The Ranger's Apprentice

I am ADDICTED to this series. It starts out about a young orphan named Will who wants more than anything to be a knight, but is instead apprenticed to Halt, the Ranger. Rangers are trackers, cartographers (map makers), scouts, archers, knife fighters, and sometimes spies and political consultants. It is a struggle to be apprenticed to grim faced Halt, who never seems pleased with anything.  As time passes, Halt and Will finally find a family in each other.  Will grows into his role and into himself. This series also follows his counterpart Horace, who did become an apprentice knight.

Audience

Geared toward boys slightly more than girls. Medieval, not too much fantasy, but a typical fantasy setting. Possible historical interest, if accuracy is not stressed.

Why I love it

This book is often touching and intense as the characters come to know themselves and develop strong relationships with each other. I have literally cried in this series. On the other hand, I have had tears streaming down my face because I was laughing so hard. All the characters are strong and have strong respect for each other. However, each and every character is endearingly flawed and their love for each other can only be rivaled by their frequent annoyance and bantering. I love that these characters bring opposing styles into a cohesive team, and I always want to see them together.

Cautions

1) The portrayals of different nationalities are overgeneralized at best and stereotypical at worst. Many of the books go to international settings, and it tries to portray the intermixing of cultures, but rarely shows anyone who does not fit the stereotype of the culture. This is not usually done in a demeaning way as Will makes friends at every turn, but it is something to be aware of.

2)There are romance plots, but they are frequently an afterthought, only mentioned at the beginning and end of the book.

3) Some of the books end on cliffhangers, specifically Burning Bridge, Icebound Land, Sorcerer of the North, and Kings of Clonmel.

Series

The Ruins of Gorlan

The Burning Bridge
The Icebound Land

The Battle for Skandia (Oakleaf Bearers outside the US)

Erak's Ransom (published 7th but fits here chronologically)
Sorcerer of the North
Siege of Macindaw

Kings of Clonmel
Halt's Peril
Emperor of Nihon-Ja

Side book of short stories: The Lost Stories