Monthly Archives: May 2022

05.27.22
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Ranger’s Apprentice: The Royal Ranger #3

Duel at Araluen

John Flanagan

Publishing Date: 2018

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 1.5/5

Review: This series is really getting too smug for it’s own good. Gone are the visceral moments of character building we saw with Will Treaty. Now we have the constant insertion of coffee and all the pleasures therein that plagues the novel with irrelevant interludes. Yeah, we fugging get it, you like coffee.

Maddie is just so wonderful, and everyone is so proud of her. Wow, she is even better than any Ranger that has come before but cwies wike a wittle muffin when her waddy’s fwighting in a distant land. Sniff. Ah, but she has a sling that can kill prehistoric tigers like her mom the Queen did in a distant Asian land where Bigfoot has a massive colony. You think I am making this shjt up? Well no one wants to mess with a Ranger, especially one so accomplished as a teenager in knife throwing, slingy thingy, archery, foreign languages, needlepoint, field stealth, medic, horse trainer, tracking blah blah blah.

There are the same plot holes that riddle the other novels in this series. Nearby and readily available help is ignored because it would “Just take too long”. But, they have time to travel back to the castle to rescue everyone. The Scandians are the only likable group in this POS, and sadly, Will is not involved.

05.27.22
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Ranger’s Apprentice: The Royal Ranger #2

The Red Fox Clan

John Flanagan

Publishing Date: 2018

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 2.9/5

Review: This is the first in a two part mini series within the main sequence of novels. This novel picks up a little as Maddie is no longer an entitled brat driven by an all consuming ego. Character development? I suppose. Just not an intricate weaving that one would expect from an accomplished author.

Another recurring theme is where do all these mass groups of dissenters and rebels spring from? And why are they so well funded as to hire mercenaries from other countries? Where are all the other multitudinous fiefs with their heavily laden garrisons when you need them when there exists a stout carrier pigeon message service? Can you say easily crafted plot vehicle?

Right now I am on the fence with this series. Flanagan is a good story teller and weaves an interesting yet predictable story line. The greatness coupled with the goodness of our protagonists is wearing thin.

05.26.22
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Ranger’s Apprentice: The Royal Ranger #1

The Royal Ranger: A New Beginning

John Flanagan

Publishing Date: 2013

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 2.4/5

Review: This is a story, of a lovely lady, who was feisty and stalwart like her mom. She had hair of gold, like the princess and she was all alone. Till the one day that she met this fellow, who was broken and grumbled like a boar. So she set off with this daring Ranger as an apprentice and she was soon to soar.

Well it did kind of read like the Brady Bunch. Everyone in the family is either a Kings Champion, a King, Princess Regent or a Princess. This was a fairly patterned read and the only redeeming quality is that Will and Halt are still in evidence. Mostly it is about the shaping of a brat into a Ranger. Ho Hum.

05.26.22
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Ranger’s Apprentice – The Complete Collection

John Flanagan

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 3.8/5

Review: Well finally done with the 10 books in this series and it was quite the ride. Enjoyed the character development and the principle characters with a few exceptions.

The story line was always predictable and the suspension of belief constant, as our MC’s are YA’s that perform super human feats while riding the jealousy train now and again. See competition is fierce when you have an underage boy that piques the interest of a Lady and a Princess. MEOW!!!! HISSSSSSPHHHHT!!! Well they end up being besties so down the toilet that competition for selection went.

Horace and Halt are great characters that carried the story line with their base approaches to life. Logical thinking can help a story make. The world building is good, but the novels lacked maps up until the ending. A good ride and looking forward to the separate series “The Royal Ranger”.

05.03.22
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The Final Architecture #1

Shards of Earth

Adrian Tchaikovsky

Publishing Date: 2021

Genre: SciFi

Rating: 4.1/5

Review: I can’t believe I spaced on reviewing this a long time ago. Crack slippers. Anyhoo, this was an involved novel with great character development within an ever expanding universe.

Idris plays the reluctant hero (insert Kevin Costner) without the smirk and shy grin. A winner IMO. The next in the series is out so I am off to GIT IT IN MAH BELLY!!