because otherwise Selethen is not a character, just a walking and talking excuse to have cavalry in the story.
There's also a Toscan general, Aquilifer, who I think was there. He doesn't do much either. I can't remember a single memorable thing about him.
Our two villains, the Temujai general and the Genosovan crossbow commander both get more page time, more dialogue and more characterization than Maddie (Or anyone else besides Will). They have arcs, some amount of texture and personality. They get to interact with Will and the other characters. I don't think either of them ever speak to Maddie or interact with her. Could be wrong, but if it was there it mustn't have left an impression on me.
There is yet again, similar to Arazan's Wolves, no apprenticing taking place. I don't think there's a single teaching moment at all. Why is Maddie even still an apprentice if Will does everything anyway?
We're seven books in and I don't even know where Maddie is at in her apprenticeship. She was, third? Fourth year in the Red Fox duology, but since then that plot has been completely forgotten. Where's my story about Maddie being a cool adult ranger solving problems on her own? Or a story about how her unique perceptive as a young ranger or a royal, or even the first female ranger, affects her, her worldview, her character, or how any of that even matters. Because it's not present in this book or any of the recent books.
At least there was no Magic in this one, I suppose.
I don't know how to articulate my frustration properly. I get the impression that Flanagan just doesn't know what to do or where to take this story. The thought has crossed my mind that it's even a Ghost Writer for the last few books, which is really harsh, I know, but I just can't find any of his earlier love and care in this anymore. I've been reading through Brotherband recently, and the difference is so stark it's just, odd. As a female reader, I know Flanagan has always had a complicated relationship with his female characters, and now I'm wondering if he's being forced to write these by his publisher when he wants to write male characters again. Or maybe I'm just being worn out by it.
In summary, I know this was an intensely personal and rather rambling review, but like I ended my previous review, this book was not great. It wasn't trash, it wasn't terrible, but it was boring. It's like asking an AI to write the plot to a Ranger's Apprentice book, trained on the first series so it forgot Maddie exists. A pastiche of a ranger's apprentice story, going through the motions, with no substance at all.
I truly hope this series picks up. I have such fondness for this world, these characters (normally...). I finished my Arazan's Wolves review by saying I eagerly awaited where this series could go, and that is still true. But something needs to change. I can't wait to see what Maddie does when she gets to be an actual character again, but I'm starting to lose hope that will happen.
After my extremely negative review of the disastrous Arazan's Wolves, I'm back again venting my absolute disappointment. What is going on with this series now?
My problem with this book is really, boiled entirely down to just one thing: Where is Maddie?
We're seven books into this series now, named the Royal Ranger for Maddie, the princess ranger. But you wouldn't know it, since Ambush at Sorato is a book about Will. Everyone else is accessory. Now, I like Will, but Maddie, the main character of this book and series, gets maybe 10 lines of dialog in the whole book. She does nothing. If she wasn't in this story, nothing would change. She's already not in most scenes. (Even that scene with the scouts, what would have changed if they hadn't chased Maddie? I suppose without it, we wouldn't have got any rangering at all. Which is sad.)
Other secondary characters barely get any more screen time than that, but it is still more than our "main" character Maddie. Selethen makes a return from Erak's Randsom in the first series, and appearences in Brotherband, which I hope you've read, because otherwise Selethen is not a character, just a walking and talking excuse to have cavalry in the story.
There's also a Toscan general, Aquilifer, who I think was there. He doesn't do much either. I can't remember a single memorable thing about him.
Our two villains, the Temujai general and the Genosovan crossbow commander both get more page time, more dialogue and more characterization than Maddie (Or anyone else besides Will). They have arcs, some amount of texture and personality. They get to interact with Will and the other characters. I don't think either of them ever speak to Maddie or interact with her. Could be wrong, but if it was there it mustn't have left an impression on me.
There is yet again, similar to Arazan's Wolves, no apprenticing taking place. I don't think there's a single teaching moment at all. Why is Maddie even still an apprentice if Will does everything anyway?
We're seven books in and I don't even know where Maddie is at in her apprenticeship. She was, third? Fourth year in the Red Fox duology, but since then that plot has been completely forgotten. Where's my story about Maddie being a cool adult ranger solving problems on her own? Or a story about how her unique perceptive as a young ranger or a royal, or even the first female ranger, affects her, her worldview, her character, or how any of that even matters. Because it's not present in this book or any of the recent books.
At least there was no Magic in this one, I suppose.
I don't know how to articulate my frustration properly. I get the impression that Flanagan just doesn't know what to do or where to take this story. The thought has crossed my mind that it's even a Ghost Writer for the last few books, which is really harsh, I know, but I just can't find any of his earlier love and care in this anymore. I've been reading through Brotherband recently, and the difference is so stark it's just, odd. As a female reader, I know Flanagan has always had a complicated relationship with his female characters, and now I'm wondering if he's being forced to write these by his publisher when he wants to write male characters again. Or maybe I'm just being worn out by it.
In summary, I know this was an intensely personal and rather rambling review, but like I ended my previous review, this book was not great. It wasn't trash, it wasn't terrible, but it was boring. It's like asking an AI to write the plot to a Ranger's Apprentice book, trained on the first series so it forgot Maddie exists. A pastiche of a ranger's apprentice story, going through the motions, with no substance at all.
I truly hope this series picks up. I have such fondness for this world, these characters (normally...). I finished my Arazan's Wolves review by saying I eagerly awaited where this series could go, and that is still true. But something needs to change. I can't wait to see what Maddie does when she gets to be an actual character again, but I'm starting to lose hope that will happen.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2024
moje inner child zostało zaspokojone
stosunkowo malo maddie - a to na plus:)
ale serce nadal mi się kraja, gdy myślę o tym, że bohaterowie mojej ukochanej serii z dzieciństwa są już dorośli (co za tym idzie - ja tak samo… ale ciii)
stosunkowo malo maddie - a to na plus:)
ale serce nadal mi się kraja, gdy myślę o tym, że bohaterowie mojej ukochanej serii z dzieciństwa są już dorośli (co za tym idzie - ja tak samo… ale ciii)
November 16, 2024
Seventh in The Ranger's Apprentice: The Royal Ranger historical fiction series for Middle-grade Readers and revolving around Will Treaty and Maddie. The focus is on a diplomatic mission in Toscana.
