Ranger's Apprentice: The Burning Bridge

Characters

Will:

The main character who is an orphan that never knew his parents. After reaching 15, orphans are expected to either become an apprentice of one of the masters in the kingdom or go off to work in the fields. Will was chosen to become a Ranger. As Halt trains him to become a member of the Rangers Corps, Will begins to realize that speed and agility and intelligence are every bit as important as physical size and muscles. He learns about loyalty and trust and friendship and he learns that courage can overcome even the greatest of enemies.

Halt:

Halt is a master of camouflage in his Ranger issued cloak. He is the Ranger of Redmont Fief, and decided to take Will as his apprentice after years of observing him. Although he never appears happy with Will's progress, and very rarely smiles, Halt is a thorough and generous mentor to Will. Halt is a Senior Ranger, among the Ranger Commandant Crowley's inner circle, and he was instrumental in the defeat of the traitorous Lord Morgarath in the battle years ago.

About the Author

• John Flanagan was a former television and advertising writer, but decided to write books after a successful seven year stint on a sitcom called , "Hey Dad..!" He currently lives with his wife, Leonie, in the Sydney beach side suburb of Manly in Australia.

• Attended Waverley College in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs.

• Awards: Children's Book Council of Australia, 2006; Arizona Young Reader's Award

• Motivation: The reason why he started to write books was the fact that he intended to encourage his son, Michael, to start reading . Also, the main character, Will, was inspired by Flanagan's own son.

• Currently writing the final book of the series and developing a spin-off series called The Brotherhood Chronicles.

Article: http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/johnflanagan.html

Ranger's Apprentice

Plot Summary

Will, an apprentice Ranger, lives with his teacher, Halt, and learns the stealth and archery techniques of the secretive Ranger Corps. A Ranger is the intelligence force and is a unofficial spy of the kingdom. They have mastered the art of stealth movement, camouflage, knife throwing, knife fighting skills and long-range weaponry with longbows. A banished Baron named Morgarath prepares his army of mind-controlled creatures to attack Will and Halt's kingdom, and he ensures that a set of battle plans falls into the Rangers' hands. King Duncan asks Gilan, a Ranger who once served as Halt's apprentice, to ask for the help of a nearby kingdom called Celtica in the conflict. Halt sends Will and Horace,Will's best friend and a Battleschool student, to travel with Gilan to Celtica. After reaching Celtica, they find that all of the Celts have abandoned the homes and villages. Gilan and the boys also encounter a young woman named Evanlyn who tells them the Morgaraths's army made a surprise attack on the area and are capturing miners. When they find out the true master plan that Morgarath has sent into motion, Will and Horace are the only ones standing in the way of Morgarath and the safety of their kingdom. Now they must show their great skill and courage, or die trying.

The Burning Bridge

By John Flanagan

Genre: Fantasy Fiction