The Sorcerer of the North

the fifth book in the Ranger's Apprentice Series (see my review for book four here)

by John Flanagan

from the publisher:
Time has passed since the apprentice and his master, Will and Halt, led the Araluens to victory against invaders, and Will is now a full-fledged Ranger with his own fief to look after. The fief seems sleepy— boring, even—until the king is poisoned. Joined by his friend Alyss, Will is thrown headfirst into an extraordinary adventure propelled by fears of sorcery, and must determine who is trustworthy to the king and who is trying to take his throne. Will and Alyss must battle growing hysteria, traitors, and most of all, time.

Book 4 was the end to the first story arc, so other than a few obvious spoilers (like Will hasn't died yet), there aren't any spoilers to the rest of the series in this review.

I was a bit hesitant going in, since Will is a full-fledged Ranger, which I assumed meant no Halt. And, in the beginning there really wasn't much of anyone other than Will and the people living in his new Fief; however, Will is soon called on a special mission by Halt and we get to see a bit of Halt throughout the rest of the book.

The story itself is rather simple, but the adventure aspect is still strong. I loved that Will was able to come up with creative solutions to his problems in his fief, and I am curious to see what he does to solve the problem with the king. He still has some flaws, which I hope stick around because having someone who never makes a mistake will certainly get old quickly. I was also excited to learn more about Alyss and see some of the activities that she has learned. I am very interested in seeing where their relationship leads. I did miss Horace for most of this book and hope he has a larger roll in the next.

The biggest complaint is the MAJOR cliffhanger ending. It isn't quite as traumatizing as the second book's ending, but close. The story really isn't anywhere close to being concluded, and the sixth book won't be published until August so be warned!

4.5 out of 5 stars highly recommended (but read the first 4 first!)





As a promotion for book 6 being released, Penguin has released an online version of the first book. Click here, for to read the entire first book. It will only be available for a few more weeks (until Feb 15), but it's worth a look!