The Royal Ranger series is a spin-off from The Ranger’s Apprentice and entwines with Flanagan’s The Brotherband Chronicles series. If you're interested, there is a chronological listing of the three series of books on my website.
My Take
This story is all about alliances and the use of strategies to achieve them. It’s definitely a warning to not become complacent.
It’s also includes examples of kindness, and yes, those of betrayal.
We learn quite a bit about the various peoples in Ambush at Sorato, and all through Flanagan's use of third person global subjective point-of-view from a variety of perspectives. Naturally, the most prominent perspectives are those of Will Treaty and Maddie.
I do adore Ranger horses. They’re so clever. And they disprove the disdain the riders of more elegant horses. You’ll truly be impressed by Maddie’s and Bumper’s evasion of the scouts she encounters. Phew. Plus, Flanagan’s inclusion of girls in his stories is part of what impresses me and is a good role model for girls.
It’s cute that Brasos is so impressed by Will and Maddie’s skill at camping.
Each country has its strengths and weaknesses, and the good guys work together to incorporate the best of each and bolster their weaknesses. A nice example of how cooperation can achieve a lot. There’s also a useful display of how lack of cooperation and hubris can lose the day, due to one man’s shortsightedness.
Flanagan incorporates bits of history and countries in our world, albeit with different names, which I could hope would inspire young readers to delve deeper into our own histories. Parents could have some fun with their kids in identifying the different countries and their cultural and technological hallmarks.
There’s plenty of wartime action as well as friendship with a simplistic range of characters. Although I did enjoy them.
Hoo-hoo, Will packs quite the threat at the end, although the archduke is still a jerk with cheaters — and another good example of how kindness pays off!
The Story
It’s an exploratory invasion to assess the defenses of Toscana. One that has a great chance of success in the peaceful, rich country.
The Characters
Will Treaty is an Araluen Ranger riding Tug and mentoring Maddie, the princess and heir to the throne of Araluen, who rides Bumper. King Duncan is her grandfather. Halt had been the head of the Rangers, which is an elite special forces unit working as the eyes and ears of the kingdom who answer only to the king.
The Heron is the ship designed by Hal in The Brotherband Chronicles.
Arrida
Seley el'then commands the Arridian cavalry ( Erak’s Ransom , 5 [7 in publication order]); Al Sucra is his second-in-command.
Toscana
General Aquilifer commands the Fourth Legion of the Toscan army, which has an excellent heavy infantry. Lieutenant Lucius Maximus Brasos, a staff officer to General Aquilifer, rides Juno.
Fortuna is a walled town where Tertius Caligus is the commander of its defenses. Marcellus Vulponius owns a farm he successfully defends; he had served as First Spear in the Eleventh Legion, the Leopardi, who had been commanded by General Iovanus. Sorato is another walled town with a more discerning commander.
Genovesa is . . .
. . . a city-state to the west, known for their mercenaries and ruled by Archduke Ricardo. Sergeant Latanza. Captain Peloni is an idiot. Luigi is a peasant worker assigned to as a loader. Rocco is a shield bearer, but I think he’s also a loader.
Skandia is a country in the north where Araluen negotiated a treaty. Iberia is not trustworthy. Alpina shares a border with Tosca.
The Temujai are . . .
. . . a terrifying nation of highly skilled warriors of light cavalry ruled by Sha’shan. General Mat’zak is in charge of the reconnaissance of Toscan defenses. Pat S’ekar is a Kaijin, a sharpshooter. Lin Xiang is an engineer from Cathay. Tan’pet. The Temujai know the Rangers as the Greencloaks.
The Helvetican Bourse is a banking firm in Helvetica, Alpina.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a misty background of grays and yellow greens as crossbowmen, in the back, fire on the Temujai in the front with Maddie in an orange tunic and brown trousers tucked into boots, her green cloak flaring around her, as she does battle with two knives in the middle. At the top is the series info in a black-shadowed white and the sub-series info below it in a black-shadowed yellow. Below Maddie’s knees is the title in white with an info blurb in white below it. The author’s name is at the very bottom in a subtle yellow to light yellow gradient.
The title refers to a turnabout on the enemy with an Ambush at Sorato.
The Royal Ranger series is a spin-off from The Ranger’s Apprentice and entwines with Flanagan’s The Brotherband Chronicles series. If you're interested, there is a chronological listing of the three series of books on my website.
My Take
This story is all about alliances and the use of strategies to achieve them. It’s definitely a warning to not become complacent.
It’s also includes examples of kindness, and yes, those of betrayal.
We learn quite a bit about the various peoples in Ambush at Sorato, and all through Flanagan's use of third person global subjective point-of-view from a variety of perspectives. Naturally, the most prominent perspectives are those of Will Treaty and Maddie.
I do adore Ranger horses. They’re so clever. And they disprove the disdain the riders of more elegant horses. You’ll truly be impressed by Maddie’s and Bumper’s evasion of the scouts she encounters. Phew. Plus, Flanagan’s inclusion of girls in his stories is part of what impresses me and is a good role model for girls.
It’s cute that Brasos is so impressed by Will and Maddie’s skill at camping.
Each country has its strengths and weaknesses, and the good guys work together to incorporate the best of each and bolster their weaknesses. A nice example of how cooperation can achieve a lot. There’s also a useful display of how lack of cooperation and hubris can lose the day, due to one man’s shortsightedness.
Flanagan incorporates bits of history and countries in our world, albeit with different names, which I could hope would inspire young readers to delve deeper into our own histories. Parents could have some fun with their kids in identifying the different countries and their cultural and technological hallmarks.
There’s plenty of wartime action as well as friendship with a simplistic range of characters. Although I did enjoy them.
Hoo-hoo, Will packs quite the threat at the end, although the archduke is still a jerk with cheaters — and another good example of how kindness pays off!
