The Burning Bridge

This second volume of The Ranger's Apprentice series has all of the features that made The Ruins of Gorlan such a great read. There's danger and adventure aplenty, a fantasy kingdom (Araluen) that feels as real as medieval Britain, characters any reader can appreciate and an attention to the details of world-building that make it possible for the the reader to lose him or herself in the story. But what really makes Mr. Flanagan's novels so enjoyable are the stories he tells. And The Burning Bridge is a doozy of a story.Nearly one year into his apprenticeship with Halt, Will is finding the life of a King's Ranger more and more to his liking. That's a good thing as Araluen's King Duncan will soon need all of the Rangers he can muster. After six years of exile in the Mountains of Rain and Night, the traitorous Lord Morgarath is poised to bring his Wargal army sweeping across the Araluen plains. With war clearly in the offing, Will is chosen to accompany the young Ranger Gilan on an urgentl diplomatic mission to neighboring Celtica. Once Will's childhood enemy and now his most loyal friend, the apprentice warrior Horace will also be a part of the delegation.It should be a relatively simple mission, but once Gilan, Will and Horace cross into Celtica they realize things are more complicated than they seem. Military outposts and villages along the border are utterly deserted. Signs of hasty departure are everywhere but the trio can find no clue as to why the inhabitants have fled. When an Araluen girl named Evanlyn stumbles into their camp, Gilan, Will and Horace are able to piece together a part of the puzzle. Small parties of Morgarath's wargals have overrun the villages, taking those skilled in mining captive and killing all others in their path. After Gilan rides ahead to inform the King of their findings, Will, Horace and Evanlyn discover something that might turn the tide in the coming war. With no one else to help them, it seems that this unlikely trio is all that stands between Morgarath and victory.

Great series, very entertaining.

I picked up Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan with my Giftcard at Books-A-Million about a year ago, tucking the book home and quickly read it. It became one of my favorite series (right up there with Symphony of Ages by Elizabeth Haydon and The Obsidian trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory). I adored the book and placed it in with all my other treasures.Recently I got The Thief Queen's Daughter (The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme) by Elizabeth Haydon in hardcover and read it under five hours. The book was fantastic, and I loved it! It being just as good as The Floating Island, the first novel of T.L.Js.O.V.P. I than recieved Ranger's Apprentice: The Burning Bridge by John Flanagan a few days later.I read the book under four hours. I loved it! The ending somewhat caught me off gaurd when Morgaroth dropped dead so easily, I was shocked. It astounded me that John Flanagan killed him off so easily, and it made me love the series more because this was something diffrent from all the other epic fantasy novels I've read in the past. Evil kept on fighting tooth and nail, not in this series, at least! And I actually started crying in the end when Halt waved and cried out for Will that he would come and find him after Will was taken aboard the Skanadian vessel! I can't wait for The Icebound Lake to come out in paperback!As well as the future novels:Ranger's Apprentice: The Oak Leaf Bearer, book 4.Ranger's Apprentice: The Sorcerer in the North, book 5.Ranger's Apprentice: The Siege of Macindow, book 6.Also, John Flanagan mentioned that he might write a book about Halt the Ranger, his past and training. Looking forward to see that book in the future, Flanagan!

Easy read good characters

I have been buying the series for my grandson. I decided it would be something we could share and talk about. I’m not good with video games, so reading books that he enjoys gives me more to relate to him. The book was exciting, the star characters are honorable, moral, good and heroric. It helps instill the difference between right and wrong in a young person, and I think thats a good thing today in this confused world.and wrong in a you g lerson

I can't believe how many swear words this book had when it is supposed to be targeted toward 9-12 year olds. There was probably a swear word per chapter (if not more -- and not the F-bomb, but pretty much every other swear word). Whatever happened to pre-teen books with decent language? I have to admit that the story line intrigued me so I went ahead and checked out the rest of the series at the library. I liked the series but every book has some swearing in it -- but the most is in the 2nd. If the Author didn't use swear words I would have already bought the series.

The Burning Bridge is the second installment of John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series and it is just as good as the first. Flanagan's ability to create vivid images, intense plot twists, incredible character development and fast, moving dialogue is unparalleled. Will, Halt's ranger's apprentice, is on a mundane quest with two comrades when they discover the evil Morgarath has plotted a surprise attack on the kingdom of Araluen. They must figure out a way to stop the attack from happening and risk their lives while doing so. I don't want to ruin the story for those who haven't read it yet, but let's just say the book is amazing and will leave you desperate to read book 3 to find out what happens. If you're a fan of this genre of writing you will LOVE Flanagan's ability to tell a story!

My son absolutely loves this series and can't get enough of them. He will read them in a day and a half so we have to give him only one at a time to make them last longer!