stephwatt617's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
anne_ee's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.75
jennifervenia's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
atomicwizard's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.75
britomarte's review against another edition
5.0
(Same review for full series.)
These books are not great. I want to state that right off. These are not the books you hand to someone to convince them of a genre, or to challenge them (past the age of seven) or to enthrall them with Literature.
They're not great, but they're great at being what they are: A fun, cheesy romp. I sit down with a mug of cocoa and read one in an hour or two, and there's always a few scenes funny enough to read out loud to my husband, and they make me happy. I'm sure I'll read them to my kids, or encourage them to read them.
You want to plan out time to read the entire series, though. I have read the first six books once or twice before this, and if you wait too long between books, the pleasant momentum is gone. Flanagan is excellent at cliffhangers, so the books are easy to jet through, and, honestly, they read like one BIG novel. One big, cheesy novel, full of will-they-won't-they and hack-and-slash.
Lot of fun. Would recommend.
These books are not great. I want to state that right off. These are not the books you hand to someone to convince them of a genre, or to challenge them (past the age of seven) or to enthrall them with Literature.
They're not great, but they're great at being what they are: A fun, cheesy romp. I sit down with a mug of cocoa and read one in an hour or two, and there's always a few scenes funny enough to read out loud to my husband, and they make me happy. I'm sure I'll read them to my kids, or encourage them to read them.
You want to plan out time to read the entire series, though. I have read the first six books once or twice before this, and if you wait too long between books, the pleasant momentum is gone. Flanagan is excellent at cliffhangers, so the books are easy to jet through, and, honestly, they read like one BIG novel. One big, cheesy novel, full of will-they-won't-they and hack-and-slash.
Lot of fun. Would recommend.
yearofbluewater's review against another edition
5.0
Judging by the way I simply couldn't stop reading it, this book was amazing.
The title scared me. I was pretty sure that Halt was going to die eventually because that's what always happens in these stories, so I was more than a little worried about Halt. Dumbledore was nice and all, but I really cared about Halt.
I think that John Flanagan knew how much this book would scare us, but he wrote it anyway. Honestly, I'm just glad that Halt made it.
The title scared me. I was pretty sure that Halt was going to die eventually because that's what always happens in these stories, so I was more than a little worried about Halt. Dumbledore was nice and all, but I really cared about Halt.
I think that John Flanagan knew how much this book would scare us, but he wrote it anyway. Honestly, I'm just glad that Halt made it.
lemon_loaf's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This was too much of a rollercoaster 😅 I would’ve preferred if Plus there were a lot of inconsistencies with the character’s actions, like when tennyson didn’t put guards near the entrance??? Come on, he’s not that dumb!Â
Spoiler
halt had one near death scene instead of 15. It got to the point where I just didn’t care if he lived or died lol.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/injury detail and Torture
ikuo1000's review
3.0
*** Warning: This review contains spoilers! ***
This book is like the "Part 2" conclusion to The Kings of Clonmel.
First, there were a number of things I liked in this book. I liked the camaraderie shared by Will, Halt, and Horace, and I even liked the continued references to Halt's aging, which made clear the idea of him passing on the Ranger torch to Will. I also really enjoyed the appearance of Malcolm.
Unfortunately, there were also things that irked me in this book. Some of the descriptions seemed to go on too long, almost like the author was just purposefully trying to stretch out the book. I noticed this most during the scene in which Will and Halt were walking into the Genovesans' ambush. I got impatient thinking, "Yes, okay, I get it! They are slow and careful as they make their way through the forest, they have to stay quiet and out of sight. I get it, already, I get it! Just get on with the story!"
On the opposite end of the spectrum, at one point I was anxiously awaiting an upcoming scene, which ended up being excluded entirely! As Will raced towards Malcolm, I was looking forward to reading about Will's unexpected arrival, and how Malcolm and his band of people would react to seeing Will again. I was disappointed when the book just leap-frogged over that event.
Mostly, I was bothered that people seemed to act out of character. After being told repeatedly that Will had an exceptionally uncanny ability to always shoot his target, it was hard to accept that Will missed the second Genovesan, when it sounded like he should have had a pretty clear shot. Later, when Will and Horace were tracking Tennyson, somehow Horace - always bumbling loudly - was suddenly able to make a decent show of moving quietly, a skill that literally took Will years to develop. Also, Horace is supposed to be the "brawn", happy to leave all the heavy thinking to the Rangers, yet Horace is the one who thought of the clever way of getting the Genovesan to tell the truth about which type of poison he used, Horace was the one who spotted the smoke confirming Tennyson's presence in the caves, and Horace was the one who came up with the idea of Halt impersonating Ferris to discredit Tennyson!
And even Tennyson himself seemed to act out of character. Once they tracked Tennyson to the caves, I just can't believe that Tennyson would not post guards outside the caves, especially since he didn't know for sure where the Genovesan, Will, and Horace were. Sure, he's arrogant, but he didn't manage to take over 5 entire kingdoms, and almost a 6th, by being sloppy.
Overall, I did enjoy the read, I think mostly because I am already a fan of the series and happy to be caught up in the characters and the world in which they live.
This book is like the "Part 2" conclusion to The Kings of Clonmel.