The Story
It’s an exploratory invasion to assess the defenses of Toscana. One that has a great chance of success in the peaceful, rich country.
The Characters
Will Treaty is an Araluen Ranger riding Tug and mentoring Maddie, the princess and heir to the throne of Araluen, who rides Bumper. King Duncan is her grandfather. Halt had been the head of the Rangers, which is an elite special forces unit working as the eyes and ears of the kingdom who answer only to the king.
The Heron is the ship designed by Hal in The Brotherband Chronicles.
Arrida
Seley el'then commands the Arridian cavalry ( Erak’s Ransom , 5 [7 in publication order]); Al Sucra is his second-in-command.
Toscana
General Aquilifer commands the Fourth Legion of the Toscan army, which has an excellent heavy infantry. Lieutenant Lucius Maximus Brasos, a staff officer to General Aquilifer, rides Juno.
Fortuna is a walled town where Tertius Caligus is the commander of its defenses. Marcellus Vulponius owns a farm he successfully defends; he had served as First Spear in the Eleventh Legion, the Leopardi, who had been commanded by General Iovanus. Sorato is another walled town with a more discerning commander.
Genovesa is . . .
. . . a city-state to the west, known for their mercenaries and ruled by Archduke Ricardo. Sergeant Latanza. Captain Peloni is an idiot. Luigi is a peasant worker assigned to as a loader. Rocco is a shield bearer, but I think he’s also a loader.
Skandia is a country in the north where Araluen negotiated a treaty. Iberia is not trustworthy. Alpina shares a border with Tosca.
The Temujai are . . .
. . . a terrifying nation of highly skilled warriors of light cavalry ruled by Sha’shan. General Mat’zak is in charge of the reconnaissance of Toscan defenses. Pat S’ekar is a Kaijin, a sharpshooter. Lin Xiang is an engineer from Cathay. Tan’pet. The Temujai know the Rangers as the Greencloaks.
The Helvetican Bourse is a banking firm in Helvetica, Alpina.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a misty background of grays and yellow greens as crossbowmen, in the back, fire on the Temujai in the front with Maddie in an orange tunic and brown trousers tucked into boots, her green cloak flaring around her, as she does battle with two knives in the middle. At the top is the series info in a black-shadowed white and the sub-series info below it in a black-shadowed yellow. Below Maddie’s knees is the title in white with an info blurb in white below it. The author’s name is at the very bottom in a subtle yellow to light yellow gradient.
The title refers to a turnabout on the enemy with an Ambush at Sorato.
August 11, 2024
This series holds a special place in my heart as I’ve been reading these books most my life.
I will admit I struggled a little with the first 2/3 and not sure if that was the book or just life getting in the way of reading time, it felt slow but not a whole lot happened, I would have loved more depth to the scenes (also trying to remember the target audience is quite young) but I loved it once we got more in to the battle stuff. It’s been left at a point where it is open for more to come after this novel and definitely would continue this series
I will admit I struggled a little with the first 2/3 and not sure if that was the book or just life getting in the way of reading time, it felt slow but not a whole lot happened, I would have loved more depth to the scenes (also trying to remember the target audience is quite young) but I loved it once we got more in to the battle stuff. It’s been left at a point where it is open for more to come after this novel and definitely would continue this series
July 22, 2024
Nie jest to niestety najlepsza książka Flanagana…
Wielki minus za to, że nie pojawia się Halt.
Wielki minus za to, że nie pojawia się Halt.
October 5, 2024
Weer een spannend boek. Alleen de boeken worden steeds dunner lijkt het wel dat is wel jammer want dan zijn ze zo snel uit en moet je weet zolang wachten op de volgende
October 15, 2024
3,5⭐️!
Dit boek was gewoon weer genieten zoals ik gewend ben, maar daardoor helaas niet écht een bijzonder verhaal en heel erg kort.
Dit boek was gewoon weer genieten zoals ik gewend ben, maar daardoor helaas niet écht een bijzonder verhaal en heel erg kort.
October 22, 2024
3.0 / 5.0
Read
September 14, 2024Czyta się bardziej jak krótkie opowiadanie niż pełna historię
November 19, 2024
5 stars because this series is a childhood favorite! I missed seeing Halt. Plot line was generally interesting but book was a bit shorter this time.
October 7, 2024
Ik mis mijn geweldige grijze jager tactieken.
June 16, 2024
Nie było to wsm aż takie złe. Mało Maddie a to się ceni.
October 8, 2024
Have you ever been disappointed by a new release in your favourite series? Because that's exactly what happened for me with this one. It felt like the main character (Maddie) was barely on the page, and so much of the content felt recycled from older books in the series.
Slight Spoilers for this book and The Emperor of Nihon-Ja:
A series issue that really comes to the forefront in this book is that Maddie feels lonely. She doesn't have anyone her age to lean on or go on adventures with. She's with her mentor, Will, and that's it. And maybe some older characters introduced in other books, like Selethen or Arald. Whereas Will had the chance to go on his adventures with Horace and Alyss and Evanlyn, and with the slightly-older Gilan, and their group dynamic was so much fun!
I know I'm not the target audience anymore (I'm in my mid-twenties instead of 12-15 years old) but I still love so many of the other books - which is why I'm still giving this a 3 stars meaning: "I liked it". I'm just disappointed, and I really hope that any further books don't disappoint me like this one did.
And for a short kid's book, it took me ages to read it because I was just so annoyed about the inconsistencies and recycled material.
Slight Spoilers for this book and The Emperor of Nihon-Ja:
A series issue that really comes to the forefront in this book is that Maddie feels lonely. She doesn't have anyone her age to lean on or go on adventures with. She's with her mentor, Will, and that's it. And maybe some older characters introduced in other books, like Selethen or Arald. Whereas Will had the chance to go on his adventures with Horace and Alyss and Evanlyn, and with the slightly-older Gilan, and their group dynamic was so much fun!
I know I'm not the target audience anymore (I'm in my mid-twenties instead of 12-15 years old) but I still love so many of the other books - which is why I'm still giving this a 3 stars meaning: "I liked it". I'm just disappointed, and I really hope that any further books don't disappoint me like this one did.
