The Hunters by John Flanagan

The Hunters by John Flanagan
403 pages

    The Herons have again failed. Before, they were given the simple task of guarding the Skandians' most prized treasure, the Andomal, but it was stolen. They chased the pirates who took it across the sea to the village of Limmat. At Limmat, they saved the people from the pirates, but failed to capture the lead pirate, Zavac. Now, Hal and the rest of them arer determined to catch him and return home.
    Following the information given to them by one of the captured pirates, they set off again on a trail of clues to find Zavac and regain the Andomal. But they will have to face him in a final battle, and one of them will have to meet their end.

**Book 3 in Brotherband Chronicles**
Previous book: The Invaders

The Invaders by John Flanagan

The Invaders by John Flanagan
429 pages

     When Hal and the Heron Brotherband fail to protect the Skandians' most prized possesion, the Andomal, they set off to track down the pirate who stole it to redeem themselves. They cannot return without it, or they will be punished. But a fierce storm comes up and they are forced to stop their search. While they wait, they train for their encounter with the pirates.
    When the storm finally lets up, they track the pirate to a nearby village. With some unexpected help, can they liberate the village and get their prize back?


**Book 2 in The Brotherband Chronicles**
Previous book: The Outcasts

Next book: The Hunters

The Outcasts by John Flanagan

The Outcasts by John Flanagan
434 pages

    Hal is the son of the great Skandian warrior, Mikkel. As his dying wish, Mikkel asked Thorn to care for his son. Hal is an outcast, though. He is only half Skandian: his mother is an Araluen slave. And Thorn has a habit of getting drunk. So much for learning his father's skills. But Hal has some friends, and he loves to build ships. When he builds his first ship, the Heron, with new technology, Oberjarl Erak is impressed. Things only get harder for Hal, though.
    His enemy, Tursgud, is determined to make Brotherband training miserable for him. His whole team made up of outcasts and misfits, can Hal prove himself not just to his peers, but to the Oberjarl as well?

The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan

The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan
435 pages

    To learn more about different battle skills, Horace travels to Nihon-Ja to learn the ways of the Senshi warriors. While he is there, he becomes good friends with the Emperor. But when a rebel Senshi threatens the emperor's power, Horace must choose between safety and protecting the emperor. Loyal to his new friend, Horace stays.
    When Will and Halt get word that Horace has stayed in Nihon-Ja to protect the emperor, they rush to help him. Soon, the Araluens find themselves caught in a battle between those loyal to the emperor and the rebel Senshi warriors. With limited troops and resources, the emperor cannot hope to win, unless the Araluens are brave enough to find help.


    The Senshi arrow flashed downward, heading directly for the emperor. Will flicked his bow at it, caught it, and deflected it from its course. The arrowhead screeched on the hard, rocky ground and the arrow skittered away. Even Halt took a second to be impressed.
    "How did you do that?"
    Then, realizing that there was no more time for talking, he shot the Senshi bowman.

**Book 10 in Ranger's Apprentice**
Previous book: Halt's Peril

Halt's Peril by John Flanagan

Halt's Peril by John Flanagan
386 pages
    While chasing the leader of the Outsiders cult, Halt is ambushed and shot by a poison arrow.  Not realizing that Halt has been poisoned, he, Will and Horace continued their chase. But soon, the effect of the poison is evident and Will sees that Halt is slowly dying. The only person that can help Halt is the sorcerer, Malkallam. Will quickly sets out to find him, but will they be fast enough to save Halt from death?

    Will stepped clear of the tree, pivoting so that he emerged on the opposite side. And his mouth went dry as he saw the assassin aiming a crossbow toward Halt, heard the dull smack of the cord. Halt had warned him that they might have more than one bow apiece and he'd been right.
    Then Will's heart froze at the most chilling sound he had heard in his young life: Halt's brief cry of pain, followed by the sound of his bow dropping.


