Sorcerer In The North

The firth book in John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series, Sorcerer In The North is a new story arch with Will as a new official Ranger. 

"Several years have passed since the apprentice and his master, Will and Halt, first met, and Will is finally a full-fledged Ranger with his own fief to look after. The fief seems sleepy?boring, even?until Lord Syron, master of a castle far in the north, is struck down by a mysterious illness. Joined by his friend Alyss, Will is suddenly thrown headfirst into an extraordinary adventure, investigating fears of sorcery and trying to determine who is loyal to Lord Syron. As Will battles growing hysteria, traitors, and most of all, time, Alyss is taken hostage, and Will is forced to make a desperate choice between his mission and his friend."

General Thoughts: It was a good story and fun to see will having to do things officially on his own without Halt's all knowing help. It is a slower paced book compared to some of the others, but I still enjoyed it. 

Plot: The plot, like many of the other Ranger's Apprentice books are simple: go figure out what is going on at this fort, but be secret, because that's what Ranger's do. It's kind of cool how he had to be in disguise and be secret. Of course by the end he gets found out and his comrade Alyss gets caught, but that is beside the point. Now things will amp up because he needs to save her too. It had a good cliffhanger that had my son and I wanting to go to the next book quickly. 

Setting: It is kinda weird how each of the countries just happen to be similar to European countries. Almost to the T. The Skandrians are similar to Scandinavians, the Scoti are the Scottish, the country they go to in the third book is totally France. It almost feels like cheating to take a caricature of each country and run with it. 

Characters: The people I remember best are Alyss and Will obviously and how they had to work together. I liked that Will got himself a dog -- a dog very much like my own in fact. I remember the BBEG was being charming in a "I rolled high on my charisma" kind of way and how he hated being around all of his subordinates that he chose as sell swords. A few were somewhat memorable, but not many. 

Spice: 1/5 Spici Chilis. There is some flirtation going on, but that is about it. They are too busy dealing with problems at hand to get too flirty, though flirting does happen. 

Writing Style: This I think is John Flanagan's biggest problem: he over explains. I can often over look it because I enjoy the characters and I get excited as Will goes adventuring, but sometimes it can feel longwinded. And it's been the same thing in all of his books so far. Even still, I enjoy them. 

Overall: I enjoyed this book. The second one is better with more goings on, but it was a good book. Not great maybe, but good. I think the characters are what really pulls it through.