And for a short kid's book, it took me ages to read it because I was just so annoyed about the inconsistencies and recycled material.
June 22, 2024
Ta część była po prostu... poprawna. Brakowało mi jakiegoś większego rozwoju relacji między Willem a Maddie... czegoś co było między Willem a Haltem. Ich relacja wydaje się mega płaska, podobnie jak inne relacje w tej części :(((
November 10, 2024
Hello and welcome to my scathing and probably-unpopular-opinion review of Royal Ranger Book 7—or, as I like to call it: “Where Was Maddie?”
Hey John, hate to tell ya, but unfortunately your ghost writer did not serve you well with this book either :/
The short summary is that this book was short, boring, uninspired, and badly written. It reads like a Rangers apprentice fan decided to write their own fan work, but badly. There’s a scene transition that is literally just one word: “Dawn.” (I actually laughed out loud at that one). And the person that wrote this book clearly has no idea how to write or what to do with female characters. The action was stilted, poorly executed, and boring to the point of painfulness. This was not a very long book, and yet, I was relieved when it was finally over.
Now, to get into the specifics: the biggest and most outrageous problem is that Maddie is barely in this book. AT ALL. This is supposed to be one of the later and defining books in a series about HER apprenticeship to become a ranger. And yet, literally huge chunks of chapters and plot lines are from Will’s POV (her mentor), the enemy army’s POV, the other Allied army’s POV, etc. So much of the book did not involve the Rangers and even less of that involved Maddie. When she was actually there, she barely had more than one line of dialogue that contributed nothing to the story. She only spoke a total of 22 times (yes, I counted), which may seem like a lot, but it was magnitudes less than any of the other characters and this is supposed to be MADDIE’S 200+ page book. When she actually does speak, she’s either asking Will what they’re going to do next or literally just relaying things that Will already told her. There was one scene where Will and Maddie are speaking with one of the Toscan generals and Will and the general talk for so long that it was literally 10 pages before Maddie was mentioned again and I remembered that she was even in the scene. She had no original thoughts ideas or actions and it’s like the writer completely forgot about her or had no interest in her character.
There’s only one scene where she’s alone and acting by herself and it’s basically her trying to escape from two calvary men. Her inner thoughts are “damn, I’m trapped, what am I going to do?” Like isn’t she supposed to have learned anything in her (presumably) seven years of apprenticeship ???? We have no idea where she is in her journey compared to the original Ranger’s Apprentice series where Will had clear milestones in his ranger training. With Maddie, it’s like the author completely forgot what her character is supposed to be doing. Meanwhile, Will has many scenes negotiating the hire of archers, overseeing the construction of shields and other defenses, training over a hundred soldiers in new methods of combat, etc. All while Maddie runs away from two calvary men and does nothing else. It’s Will planning and Will leading and Will deciding who’s going to do what and who’s going to go where. He speaks for Maddie all the time and never seems to be doing any teaching. She’s literally just his young assistant that follows him around, does nothing, has no thoughts, and barely speaks. She’s written as such a submissive and unintelligent character which is really insulting and unfortunate, especially bc I feel like her character did have some defining moments of ingenuity earlier in the series.
There’s one line that actually made me cackle because it so perfectly describes the entirety of Maddie’s character in this book: “He turned to Maddie, who was an interested spectator to this conversation.” Like LOL. That’s all she did the entire time. Stand there and watch in silence.
Anyway, there were plenty of other character and writing issues that made this book pretty unreadable. Like, for example, some of the dialogue is repetitive and just bad. Will‘s new favorite phrase is apparently “we’re burning daylight.” He says it like four times and it feels like an excuse for the author not writing more lines of dialogue (just have them say the same thing over and over, I guess). The action and combat scenes were also not great; the only reason they ever took up more than one page was because people would accidentally miss their shots or rush things and end up dragging out the conflict just bc of their mistakes. A significant plot point is that Selethen gets captured but that’s only because his horse happened to randomly trip in a hole and fall over. Like wtf ???
Another thing is the characterization was very odd and inconsistent. Like what the absolute hell was going on with Will’s rage quit at the end of the book? I get that he would probably be angry about the archers looting the fallen enemies, but Will literally goes on like a ranting tirade about it. Will would never loose his marbles and throw a rage fit like that. It was such a weird and shocking scene and it’s obvious this author doesn’t understand him at all. And then Will spends an oddly large amount of time at the end of the book traveling to another country to re-negotiate the fee for hiring these archers because he’s still angry about how they performed. Like, Will would never be interested in haggling over hiring fees for some other country’s soldiers. And then the book ends with Will having a completely unnecessary shooting duel where he gets to show off his Ranger skills and has to take down and KILL the commander of the archers just because the commander feels slighted by Will getting angry at him. Like, since when does Will get irritated and enter pointless duels just to murder annoying army commanders ??? Like wtf ??? (and I have nothing to say about Maddie’s character because she literally didn’t have one. And this is all happening in MADDIE’S book btw, just in case you forgot. I know I certainly did)
SOOOOO: now that you’ve read all that, I think you can see why I have issues with the last couple books in this series.
In case you’re interested, I’ve seen some suggestions in the reviews on what’s been going wrong lately with John Flanagan. Some ideas are: Flanagan is being forced to write a female character from his publisher/someone else when he just wants to write male ones. OR: He’s completely lost his love for the series and can’t be bothered enough to write these people with the same care and compassion he did in years prior. OR: my personal belief, he’s literally had a ghost writer for the past 2 books and it’s not even Flanagan at all. This is the idea I support the most because in the first few Royal Ranger books, I feel like Flanagan at least had some care and interest in writing Maddie as a female character and how that impacts her unique experience as the first female ranger in the corps. Now, Will has completely lost the apprenticing plot and there are no teachable moments for Maddie, she has no growth or development, and she’s basically just an accessory to Will. There’s also all the blatantly terrible issues with pacing, characterization, dialogue, plot, etc. Not to mention the complete violation in the previous book of the mechanics of the world that Flanagan spent over an entire series developing (yes I’m talking about the literal magic in Arazan’s wolves). These last 2 books have felt like poorly-directed AI or (bad) fan-made stories. I would honestly be surprised if Flanagan is still writing these at all.
