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Will is forced to overcome his fear of Wargals, the foot soldiers of rebel warlord Morgarath, as Araluen's army prepares to battle Morgarath's forces.Tags
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{Second of 11 (or 12); Ranger’s Apprentice series. Fantasy, children’s, YA} (2005)
Group read.
Although his preliminary manoeuvres have been stymied, Morgarath is continuing his preparations for war against the kingdom of Araluen. Will, the Ranger’s apprentice of the title, and his mentor Halt are involved in getting the kingdom and their home of Redmont fief ready for defence. Gilan, Halt’s former apprentice who is now a Ranger himself, comes to them to request that Will join him on a mission to the kingdom of Celtica to invoke the mutual defence treaty. A third member will be needed for the mission since the Celts live by the motto “One man may be deceit. Two can be conspiracy. Three is the number I trust.” so Halt suggests show more that Will’s old nemesis, Horace, would be a good candidate.
Once they cross the border, however, the three realise that something is very wrong in the land of the Celts and discover that Morgarath’s plans run deeper than anyone had realised and, in fact, have been in motion for some time already. And so a desperate race is on to warn the Araluen army before Morgarath’s forces are fully deployed.
This is a good sequel to [The Ruins of Gorlan]. It is well written, flows smoothly and the characters are likeable. Although the story revolves around Will, I like the way we are shown different points of view so we can see the bigger picture and it has been crafted so the change between points of view of different characters is logical and not confusing.
I liked being shown the training that Gilan gives both Horace and Will. The action scenes are compelling; I’m no Ranger or Battleschool apprentice but they seemed believable to me. And I still like the humour.
The two slight criticisms I have are that Will and his friends are still somewhat paragons of excellence and that unfortunately, the blurb on the back (of my edition) jumps right to the middle of the book which is a bit annoying (but hardly the author’s fault) because I spent the first half of reading the book anticipating those events.
The book does end on a bit of a cliffhanger - but, hey, there are ten more books to go in this series so it’s no big surprise.
4-4.5 stars show less
Group read.
Although his preliminary manoeuvres have been stymied, Morgarath is continuing his preparations for war against the kingdom of Araluen. Will, the Ranger’s apprentice of the title, and his mentor Halt are involved in getting the kingdom and their home of Redmont fief ready for defence. Gilan, Halt’s former apprentice who is now a Ranger himself, comes to them to request that Will join him on a mission to the kingdom of Celtica to invoke the mutual defence treaty. A third member will be needed for the mission since the Celts live by the motto “One man may be deceit. Two can be conspiracy. Three is the number I trust.” so Halt suggests show more that Will’s old nemesis, Horace, would be a good candidate.
Once they cross the border, however, the three realise that something is very wrong in the land of the Celts and discover that Morgarath’s plans run deeper than anyone had realised and, in fact, have been in motion for some time already. And so a desperate race is on to warn the Araluen army before Morgarath’s forces are fully deployed.
This is a good sequel to [The Ruins of Gorlan]. It is well written, flows smoothly and the characters are likeable. Although the story revolves around Will, I like the way we are shown different points of view so we can see the bigger picture and it has been crafted so the change between points of view of different characters is logical and not confusing.
I liked being shown the training that Gilan gives both Horace and Will. The action scenes are compelling; I’m no Ranger or Battleschool apprentice but they seemed believable to me. And I still like the humour.
“Horace eagerly urged his horse forward, to ride level with the two Rangers.
‘Thank you, sir,’ he said gratefully. Gilan cocked an eyebrow at Will.
‘Polite, isn’t he?’ he mused. ‘Obviously manners are well taught in the Battleschool these days. Nice to be called “sir” all the time.’
Will grinned at the kindly meant jibe. Then the smile faded from his face as Gilan continued thoughtfully.
‘Not a bad idea to have a bit of respect shown. Perhaps you could call me sir as well,’ he said, turning his face away to study the treeline to one side, so that Will couldn’t see the faint trace of a grin that insisted on breaking through.
Aghast, Will choked over his answer. He couldn’t believe his ears.
‘Sir?’ he said finally. ‘You really want me to call you sir, Gilan?’ Then, as Gilan frowned slightly at him, he amended hurriedly and in great confusion: ‘I mean, sir! You want me to call you sir ... sir?’
Gilan shook his head. ‘No, I don’t think “sir-sir” is suitable. Nor “Sir Gilan”. I think just the one sir would do nicely, don’t you?’
Will couldn’t think of a polite way of phrasing what was in his mind
The two slight criticisms I have are that Will and his friends are still somewhat paragons of excellence and that unfortunately, the blurb on the back (of my edition) jumps right to the middle of the book which is a bit annoying (but hardly the author’s fault) because I spent the first half of reading the book anticipating those events.
The book does end on a bit of a cliffhanger - but, hey, there are ten more books to go in this series so it’s no big surprise.
4-4.5 stars show less
It’s a four star book with a five star cliff hanger. I liked it more the first time (when I was 12 and fit the target demo, so that adds up), but my tastes lean more towards strategy and scheming and less toward outright dueling, no matter how wonderful Horace is. There’s a couple plot holes I can’t really reconcile but mostly chalk up to middle grade fiction logic - where lesser villains are nicer than they have any right to be, and barely trained, though admittedly talented boys, win against grown men with decades more experience and also just more skill - but other than that a pretty much perfect follow up sequel. The end breaks my heart every time.
