The Ruins of Gorlan

ethan_q - Morgarath, the former Baron of Gorlan in the Kingdom of Araluen, is training an army of Wargals, creatures that had only existed in rumors and legends in the remote mountains, and is planning to attack the Kingdom of Gorlan. Meanwhile in Araluen, the big day has come for Will and his wardmates Horace, Alyss, Jenny and George, where they become an apprentice. Will first choice is battleschool, since his father was there too. However, he doesn't have the abilities they are looking for, so he becomes an apprentice to a Ranger named Halt. Will learns skills most Rangers have, like using bows and being able to be unseen. During that time he became closer to Halt and was also given a horse called Tug. Meanwhile, Will's friend Horace is having a hard time at battleschool despite being one of the better apprentices. The training is very harsh and he is often picked on by older students. When Will and the rest of his friends get together during a local holiday, Will and Horace get in a fight, making them hate each other more. But after saving each other from a boar they start liking each other again. I think this is a really good book, I would recommend it to people looking for a good book to read

July 4, 2005
Bestial villains, noble knights and deposed despots prepare their forces for impending battle in the first book in the Ranger's Apprentice series by Australian author Flanagan. Fifteen-year-old Will, orphaned as a child, and his close friends anxiously await Choosing Day, when each will be chosen-or not-for apprenticeship in one of several schools. Those not chosen wind up as farm labor to help feed the castledwellers. "It was a fate Will feared more than anything." He entertains notions of entering Battleschool like his classmate-and sometime adversary-Horace. But because of Will's diminutive stature, and a knack for climbing, hiding and all things clandestine, he is instead chosen to be a Ranger, under the tutelage of Halt, who years earlier exiled the evil Morgarath to the land of the Mountains of Rain and Night. As Will learns archery and stealth techniques, he makes peace with Horace (who is being tormented by older classmates at Battleschool), and the two must then travel with a contingent of Rangers and warriors to fight invading, "almost invincible" Kalkara-bearlike assassins sent by Morgarath to kill Halt. On the whole, the story owes much to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Flanagan's Rangers more than recall Tolkien's, and the deposed Morgarath and his inhuman Wargals parallel Saruman and the Orcs a bit too closely. Still, for the uninitiated, this is an exciting tale of battle and honor. Ages 10-up.