Welp. It wouldn’t be one of my special interests if the franchise didn’t implode and absolutely destroy itself with its newer installments. I’ll just end it here with this: that ghost writer would do well never to reveal their name. I can’t imagine they would get much positive recognition for these last couple of works.
Hey John, hate to tell ya, but unfortunately your ghost writer did not serve you well with this book either :/
The short summary is that this book was short, boring, uninspired, and badly written. It reads like a Rangers apprentice fan decided to write their own fan work, but badly. There’s a scene transition that is literally just one word: “Dawn.” (I actually laughed out loud at that one). And the person that wrote this book clearly has no idea how to write or what to do with female characters. The action was stilted, poorly executed, and boring to the point of painfulness. This was not a very long book, and yet, I was relieved when it was finally over.
Now, to get into the specifics: the biggest and most outrageous problem is that Maddie is barely in this book. AT ALL. This is supposed to be one of the later and defining books in a series about HER apprenticeship to become a ranger. And yet, literally huge chunks of chapters and plot lines are from Will’s POV (her mentor), the enemy army’s POV, the other Allied army’s POV, etc. So much of the book did not involve the Rangers and even less of that involved Maddie. When she was actually there, she barely had more than one line of dialogue that contributed nothing to the story. She only spoke a total of 22 times (yes, I counted), which may seem like a lot, but it was magnitudes less than any of the other characters and this is supposed to be MADDIE’S 200+ page book. When she actually does speak, she’s either asking Will what they’re going to do next or literally just relaying things that Will already told her. There was one scene where Will and Maddie are speaking with one of the Toscan generals and Will and the general talk for so long that it was literally 10 pages before Maddie was mentioned again and I remembered that she was even in the scene. She had no original thoughts ideas or actions and it’s like the writer completely forgot about her or had no interest in her character.
There’s only one scene where she’s alone and acting by herself and it’s basically her trying to escape from two calvary men. Her inner thoughts are “damn, I’m trapped, what am I going to do?” Like isn’t she supposed to have learned anything in her (presumably) seven years of apprenticeship ???? We have no idea where she is in her journey compared to the original Ranger’s Apprentice series where Will had clear milestones in his ranger training. With Maddie, it’s like the author completely forgot what her character is supposed to be doing. Meanwhile, Will has many scenes negotiating the hire of archers, overseeing the construction of shields and other defenses, training over a hundred soldiers in new methods of combat, etc. All while Maddie runs away from two calvary men and does nothing else. It’s Will planning and Will leading and Will deciding who’s going to do what and who’s going to go where. He speaks for Maddie all the time and never seems to be doing any teaching. She’s literally just his young assistant that follows him around, does nothing, has no thoughts, and barely speaks. She’s written as such a submissive and unintelligent character which is really insulting and unfortunate, especially bc I feel like her character did have some defining moments of ingenuity earlier in the series.
There’s one line that actually made me cackle because it so perfectly describes the entirety of Maddie’s character in this book: “He turned to Maddie, who was an interested spectator to this conversation.” Like LOL. That’s all she did the entire time. Stand there and watch in silence.
Anyway, there were plenty of other character and writing issues that made this book pretty unreadable. Like, for example, some of the dialogue is repetitive and just bad. Will‘s new favorite phrase is apparently “we’re burning daylight.” He says it like four times and it feels like an excuse for the author not writing more lines of dialogue (just have them say the same thing over and over, I guess). The action and combat scenes were also not great; the only reason they ever took up more than one page was because people would accidentally miss their shots or rush things and end up dragging out the conflict just bc of their mistakes. A significant plot point is that Selethen gets captured but that’s only because his horse happened to randomly trip in a hole and fall over. Like wtf ???
Another thing is the characterization was very odd and inconsistent. Like what the absolute hell was going on with Will’s rage quit at the end of the book? I get that he would probably be angry about the archers looting the fallen enemies, but Will literally goes on like a ranting tirade about it. Will would never loose his marbles and throw a rage fit like that. It was such a weird and shocking scene and it’s obvious this author doesn’t understand him at all. And then Will spends an oddly large amount of time at the end of the book traveling to another country to re-negotiate the fee for hiring these archers because he’s still angry about how they performed. Like, Will would never be interested in haggling over hiring fees for some other country’s soldiers. And then the book ends with Will having a completely unnecessary shooting duel where he gets to show off his Ranger skills and has to take down and KILL the commander of the archers just because the commander feels slighted by Will getting angry at him. Like, since when does Will get irritated and enter pointless duels just to murder annoying army commanders ??? Like wtf ??? (and I have nothing to say about Maddie’s character because she literally didn’t have one. And this is all happening in MADDIE’S book btw, just in case you forgot. I know I certainly did)
SOOOOO: now that you’ve read all that, I think you can see why I have issues with the last couple books in this series.
In case you’re interested, I’ve seen some suggestions in the reviews on what’s been going wrong lately with John Flanagan. Some ideas are: Flanagan is being forced to write a female character from his publisher/someone else when he just wants to write male ones. OR: He’s completely lost his love for the series and can’t be bothered enough to write these people with the same care and compassion he did in years prior. OR: my personal belief, he’s literally had a ghost writer for the past 2 books and it’s not even Flanagan at all. This is the idea I support the most because in the first few Royal Ranger books, I feel like Flanagan at least had some care and interest in writing Maddie as a female character and how that impacts her unique experience as the first female ranger in the corps. Now, Will has completely lost the apprenticing plot and there are no teachable moments for Maddie, she has no growth or development, and she’s basically just an accessory to Will. There’s also all the blatantly terrible issues with pacing, characterization, dialogue, plot, etc. Not to mention the complete violation in the previous book of the mechanics of the world that Flanagan spent over an entire series developing (yes I’m talking about the literal magic in Arazan’s wolves). These last 2 books have felt like poorly-directed AI or (bad) fan-made stories. I would honestly be surprised if Flanagan is still writing these at all.