First, there were a number of things I liked in this book. I liked the camaraderie shared by Will, Halt, and Horace, and I even liked the continued references to Halt's aging, which made clear the idea of him passing on the Ranger torch to Will. I also really enjoyed the appearance of Malcolm.
Unfortunately, there were also things that irked me in this book. Some of the descriptions seemed to go on too long, almost like the author was just purposefully trying to stretch out the book. I noticed this most during the scene in which Will and Halt were walking into the Genovesans' ambush. I got impatient thinking, "Yes, okay, I get it! They are slow and careful as they make their way through the forest, they have to stay quiet and out of sight. I get it, already, I get it! Just get on with the story!"
On the opposite end of the spectrum, at one point I was anxiously awaiting an upcoming scene, which ended up being excluded entirely! As Will raced towards Malcolm, I was looking forward to reading about Will's unexpected arrival, and how Malcolm and his band of people would react to seeing Will again. I was disappointed when the book just leap-frogged over that event.
Mostly, I was bothered that people seemed to act out of character. After being told repeatedly that Will had an exceptionally uncanny ability to always shoot his target, it was hard to accept that Will missed the second Genovesan, when it sounded like he should have had a pretty clear shot. Later, when Will and Horace were tracking Tennyson, somehow Horace - always bumbling loudly - was suddenly able to make a decent show of moving quietly, a skill that literally took Will years to develop. Also, Horace is supposed to be the "brawn", happy to leave all the heavy thinking to the Rangers, yet Horace is the one who thought of the clever way of getting the Genovesan to tell the truth about which type of poison he used, Horace was the one who spotted the smoke confirming Tennyson's presence in the caves, and Horace was the one who came up with the idea of Halt impersonating Ferris to discredit Tennyson!
And even Tennyson himself seemed to act out of character. Once they tracked Tennyson to the caves, I just can't believe that Tennyson would not post guards outside the caves, especially since he didn't know for sure where the Genovesan, Will, and Horace were. Sure, he's arrogant, but he didn't manage to take over 5 entire kingdoms, and almost a 6th, by being sloppy.
Overall, I did enjoy the read, I think mostly because I am already a fan of the series and happy to be caught up in the characters and the world in which they live.
squishies's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
This book picks the Outsiders' arc from [b:The Kings of Clonmel|5201089|The Kings of Clonmel (Ranger's Apprentice, #8)|John Flanagan|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1227576494s/5201089.jpg|6627900] and ties up the story line quite neatly.
My favourite part was Halt and Horace trying to get the cattle stampede hehe.
This book picks the Outsiders' arc from [b:The Kings of Clonmel|5201089|The Kings of Clonmel (Ranger's Apprentice, #8)|John Flanagan|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1227576494s/5201089.jpg|6627900] and ties up the story line quite neatly.
My favourite part was Halt and Horace trying to get the cattle stampede hehe.
karen_k77's review
5.0
I'm slightly less enthusiastic about this book than I was the first time around, but re-reading it was no less enjoyable.
The eponymous peril that Halt went through was still pretty emotional the second time around, and I thought the Tennyson problem was wrapped up pretty well. So basically, the action wasn't lacking.
The dialogue and character developments weren't any less amazing. Once again, Halt's issues brought to light just how much he values Horace and Will and how much they value him and it was basically ONE BIG LOVE FEST. I like love fests. And the little insight into Horace's childhood (his claustrophobia) was much appreciated. It served to remind us about that mystical time period in which Horace and Will were enemies, which I think is adorable, considering they're, like, BFFs now.
The writing was good, even if I'm starting to feel overdosed (I've been re-reading every book in the series with only one other book shoved in there, and I'm starting to feel fried).
Will messed up A LOT, and that kind of annoyed me, because I love Will. I don't blame Will himself (is it crazy that I'm talking about him like he's real?) and I don't exactly blame Flanagan, I just wish there were other ways to further the plot than to have Will screw up a bunch.
But that's not a legitimate complaint. I'm just....defensive.
This book picks up the small amount of slack left by the eighth book. I loved the eighth, just...less than the other nine books in the series.
Still. This series is magical. Every single word is magical. And after reading it, I feel magical.
The eponymous peril that Halt went through was still pretty emotional the second time around, and I thought the Tennyson problem was wrapped up pretty well. So basically, the action wasn't lacking.
The dialogue and character developments weren't any less amazing. Once again, Halt's issues brought to light just how much he values Horace and Will and how much they value him and it was basically ONE BIG LOVE FEST. I like love fests. And the little insight into Horace's childhood (his claustrophobia) was much appreciated. It served to remind us about that mystical time period in which Horace and Will were enemies, which I think is adorable, considering they're, like, BFFs now.
The writing was good, even if I'm starting to feel overdosed (I've been re-reading every book in the series with only one other book shoved in there, and I'm starting to feel fried).
Will messed up A LOT, and that kind of annoyed me, because I love Will. I don't blame Will himself (is it crazy that I'm talking about him like he's real?) and I don't exactly blame Flanagan, I just wish there were other ways to further the plot than to have Will screw up a bunch.
But that's not a legitimate complaint. I'm just....defensive.
This book picks up the small amount of slack left by the eighth book. I loved the eighth, just...less than the other nine books in the series.
Still. This series is magical. Every single word is magical. And after reading it, I feel magical.