Halt's Peril by John Flanagan
Random House, 2009.
ISBN 9781741663020. (Series: Ranger's Apprentice 9).
Highly Recommended. Arriving at Port Cael, the trio, Halt, Will and
Horace are
searching for the villain, Tennyson and his followers. Some 20 in all,
they had
been helped in their escape from Hibernia. At an inn, Will falters in
getting
information from the notorious Black O'Malley, while Halt takes sterner
measures to extract the information they need. Finding their prey
headed for
Picta, where another group of their religious quacks are stationed,
extorting
money and goods form the local populace, Halt and the others follow.
Overtaken
by O'Malley and his band of smugglers, their captain is fearful until
he sees
the combined ability of Halt and Will at using their long bows.
The ninth richly entertaining adventure in the series Ranger's
Apprentice, keeps the energy levels as high as the stories
which have gone before. Camaraderie, high adventure, a keen sense of
right and
wrong, of helping the underdog along with bravery and resilience, are
key
elements in this fantasy series. Set in medieval times, the undercover
agents,
Halt and Will, range far and wide in their efforts to retain peace and
security
for their kingdom, Araluen. Joined by Horace, they have a jokey manner
between
them, often laughing at themselves but simultaneously keeping a fearful
watch
over their surroundings. Will, now a ranger, still defers to Halt, and
their
work in the field is still often that of the teacher and the student.
Halt
wonders if it will always be like this, and so we have a sense that the
future
may be different.
Tennyson and his band of Genovesan
mercenaries are headed for their stronghold in northern Picta. Here
another of
their group has formed an enclave, where the Outsider prophet means to
gather
his forces before entering Araluen. Will has already killed one of the
Genovesan mercenaries in Conmel, and so the battle lines are drawn.
In a tussle, Halt is wounded by a crossbow
from one of the Genovesan warriors, and at first recovers well. But
over the
next day, he begins to mumble, often talking about people in the past
and is
unable to keep on his horse. Will senses that the arrow was poisoned
and
between them Horace and Will must decide what to do. Their decision is
crucial
to saving Halt's life and over the next week or so, Halt hovers between
life
and death. First Will rides off and fetches the healer, and then Will
must
capture a Genovesan warrior to ascertain which particular poison has
been used.
Tension mounts for the reader, as a funeral is held and Will, Horace
and ride
off from their hideout.
A stunning new chapter in the story of the Ranger's
Apprentice, the 440 pages hums
along at a furious pace, with the reader being drawn into Halt's world
as he hovers
between life and death. I loved it and couldn't help myself turning
pages ahead
just to check how things panned out, so involved was I in their lives.
Readers
from 8 to 80 will be thoroughly entertained by the adventures of this
trio, and
I look forward to the last two books in the series (The
Emperor of Nihon-Jin, number 10 in the series is due out in
November 2010).
Fran Knight