Welp. It wouldn’t be one of my special interests if the franchise didn’t implode and absolutely destroy itself with its newer installments. I’ll just end it here with this: that ghost writer would do well never to reveal their name. I can’t imagine they would get much positive recognition for these last couple of works.
August 15, 2024
Czekając na dzień premiery byłam bardzo podekscytowana choć niestety przy pierwszych stronach mój entuzjazm nieco przygasł. Nie mówię że to zła książka ale myślę że jedna z gorszych autora . Oczekiwałam akcji i dynamiki jaką zapewniał nam opis z tyłu książki ale w sumie to żadnej akcji się nie doczekałam. Brakowało mi również samych zwiadowców ponieważ ich postaci i samych interakcji było bardzo mało. Tym razem John Flanagan za bardzo skupił się na samych opisach bitewnych więc mam wrażanie że zapomniał że piszę zwiadowców. Ale jednak powiem że było kilka momentów trzymających w napięciu więc mimo wszystko nawet dobrze się bawiłam. Nie uważam żeby była to książka warta polecenia bo dla wiernych fanów zwiadowców którzy znają i pamiętają jak wyskoki poziom fundował nam autor nie będzie zadowalająca . Natomiast osoby które sięgnęły tylko po te nowsze tomy powinny być zadowolone . Podkreślę raz jeszcze że to nadal była dość dobra książka pomimo tylu wad .
October 26, 2024
'Ooit zullen we toch eens voorgoed met die Grijsgroenen moeten afrekenen.'
We zijn ondertussen maar liefst 18 boeken ver in De Grijze Jager, en al begon ik een paar jaar geleden te vrezen dat er sleet op de beproefde formule van John Flanagan te zitten, met De Hinderlaag bij Sorato bewijst hij dat dat toch niet zo is.
Toegegeven, omdat we nu in Toscana belanden (goh, waar zou dat nu op gebaseerd zijn?) voelt het een beetje aan alsof hij een lijstje heeft met alle landen die hij nog moet behandelen in de wereld van de Jagers en hij er met dit boek weer een kan afvinken, maar het is ook wel een leuke setting. De reeks speelt zich af in de vroege middeleeuwen, zo ergens in de 7e of 8e eeuw schat ik, en in Toscana zijn nog duidelijk overblijfselen van het Romeinse Rijk aanwezig, bijvoorbeeld bij de werking van het leger. Dat is tof gedaan.
Natuurlijk klopt het historisch trouwens niet helemaal; dat is al de hele reeks zo. De Arabieren (Selethen en zo) zaten in die tijd nog niet in Noord-Afrika, het zou nog eeuwen duren voor de Mongolen (de Temujai) zich zouden organiseren, centraliseren en zich expansief zouden gaan gedragen - en de Vikingen waren daar ook nog niet aan toe. Maar wat doet het er ook toe? Je kunt daar wel kritisch over zijn en het weten, maar het doet niks af aan de pret.
Het is weer een kort boek, nog eens 254 bladzijdes, dus het gaat heel snel. Tot mijn aangename verrassing gebeurt er dan ook heel wat in en is het op gezette tijden echt wel spannend. Ik had me half verwacht aan weinig van die scènes, maar ik zag bijvoorbeeld totaal niet aankomen dat . Dat was goed gevonden, want de voorbije boeken heb ik nooit het gevoel gehad dat het Will en Maddie echt moeilijk gemaakt werd. Nu wel.
De auteur laat zich ook weer eens van z'n beste tactische kant zijn bij de plannetjes die Will beraamt, zoals de hinderlaag en hoe gelaagd die ineenzit. Een paar elementen deden me denken aan Boek 4 - De Dragers van het Eikenblad, maar dat stoorde me ook niet.
Als ik één groter punt van kritiek moet geven, dan is het dat het voelt alsof Maddie zich niet erg veel meer ontwikkelt de afgelopen boeken. Ze is nog niet zo intuïtief als Will en denkt nog niet even ver na, terwijl ze toch zo stilaan op het einde van haar leertraject moet zijn, denk ik. (Krijgen we daar later nog meer info over, of ze op een gegeven moment afstudeert? En wat er daarna met haar gebeurt?) Haar rol in dit boek is ook kleiner, heb ik het gevoel, behalve in de hoofdstukken waarop ze alleen naar het zuiden afzakt om de hulptroepen te gaan halen. Verder kwam Will in dit boek meer op de voorgrond. Jammer trouwens dat er verder helemaal geen scènes met Araluenen of in Araluen in zaten, maar ja, een mens kan niet alles hebben.
Eens het grote probleem is opgelost, volgt er nog een uitsmijter in Genova die ik ook totaal niet had zien aankomen. Dat is dus wel weer erg positief. Misschien was het gewoon bedoeld om het verhaal wat langer te maken, want anders was 't wel heel kort geweest, maar het zat ook goed in elkaar en het was origineel gevonden.
Mocht je het nog niet door hebben: de Temujai zijn terug. In De Grijze Jager is het ondertussen al een tijdje geleden dat ze nog eens over de horizon zijn komen galopperen. Ik wil de hele reeks gaan herlezen, maar dat gaat even tijd kosten; jammer, want het was leuk geweest als ik Boek 4 op voorhand had kunnen lezen - blijkbaar waren de hoogste Temujai in dit verhaal aanwezig bij de invasie in Skandia, heel lang geleden ondertussen. Misschien zitten er wat parallellen in, of zelfs bekende namen, maar dat kan ik me nu dus niet meer herinneren.
Wel is geleidelijk aan duidelijk geworden dat Flanagan hen opvoert als de grote tegenstanders van de Araluenen. De epiloog laat je afvragen wat zijn plannen met ze zijn. Het is me op dit moment niet duidelijk of er nog meer boeken in de reeks gaan verschijnen, en hoeveel dan. Werkt hij langzamerhand toe naar een eindspel waarbij de Araluenen (de Grijze Jagers) lijnrecht tegenover hun zo-stilaan-toch-wel-aartsvijanden komen te staan? Dat lijkt me heel interessant, in elk geval.
