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Return to the World of the Ranger’s Apprentice with The Tournament at Gorlan
Once upon a time (back in 2004) Halt, the Royal Ranger, took a boy named Will as his apprentice, a story told by John Flanagan in The Ruins of Gorlan. And so began a series that soon had fervent fans thrilling to each new adventure, and made even reluctant young readers desperate for each new book. Happily for those kids, there were many of them (12 books in all). And even more happily for those readers, Flanagan hasn’t abandoned his Rangers; he’s returned to their world, only now he’s telling the saga of what happened back before the first series started, when Halt was still a young man. The Tournament at Gorlan, which has just been published, is the first book in this Early Years series.
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The great villain of the books, Lord Morgorath, is beginning his attempt to seize power. He’s taken the king into his own castle, ostensibly to keep him safe after an assassination attempt. He has set in motion a scheme to discredit the heir, Prince Duncan, and he’s started dismantling the Ranger Corps, replacing those keen and loyal servants of the king with his own weak toadies. Two young Rangers, Crowley and Halt (although Halt has yet to be officially confirmed as one), are determined to stop Lord Morgorath’s power grab. They travel through the fiefdoms seeking the Rangers Morgorath and his cronies have ousted, and though the Rangers are few in number, their skills make them a formidable force indeed.
One by one, Crowley and Halt gather their band of Rangers, and then take direct aim at Morgorath. At the great tournament of Gorlan, Morgorath is exposed for the villain he is….but he is also (as readers of the later books know full well) by no means defeated.
A strength of Flanagan’s stories, and The Tournament at Gorlan is no exception, is that the main characters make for really good company. This is a book that is slow to get to any action, but the bantering between Crowley and Halt is good fun, the journey is full of details and descriptions that bring it all to life, and there’s plenty here that will thrill series fans. Seeing Halt meeting his horse, Abelard, for the first time, and (though perhaps not quite so much) seeing him fall head over heels for Pauline, the poised diplomat, are especially pleasing moments.
For readers who enjoy the detailed scenes of fighting and action, the tournament (once everyone gets there!) offers plenty, and of course, these being Rangers, there’s plenty of stunning archery, subterfuge, and woodcraft throughout. The violence is real, and sometimes brutal, but for the most part it is not gratuitous or described in overly gory ways, and the Rangers avoid shooting to kill when possible. Of course the same can’t be said about the bad guys, but that’s why they’re the bad guys! But even younger middle grade kids (the 9 and 10 year olds) should be able to cope with the level of violence here.
For those who enjoy spending time with solid fictional characters of good heart and (mostly) good temper, the whole book is a pleasure. It stands alone just fine, and is a solid introduction to the series and a pleasure to read, but since so much of the fun is seeing familiar friends in an unfamiliar story, it’s one that will most please fans of the original books.
Has your young reader discovered the Ranger’s Apprentice series?