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A review by sarahed
The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan
4.0
This book is nicely paced throughout. Will and Horace have good character arcs. The resolution of the personal arc with the bullies gave them the skills they needed to face the enemies later, and was very satisfying. I enjoyed the wild boar scene and the way it drew the boys together.
The book took a few chapters to get into its stride. The prologue made me think it would be a more adult book. The initial writing style once we got into the choosing felt a bit childish...the scene with the Baron's servant being overly formal just made me cringe. But it seemed to settle after that, once Will became a Rangers Apprentice, and I mostly stopped noticing writing issues.
Overall I give it four stars because I enjoyed it a lot and was engaging. But it didn't go the extra mile for me. I didn't feel the story offered anything new to the genre. It was based in a typical fantasy world, with typical fantasy weapons and professions. It was very western world medieval. The wargals were orcs and the kalkera was a basilisk with legs. The female characters were underdeveloped and the hint of romance could have been cut because it felt pointless. And there was no magic, which is something I miss if it's not there. So the book as a whole didn't have that special something.
I'd recommend it mainly to younger readers and/or people who haven't read much fantasy and want to get into it - as they wouldn't be as familiar with the various tropes and would probably enjoy it more at face value.
The book took a few chapters to get into its stride. The prologue made me think it would be a more adult book. The initial writing style once we got into the choosing felt a bit childish...the scene with the Baron's servant being overly formal just made me cringe. But it seemed to settle after that, once Will became a Rangers Apprentice, and I mostly stopped noticing writing issues.
Overall I give it four stars because I enjoyed it a lot and was engaging. But it didn't go the extra mile for me. I didn't feel the story offered anything new to the genre. It was based in a typical fantasy world, with typical fantasy weapons and professions. It was very western world medieval. The wargals were orcs and the kalkera was a basilisk with legs. The female characters were underdeveloped and the hint of romance could have been cut because it felt pointless. And there was no magic, which is something I miss if it's not there. So the book as a whole didn't have that special something.
I'd recommend it mainly to younger readers and/or people who haven't read much fantasy and want to get into it - as they wouldn't be as familiar with the various tropes and would probably enjoy it more at face value.