8,2/10
We zijn ondertussen maar liefst 18 boeken ver in De Grijze Jager, en al begon ik een paar jaar geleden te vrezen dat er sleet op de beproefde formule van John Flanagan te zitten, met De Hinderlaag bij Sorato bewijst hij dat dat toch niet zo is.
Toegegeven, omdat we nu in Toscana belanden (goh, waar zou dat nu op gebaseerd zijn?) voelt het een beetje aan alsof hij een lijstje heeft met alle landen die hij nog moet behandelen in de wereld van de Jagers en hij er met dit boek weer een kan afvinken, maar het is ook wel een leuke setting. De reeks speelt zich af in de vroege middeleeuwen, zo ergens in de 7e of 8e eeuw schat ik, en in Toscana zijn nog duidelijk overblijfselen van het Romeinse Rijk aanwezig, bijvoorbeeld bij de werking van het leger. Dat is tof gedaan.
Natuurlijk klopt het historisch trouwens niet helemaal; dat is al de hele reeks zo. De Arabieren (Selethen en zo) zaten in die tijd nog niet in Noord-Afrika, het zou nog eeuwen duren voor de Mongolen (de Temujai) zich zouden organiseren, centraliseren en zich expansief zouden gaan gedragen - en de Vikingen waren daar ook nog niet aan toe. Maar wat doet het er ook toe? Je kunt daar wel kritisch over zijn en het weten, maar het doet niks af aan de pret.
Het is weer een kort boek, nog eens 254 bladzijdes, dus het gaat heel snel. Tot mijn aangename verrassing gebeurt er dan ook heel wat in en is het op gezette tijden echt wel spannend. Ik had me half verwacht aan weinig van die scènes, maar ik zag bijvoorbeeld totaal niet aankomen dat . Dat was goed gevonden, want de voorbije boeken heb ik nooit het gevoel gehad dat het Will en Maddie echt moeilijk gemaakt werd. Nu wel.
De auteur laat zich ook weer eens van z'n beste tactische kant zijn bij de plannetjes die Will beraamt, zoals de hinderlaag en hoe gelaagd die ineenzit. Een paar elementen deden me denken aan Boek 4 - De Dragers van het Eikenblad, maar dat stoorde me ook niet.
Als ik één groter punt van kritiek moet geven, dan is het dat het voelt alsof Maddie zich niet erg veel meer ontwikkelt de afgelopen boeken. Ze is nog niet zo intuïtief als Will en denkt nog niet even ver na, terwijl ze toch zo stilaan op het einde van haar leertraject moet zijn, denk ik. (Krijgen we daar later nog meer info over, of ze op een gegeven moment afstudeert? En wat er daarna met haar gebeurt?) Haar rol in dit boek is ook kleiner, heb ik het gevoel, behalve in de hoofdstukken waarop ze alleen naar het zuiden afzakt om de hulptroepen te gaan halen. Verder kwam Will in dit boek meer op de voorgrond. Jammer trouwens dat er verder helemaal geen scènes met Araluenen of in Araluen in zaten, maar ja, een mens kan niet alles hebben.
Eens het grote probleem is opgelost, volgt er nog een uitsmijter in Genova die ik ook totaal niet had zien aankomen. Dat is dus wel weer erg positief. Misschien was het gewoon bedoeld om het verhaal wat langer te maken, want anders was 't wel heel kort geweest, maar het zat ook goed in elkaar en het was origineel gevonden.
Mocht je het nog niet door hebben: de Temujai zijn terug. In De Grijze Jager is het ondertussen al een tijdje geleden dat ze nog eens over de horizon zijn komen galopperen. Ik wil de hele reeks gaan herlezen, maar dat gaat even tijd kosten; jammer, want het was leuk geweest als ik Boek 4 op voorhand had kunnen lezen - blijkbaar waren de hoogste Temujai in dit verhaal aanwezig bij de invasie in Skandia, heel lang geleden ondertussen. Misschien zitten er wat parallellen in, of zelfs bekende namen, maar dat kan ik me nu dus niet meer herinneren.
Wel is geleidelijk aan duidelijk geworden dat Flanagan hen opvoert als de grote tegenstanders van de Araluenen. De epiloog laat je afvragen wat zijn plannen met ze zijn. Het is me op dit moment niet duidelijk of er nog meer boeken in de reeks gaan verschijnen, en hoeveel dan. Werkt hij langzamerhand toe naar een eindspel waarbij de Araluenen (de Grijze Jagers) lijnrecht tegenover hun zo-stilaan-toch-wel-aartsvijanden komen te staan? Dat lijkt me heel interessant, in elk geval.
8,2/10
September 27, 2024
What worked:
The previous book introduced a magical element to the series but it’s nice to see the author hasn’t included it this time. The “magic” of the series is found in the Rangers’ unbelievable talents, intelligence, and tactical skills. Tales of the Rangers have been exaggerated into folklore over time and they’ve reached mystical status. King Duncan often sends them on diplomatic, as in this book. The opening chapters find Will and Maddie brokering a truce between two countries since their military strengths complement each other. The mission quickly morphs into an alliance to defend against a Temujai invasion. The author alternates chapters to follow the separate, but equally important, quests to prepare a coordinated effort. The second half of the book focuses on Will and Maddie with some chapters switching to the Temujai leader and his plans to crush the citizens of this country.
The author likes to incorporate elements from The Ranger’s Apprentice series into other books like this one. The references aren’t important prior knowledge so readers won’t feel like they’re missing anything. Maddie is the Royal Ranger as she’s also a princess. She’s gained confidence throughout the series under the tutelage of her mentor, Will Treaty. The story refers to Will’s previous encounter with the Temujai in The Ranger’s Apprentice series but this tribe also appears in The Brotherband Chronicles.