Finally got around to finishing this book. I loved the first one of the series but I was hesitant on reading the sequels since sequels are known to be bad in most series but I was wrong. I love how Halt in this book is becoming more “human” since in the first book he was very cold and standoffish with barely any emotion to him so that was nice. Also I love how Halt was being a little terror when Will was gone, by literally throwing people into moats which made me laugh. I also enjoyed the bits of Morgoraths perspective too, gave more insight of how his emotions are and what he sees in his perspective which was nice in my opinion though I was confused as to why he was killed so early in the series since in the first book he was made show more out to be this big bad villain. It also annoyed me that he was taken down by Horace which i felt was a move to make Horace’s abilities be invincible but whatever. Hopefully book 3 would be great. show less
When Gilan comes with Horace for a scouting mission, it turns out to be more than expected, halfway through their journey they meet a lost young girl who turns out to be the princess's maid named Evanlyn, or so they think. When they find out something disturbing Gilan goes back to report it to Crowley, Horace and Will find a troop of wargals heading toward their base with slaves. Will, Horace and Evanlyn follow the wargals to their base and they decide to follow them, there they find out Morgrath is building a bridge for a surprise attack on the Araluens, they send Horace as another messenger to Halt, Will and Evanlyn succeed in bringing down the bridge, but in doing so are captured by Skandians.
I love the book because I love the way show more John Flannagan tells it, because I like the characters and the sudden change of events is keeping me on my toes.
5 stars
(on behalf of Firelion (age 10)) show less
I love the book because I love the way show more John Flannagan tells it, because I like the characters and the sudden change of events is keeping me on my toes.
5 stars
(on behalf of Firelion (age 10)) show less
I’m beginning to realize that nothing this series has to offer can possibly beat the amazingly heartwarming debut novel, The Ruins of Gorlan. It’s no fault of Flanagan. The best part of the story he had to tell just happened to be the beginning—when Will first gets picked to be a ranger. That first book made me smile from ear to ear. It had a unique “pleasantness” about it that drew me in. The main characters were nice, understanding, and possessed of good humor. The story of Will’s twisted journey to becoming a ranger’s apprentice, and the beginning of his training, is pure happiness and glee. That, more than anything else, is what made me love the first book.
This second book in the series is taking a sharp turn away from show more that, especially with the ending that leads into the third book. Things aren’t so nice and pleasant anymore, and while I will continue to read this series for its depiction of ranger tactics, heroism, and Halt’s bad-assery, I’m going to miss the pleasantness of the first book. I find myself wishing that Flanagan could have staved off Morgarath and all this kingdom-threatening stuff for another book, to let Will grow at a slower pace, with a smaller adventure. Oh well. show less
This second book in the series is taking a sharp turn away from show more that, especially with the ending that leads into the third book. Things aren’t so nice and pleasant anymore, and while I will continue to read this series for its depiction of ranger tactics, heroism, and Halt’s bad-assery, I’m going to miss the pleasantness of the first book. I find myself wishing that Flanagan could have staved off Morgarath and all this kingdom-threatening stuff for another book, to let Will grow at a slower pace, with a smaller adventure. Oh well. show less
Will continues to study as a Ranger's Apprentice while Halt, the king, and others prepare for a coming war with Morgorath. Another Ranger, Gilan, asks that Will and a Battleschool apprentice, Horace, help make up a group of ambassadors to another country. Halt agrees, knowing that this will be a test of Will's skills and, perhaps, a way of increasing the boy's confidence. But he has no idea what it will take for both boys to come back alive.
I was so-so about the first book in the series, but I really enjoyed this one. It was the first book read on my new e-reader, and I thought it worked well in that format though it had a few rough patches where I had to figure out some mis-spaced words. It's an incredibly fast read, with a constantly show more building pace. My only real complaint this time was that I felt the ending was a bit rushed. I was, however, left with a strong desire to read the next one, and I've already put the e-book on hold. show less
I was so-so about the first book in the series, but I really enjoyed this one. It was the first book read on my new e-reader, and I thought it worked well in that format though it had a few rough patches where I had to figure out some mis-spaced words. It's an incredibly fast read, with a constantly show more building pace. My only real complaint this time was that I felt the ending was a bit rushed. I was, however, left with a strong desire to read the next one, and I've already put the e-book on hold. show less
After settling into his role as Ranger's Apprentice and experiencing his first battle (both in the first book), Will goes on a seemingly innocuous journey with his childhood friend and battle school student Horace as well as one of the youngest rangers in the kingdom. They journey to Celtica to deliver a simple message, but discover the kingdom is empty... and an army is prepared to invade Araluen. Halt, the legendary ranger to whom Will is apprenticed, makes a seperate journey with a young woman Will is developing a crush on, and the two travelling parties both must fight to keep the Kingdom safe. Like the first book, part two is fast-paced and interesting, and the characters grow as the series evolves. While there is a definite end to show more this book, there is also a definite hook into the third. I'm highly recommending this to anyone who also likes fantasy or adventure, and I highly recommend you check out several volumes of this series at one time as you won't want to stop reading when you're finished with one! show less
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Set of 4 RANGER'S APPRENTICE Books: 1. The Ruins of Gorlan / 2. The Burning Bridge / 3. The Icebound Land / 4. The Battle for Skandia by John Flanagan
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Burning Bridge
- Original title
- The Burning Bridge
- Original publication date
- 2005
- People/Characters
- Will; Halt; Horace; Evanlyn; Morgarath; Gilan (show all 14); Baron Arald; Duncan; Cassandra; Alyss; Pauline; Rodney; David; Erak
- Important places
- Celtica; Araluen; Redmont Fief
- Dedication
- This one is for Katy.
- First words
- Halt and Will had been trailing the Wargals for three days.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And his lips moved in a silent promise only he could hear.
- Original language
- Engels; English US
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- ISBNs
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- ASINs
- 27