By John Flanagan
The third book in this series was a quick read. We followed the team of Evelyn and Will through the rough winter wilderness of Skandia and the journey of Halt and Horace on their way to attempt a rescue.
There were some surprises in this fast paced adventure, more so than the last two books. Will succumbing to the warmweed was a shock. Reading about his addiction from Evelyn, Erak, and eventually Will, too, gave a subdued ending to the text. I did not expect to read about addiction in a book aimed at a relatively young audience.
I was, again, incredibly disappointed with how Flanagan chose to write the female characters. I guess there was really only one in this book. Towards the end she tries her hand at hunting with the bow and fails miserably and repeatedly. Then, a few pages later, Flanagan is explicitly telling his audience of her perseverance, her strength, her immense will to continue on the difficult path. It seemed fake, forced. I understand that sometimes people aren't good at some skills, and her upbringing as a princess did not include bow hunting education. Instead of watching her fail and almost harping on her inabilities, I wish we focused on her adaptability and ability to think creatively and come up with a different solution that ultimately lead to success. Some might argue that Flanagan did this, but to that I say, the focus was on her failures instead of her triumph. The tone of the writing was not conducive to supporting her in all that she had already accomplished. She saved the male lead and ultimately provided standard living conditions for probably a months time as a teenage girl. We can't all be Katniss Everdeen, but this princess deserved better writing.
This will likely be the last of the Ranger's Apprentice books that I read, at least for a little while.
Thanks for reading and showing an interest.
Happy Reading, Bookworms!
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