Will displays compassion and understanding for others that other characters don’t always show. Mercenaries are needed to battle the Temujai and Will insists servants accompany them for their help. The servants are treated poorly and aren’t given any respect until Will changes that attitude. When handling negotiations, he listens and considers different points of view and he’s willing to concede or modify his position if there’s value. One character in particular doesn’t view others in the same way which will lead to a showdown in the book’s closing chapters. Will continues to share his wisdom and experience with Maddie but he also treats her as a highly-skilled Ranger.
What didn’t work as well:
Since this is the seventh book in the Royal Ranger series, readers may be surprised that Maddie isn’t the main focus. Will is the main character and Maddie acts as his assistant. Perhaps it’s because I’ve read so many books about the Rangers, but their skills don’t seem to be on full display as much as in previous books. The story doesn’t feel fresh.
The final verdict:
The story is still an exciting adventure although it lacks the suspense and drama found in some of the other books. This book can be read independently and I recommend you give it a shot. I also recommend you read the other series too!
The previous book introduced a magical element to the series but it’s nice to see the author hasn’t included it this time. The “magic” of the series is found in the Rangers’ unbelievable talents, intelligence, and tactical skills. Tales of the Rangers have been exaggerated into folklore over time and they’ve reached mystical status. King Duncan often sends them on diplomatic, as in this book. The opening chapters find Will and Maddie brokering a truce between two countries since their military strengths complement each other. The mission quickly morphs into an alliance to defend against a Temujai invasion. The author alternates chapters to follow the separate, but equally important, quests to prepare a coordinated effort. The second half of the book focuses on Will and Maddie with some chapters switching to the Temujai leader and his plans to crush the citizens of this country.
The author likes to incorporate elements from The Ranger’s Apprentice series into other books like this one. The references aren’t important prior knowledge so readers won’t feel like they’re missing anything. Maddie is the Royal Ranger as she’s also a princess. She’s gained confidence throughout the series under the tutelage of her mentor, Will Treaty. The story refers to Will’s previous encounter with the Temujai in The Ranger’s Apprentice series but this tribe also appears in The Brotherband Chronicles.
Will displays compassion and understanding for others that other characters don’t always show. Mercenaries are needed to battle the Temujai and Will insists servants accompany them for their help. The servants are treated poorly and aren’t given any respect until Will changes that attitude. When handling negotiations, he listens and considers different points of view and he’s willing to concede or modify his position if there’s value. One character in particular doesn’t view others in the same way which will lead to a showdown in the book’s closing chapters. Will continues to share his wisdom and experience with Maddie but he also treats her as a highly-skilled Ranger.
What didn’t work as well:
Since this is the seventh book in the Royal Ranger series, readers may be surprised that Maddie isn’t the main focus. Will is the main character and Maddie acts as his assistant. Perhaps it’s because I’ve read so many books about the Rangers, but their skills don’t seem to be on full display as much as in previous books. The story doesn’t feel fresh.
The final verdict:
The story is still an exciting adventure although it lacks the suspense and drama found in some of the other books. This book can be read independently and I recommend you give it a shot. I also recommend you read the other series too!
October 21, 2024
Reading this series first as a kid and now seeing where they've gone, I have to say that its running out of steam at this point. The last 3 or 4 books have felt fairly uninspired and predictable, and its getting a little cliche the amount of historical civilization re-skinning that is done. I get that it is supposed to be medieval fantasy, and reflect our world, but its gotten to a point where the references feel so shallow. We meet Romans here, and they gotta fight off invaders, and of course the rangers do what they do best, but none of it felt fresh. The original series had a good run, and the first 3 books of the royal ranger series were really good. Maddie and Will's dynamic was a great one, and the stories felt much more personal to Maddie as a character, and helped her grow, where as these last couple of entries felt like paint by the number adventures.
This book also has a bit of an odd sense that Arulan just knows better than everyone else. Like the crossbow men, you're telling me they never thought of that in hundreds of years of history? And if I remember correctly, in Halt's Peril I believe they encounter assassins from that country who carry multiple crossbows, so the point even stands moot. The Temujai were excellent in their first several encounters, but now feel overplayed. I know its never going to live up to what I read when I was young, nostalgia being a hell of a drug, but I know that this series can be better than this. 3.0 stars.
This book also has a bit of an odd sense that Arulan just knows better than everyone else. Like the crossbow men, you're telling me they never thought of that in hundreds of years of history? And if I remember correctly, in Halt's Peril I believe they encounter assassins from that country who carry multiple crossbows, so the point even stands moot. The Temujai were excellent in their first several encounters, but now feel overplayed. I know its never going to live up to what I read when I was young, nostalgia being a hell of a drug, but I know that this series can be better than this. 3.0 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 27, 2024
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus.
The Ranger's Apprentice series has being going strong for 20 years, and I have always looked forward to new books even though I am not the target demographic for these. The young (often male) readers who do enjoy these will love the outdoor adventure, the political machinations, and the fighting, but... I am tired of it. I wanted to know more about Maddie, and it barely felt like she was in the book at all. Not only that, but the Temujai are still a threat, so it feels like there will be at least one more book.
Maybe there were just not enough scenes of sitting by the fire, drinking coffee, which is always my favorite part. We do get two Italian-ish groups. I'm not quite sure what country the Temujai are supposed to represent.
I'm sure this book will be a treat for young readers who are still excited about all of the conspiracies and derring-do. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood when I read it, or I'm just worried that I don't have any more room on the shelves for more books!
The Ranger's Apprentice series has being going strong for 20 years, and I have always looked forward to new books even though I am not the target demographic for these. The young (often male) readers who do enjoy these will love the outdoor adventure, the political machinations, and the fighting, but... I am tired of it. I wanted to know more about Maddie, and it barely felt like she was in the book at all. Not only that, but the Temujai are still a threat, so it feels like there will be at least one more book.
Maybe there were just not enough scenes of sitting by the fire, drinking coffee, which is always my favorite part. We do get two Italian-ish groups. I'm not quite sure what country the Temujai are supposed to represent.
I'm sure this book will be a treat for young readers who are still excited about all of the conspiracies and derring-do. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood when I read it, or I'm just worried that I don't have any more room on the shelves for more books!
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