**Book 9 in Ranger's Apprentice**
Previous book: The Kings of Clonmel
Next book: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

The Kings of Clonmel by John Flanagan

The Kings of Clonmel by John Flanagan
358 pages

    A cult has sprung up in the neighbouring country of Clonmel. The leaders of this cult call them selves The Outsiders and promise the protection of their false god in exchange for gold to "build alters." The people agree redily after some planned attacks by bandits. The people may be fool, but the Ranger's aren't.
    Will and Halt travel to Clonmel to uproot the troublemakers, but they can't do it without proof. Halt has proof, but a family member complicates things. Can the Rangers get rid of the Outsiders?


**Book 8 in Ranger's Apprentice**
Previous book: Erak's Ransom
Next book: Halt's Peril

Erak's Ransom by John Flanagan

Erak's Ransom by John Flanagan
373 pages

    Erak, the Skandian Oberjarl, has been captured by a desert tribe. Will, Halt, Horace, and Evanlyn set out to rescue him, but the desert is much different than anywhere they have been before. The maps they have do little good, since no one goes to the desert and there are many tribes with many strange laws. While kidnapping is normal for some of the tribes, Will and Halt soon realize that there is someone else behind this. Someone who has something against Erak and his alliance with King Duncan.

The Siege of Macindaw by John Flanagan

The Siege of Macindaw by John Flanagan
293 pages

    Will and the warrior, Horace, hold the fate of the kingdom in their hands. Sir Keren has captured Castle Macindaw after poisoning its rightful leaders. He plans on letting the Scotti in to Araluen, where they plan to take over the who country. Will and Horace quickly round up a small army of Skandians and outcasts who live in the forest.With so much at stake, they cannot afford to make any mistakes. But the kingodm is not the only thing is terrible danger. Will's friend, Alyss, is being held captive by Keren and who knows what he plans to do with his prisoner.

**Book 6 in Ranger's Apprentice**
Previous book: The Sorcerer of the North
Next book: Erak's Ransom

The Sorcerer of the North by John Flanagan

The Sorcerer of the North by John Flanagan
295 pages

    Will is finally a real ranger-his apprenticeship is done-so he has his own fief to look after. Nothing is happening in his fief and Will is quite bored. But suddenly, he gets reassigned to a castle in the north, where the lord has been struck with a mysterious illness. Local residents say that the illness is the result of sorcery. In disguise, Will travels to uncover the mystery.
    When he first arrives, the solution seems simple: the lord's son is teaming up with the evil sorcerer, Malkallam, who lives in the woods. But after further investigation, Will realizes that superstition has a lot to do with the hasty conclusions everyone has been making. And no one in the castle is as they seem.

**Book 5 in Ranger's Apprentice**
Previous book: The Battle for Skandia
Next book: The Siege of Macindaw

The Battle for Skandia by John Flanagan

The Battle for Skandia by John Flanagan
294 pages

    Will and Evanlyn are close to escaping the northern lands when Evanlyn is kidnapped. Halt and Horace rescue them just in time, but they suspect something big behind the kidnapping. With further investigation, they see that the Temujai's are planning on attacking Skandia, and then Araluen.
    Only an alliance with the Skandians will save both countries, but will it work? What about the Oberjarl's vow to kill Evanlyn?

Captured!

 As she pushed her way through the snow-laden bushes, becoming wetter and wetter in the process, she felt a surge of pleasure. The first snare in the line held the body of a small ground-foraging bird. Evanlyn smiled grimly as she thought how once she might have objected to the cruelty of the bird's death. Now, all she felt was a sense of satisfaction as she realized that they would eat well today.
    Amazing how an emty belly could change your perspective, she thought, removing the noose from the bird's neck and stuffing the small carcass in her makeshift game bag. She reset the snare, sprinkling a few seeds of corn on the ground beyond it, then rose to her feet, frowning in annoyance as she realized that the melting snow had left two wet patches on her knees as she'd crouched.
    Evanlyn sensed, rather than heard, the movement in the trees behind her and began to turn.
    Before she could move, she felt an iron grip around her throat, and as she gasped in fright, a fur-gloved hand, smelling vilely of smoke, clapped over her mouth and nose, cutting off her cry for help.

