Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Ranger's Apprentice: Book Four - The Battle for Skandia
Fiction Series
For ages 12 and up
Penguin, 2008 ISBN: 0142413402
Will and Evanlyn have been hiding in a cabin in the Skandian mountains for some time now, and at long last spring is here. Will is doing his best to get healthy again and he and Evanlyn are managing well enough, considering the fact that they are far from home and in hostile territory.
One day Evanlyn goes out to check the traps. When she does not come home Will goes out to look for her and his discovers that she has been abducted. Quickly Will sets off in pursuit and after a long hard day of tracking he catches up with Evanlyn. She has been kidnapped by a party of Temujai warriors, cold hearted men who do value the life of one young girl.
Just when it looks as if Evanlyn is going to be executed by her captors help from a very unexpected source arrives. Ever since Will and Evanlyn were taken from their homeland, Will’s master Halt and his friend Horace have been traveling to Skandia to rescue them. Halt and Horace arrive just in time to save Evanlyn and the four friends are reunited once more.
Their troubles are not over however, for it would appear that the Temujai are in the process of invading Skandia. This is worrying for the Araluens because the Temujai could very well target their country next. Determined to prevent this possibility Halt, Horace, Will, and Evanlyn decide to do what they can to help the Skandian’s defeat the Temujai. Though the Skandians are famous for being fierce fighters, they are outnumbered here and not used to dealing with an enemy that uses tactics and strategies on the battle field. They are, in short, going to need all the help they can get.
In this fourth book in the Ranger’s Apprentice series John Flanagan continues the story of Will and his friends. Full of battles, plot twists, and surprises of all sorts, this is a title that fans of adventure books will greatly enjoy. The author continues to develop his characters, allowing them to learn and to change as the story unfolds. This feature makes the book especially interesting and engaging.
