Erak's Ransom: Book Seven

The seventh "Ranger's Apprentice" book is kind of confusing chronologically -- it's actually set between the fourth and fifth books of the series, during the last days of Will's apprenticeship.And oddly enough, the tough young apprentice Will is almost a supporting character in his own story until the second half of the book, with the focus often shifting to Alyss, Halt and Cassandra. That's also the point when John Flanagan revs up the plot of "Ranger's Apprentice 7: Erak's ransom," pouring in plenty of action, bloody battles, politics, bandits and a treacherous conspiracy against the Skandian oberjarl.After years of being secretly in love with each other, the Ranger Halt and the diplomat Lady Pauline are married in nearly royal style... only for their luxurious reception to be crashed by Svengel. The Skandian warrior reveals that Erak decided to go on one last raid in the Middle-Easty land of Arrida, got captured, and is being ransomed for eight thousand reels. King Duncan is happy to provide the money, but he's not so happy that a member of the royal family must go to Arrida... and his strong-willed daughter Cassandra is volunteering. So the princess (under the guise of "Evanlyn"), three Rangers and a crew of Skandian warriors set off for Arrida, and haggle a bargain with the ruling Wakir, Selethen.But things go wrong when Will loses his faithful pony Tug in a sandstorm, and goes off searching for him -- only to become lost in the desert. Selethen, Halt, Evanlyn and Svengel soon learn that Erak has been kidnapped from his kidnappers, and they may be after the deadliest, cruelest people in Arrida, the Tualaghi. Even worse, an old enemy is involved. The only hope for his friends may be Will, and the new allies he's gained in Arrida's deserts.It takes awhile for Will to take center stage in "Erak's Ransom" -- for the first half of the novel, Will is basically a secondary character tagging along with Halt. First Flanagan chronicles the lavish wedding of Pauline and Halt, then the straggly journey to Arridia, and finally Evanlyn's political wrangling with Selethen -- and the titular ranger's apprentice just sort of drifts along with the group, not getting much attention. If anything, it seems like Evanlyn/Cassandra is going to be the star here.But the plot flowers when the gang sets out into the desert, and the story splits between Will's lonely quest and the rest of the group's search for Erak. Flanagan's prose is both fast-paced and solidly descriptive (example: Will's frantic race against a Bedullin boy), with plenty of desert nomads, bloodstained battles, a stint in the waterless wasteland and a climactic clash in the desert. And no matter how bleak the situation, he weaves in some mild humor to lighten the mood ("Tha's a big nose." "It's the only one I've got").It's also obvious in this story that both Cassandra/Evanlyn and Will are growing up -- Cassandra is upsetting her dad by immersing herself in politics and training with a sling, while Will is worrying about his graduation into a full-fledged Ranger. And when he isn't guarding the princess or tracking bandits through the desert, Halt also gets extra attention since he's getting married. Or ratgher, reluctantly dragged into an impressive state wedding, complete with dancing, formal clothes and a two-hundred-person guest list.And Flanagan fleshes out the cast with plenty of solid characters, such as the horse-hating Svengel, the intelligent and honorable Selethen, and the vile Yusal. The only character who doesn't really come alive is Alyss, who seems like a younger clone of Pauline -- she's far less engaging than the feisty Cassandra, and seems to have less of a rapport with Will."Erak's Ransom" extends the epic fantasy series into a new land, with new allies, old enemies, and lots of nasty desert animals. Just don't get confused about the chronology.