**Book four in Ranger's Apprentice**

Previous book: The Icebound Land

Next book: The Sorcerer of the North

 Australian Cover

The Icebound Land by John Flanagan

The Icebound Land by John Flanagan
266 pages

    Will and Evanlyn have been captured by the Skandians and taken north. Halt arrived just in time to see they sailing away. Vowing to rescue them, he went to get help. He is determined to do anything to save his apprentice and the king's daughter.
    Will and Evanlyn soon find the Erak, the Skandian Jarl that took them, is rough, but sympathetic. But when they reach the village, things get more complicated. They hear that the Oberjarl has taken an unbreakable oath against Evanlyn's family. Can she keep her identity a secret long enough to escape?
    Meanwhile, Halt and Horace travel northward to find their friends, battling knights on their way. but one ruthless knight proves to be more than they expected. Can they escape his fortress in time to save Will and Evanlyn from certain death?

**Book 3 in Ranger's Apprentice**
Previous book: The Burning Bridge
Next book: The Battle for Skandia

  Australian Cover

The Burning Bridge by John Flanagan

The Burning Bridge by John Flanagan
262 pages

    Gilan has chosen Will and Horace to travel with him to a neighbouring village, but no one is there when they arrive. It seems as if all the inhabitants have left in a rush. But why? After finding other villages in the same state, Gilan goes ahead to report their findings.
    While they travel, Will and Horace run into a group of Wargals working for Lord Morgarath. When they follow them, they find out a big secret, one that could change the outcome of the upcoming battle.

 THEY'RE COMING . . .

    The chanting was closer now. It no longer died away as the breeze came and went. It was growing louder and more defined. Will, Horace, and Evanlyn crouched among the bushes, listening as the voices can closer.

    "Maybe you two should move back a little, Will suggested. He had left himself a relatively clear view of the road. He knew that, wrapped in his Ranger cloak, with his face concealed deep within the cowl, he would be virtually invisible, but he wasn't so sure about the others. Without any reluctance, they squirmed back, deeper into the cover of the thick shrubs. Horace's reaction was a mixture of curiosity and nervousness. Evanlyn, Will noted, was pale with fear.
    They had already struck the camp and moved the horses back about a hundred meters into the rocks. He glanced around quickly now to make sure they had left no sign of their presence. Satisfied that they had done everything they could, he turned his attention back to the road.
    " Who are they?" Horace breathed as the chanting grew louder still. Will estimated that it was coming from somewhere around the nearest bend in the road, a mere hundred meters away.
   "Don't you know?" Evanlyn replied, her voice strained with terror. "They're Wargals."

                                                             ~from The Burning Bridge by John Flanagan

**Book 2 in Ranger's Apprentice**
Previous book: The Ruins of Gorlan

Next book: The Icebound Land

 Australian Cover

The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan
249 pages

    Fifteen-year-old Will wants to be chosen as an apprentice for Battleschool, but he is rejected. Instead, he is accepted by the Ranger, Halt. No one really knows what the mysterious Rangers do, but everyone is afraid of them. Some even think they practice black magic. So, naturally, Will is horrified at his new job.
    But soon he finds out that the Rangers are the king's helper and they protect the kingdom. Will is quickly caught up in plans for protecting the people from Lord Morgarath, the exiled lord who is ready to attack.

THE EPIC BATTLE HAS BEGUN . . .

    It was ten minutes before they heard the screaming. It was an unearthly sound the twisted the stomach into knots of fear and turned the blood cold. Involuntarily, the Baron and Sir Rodney reined in as they heard it. Their horses plunged wildly against the reins. It came from straight ahead of them and rose and fell, until the air quaked with the horror of it.

    . . ."What is that?"

   It's the Kalkara, " Will said. "They're hunting."

**Book 1 in Ranger's Apprentice**
Next book: The Burning Bridge

 Australian Cover