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The Sorcerer of the North: Book Five (Ranger's Apprentice) Paperback – June 25, 2009

by John Flanagan (Author)

4.7 5,376 ratings

Book 5 of 11: Ranger's Apprentice

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The international bestselling series with over 5 million copies sold in the U.S. alone!

Several years have passed since the apprentice and his master, Will and Halt, first met, and Will is finally a full-fledged Ranger with his own fief to look after. The fief seems sleepy?boring, even?until Lord Syron, master of a castle far in the north, is struck down by a mysterious illness. Joined by his friend Alyss, Will is suddenly thrown headfirst into an extraordinary adventure, investigating fears of sorcery and trying to determine who is loyal to Lord Syron. As Will battles growing hysteria, traitors, and most of all, time, Alyss is taken hostage, and Will is forced to make a desperate choice between his mission and his friend.
Perfect for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, T.H. White’s The Sword in the Stone, Christopher Paolini’s Eragon series, and George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire series.

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From the Publisher


	The Ruins of Gorlan	The Burning Bridge	The Icebound Land	The Battle for Skandia	The Sorcerer of the North	The Siege of Macindaw

Customer Reviews	9,868	739	6,004	4,954	5,376	5,393
Price	$9.99	$8.69	$7.99	$8.08	$8.34	$8.09
	Book One of the Ranger's Apprentice series	Book Two of the Ranger's Apprentice series	Book Three of the Ranger's Apprentice series	Book Four of the Ranger's Apprentice series	Book Five of the Ranger's Apprentice series	Book Six of the Ranger's Apprentice series


	Erak's Ransom	The Kings of Clonmel	The Emperor of Nihon-Ja	Halt's Peril	The Lost Stories

Customer Reviews	4,784	489	518	494	476
Price	$9.49	$8.50	$8.89	$8.49	$8.99
	Book Seven of the Ranger's Apprentice series	Book Eight of the Ranger's Apprentice series	Book Nine of the Ranger's Apprentice series	Book Ten of the Ranger's Apprentice series	Book Eleven of the Ranger's Apprentice series


	A New Beginning	The Outcasts

Customer Reviews	5,792	2,984
Price	$11.19	$11.82
	From #1 New York Times bestselling author John Flanagan comes the story that brings the Ranger's Apprentice series full-circle and ushers in a brand new arc starring Maddie, the Royal Ranger!	Full of seafaring adventures and epic battles, Book 1 of The Brotherband Chronicles is sure to thrill readers of Ranger's Apprentice while enticing a whole new generation just now discovering the books.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The last few years have seen the publication of many fantasies, but few have the appeal of this original story. -Booklist, starred review, for The Ruins of Gorlan

About the Author

John Flanagan grew up in Sydney, Australia, hoping to be a writer. John began writing Ranger’s Apprentice for his son, Michael, ten years ago, and is still hard at work on the series and its spinoff, Brotherband Chronicles. He currently lives in the suburb of Manly, Australia, with his wife. In addition to their son, they have two grown daughters and four grandsons.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

2

EARLY IN THE AFTERNOON THEY REACHED THE SEA AND WILL knew he was near the end of his journey. Castle Seacliff was set on a large, leaf-shaped island, separated from the mainland by a hundred meters of deep water. At low tide a narrow causeway allowed access to the island, but at high tide, as it was now, a ferry provided transport across. The difficult access had helped keep Seacliff secure for many years and was one of the reasons why the fief had become something of a backwater. In earlier times, of course, the raiding Skandians in their wolfships had made things quite lively. But it had been some years now since the sea wolves from the north had raided the coast of Araluen.

The island was perhaps twelve kilometers in length and eight across, and Will could not yet see the castle itself. He assumed it would be set somewhere in the high ground toward the middle—that was basic strategic thinking. For the moment, however, it was hidden from sight.

Will had debated stopping for a meal at noon, but now, so close to the end of his journey, he decided to press on. There would be an inn of some kind in the village that would huddle close to the castle walls. Or he might find a meal in the castle kitchens. He tugged the lead rein to bring the packhorse alongside and leaned over to inspect the wounded dog. Her eyes were closed and her nose rested on her front paws. He could see the black sides moving in and out as she breathed. There was a little more blood around the lips of the wound but the main flow had been stanched. Satisfied that she was comfortable, Will touched a heel to Tug’s side and they moved on down to the ferry, a large, flat-bottomed punt that was drawn up on the beach.

The operator, a heavily muscled man of about forty, was sprawled on the deck of his craft, sleeping in the warm autumn sunshine. He awoke, however, as some sixth sense registered the slight jingle of harness from the two horses. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, then came quickly to his feet.

“I need to get across to the island,” Will told him, and the man saluted clumsily.

“Yes indeed, sir. Of course. At your service, Ranger.”

There was a hint of nervousness in his voice. Will sighed inwardly. He was still unused to the thought that people were wary of Rangers—even one as fresh-faced as he was. He was a naturally friendly young man and he often longed for easy companionship with other people. But that was not the Rangers’ way. It served their purpose to remain aloof from ordinary people. There was an air of mystery about the Ranger Corps. Their legendary skill with their weapons, their ability to move about unseen and the secretive nature of their organization all added to their mystique.

The boatman heaved on the thick cable that ran from the mainland to the island, passing through large pulleys set at either end of the punt. The punt, afloat at one end, moved easily from the beach until it rested wholly in the water. Will guessed that the pulley arrangements gave the operator a mechanical advantage that allowed him to move the large craft so easily.

There was a tariff board nailed to the railing and the operator saw him study it.

“No charge for a Ranger, sir. Free passage for you.”

Will shook his head. Halt had impressed on him the need to pay his way. Be beholden to no one, he had said. Make sure you owe nobody any favors.

He calculated quickly. Half a royal per person, and the same for each horse. Plus four pennigs for other animals. Close enough to two royals all told. He swung down from the saddle, took a gold three-royal piece from his purse and handed it to the man.

“I’ll pay,” he said. “Two royals is close enough.” The man looked at the coin, then looked at the rider and the two horses, puzzled. Will jerked his head toward the packhorse.

“There’s another animal on the packhorse,” he explained. The ferry operator nodded, and handed him a silver one-royal piece in change.

“Right enough, sir,” he said. He glanced curiously at the packhorse as Will led it onto the punt, taking in the dog in its snug retreat.

“Good-looking dog, that ’un,” he said. “He’s yours, is he?”

“I found her injured by the road,” Will said. “Someone had cut her with a blade of some sort and left her to die.”

The boatman rubbed his stubbly chin thoughtfully. “John Buttle has a shepherd like that one. And he’d be the kind to injure a dog and leave it that way. Has a nasty temper, John does, particularly when he’s in his drink.”

“And what does this John Buttle do?” Will asked.

The boatman shrugged. “He’s a herder by trade. But he does most things. Some say he does his real work at nights along the roads, looking for travelers who are about after dark. But no one’s proved it. He’s a might too handy with that spear of his for my liking. He’s a good man to stay away from.”

Will glanced at the packhorse again, thinking of the cruel gash in the dog’s side.

“If Buttle’s the one who hurt that dog, he’ll do well to stay away from me,” he said coldly.

The boatman studied him for a moment. The face was young and well-featured. But there was a hard light in the eyes, he saw. He realized that with Rangers, it never did to assume too much. This pleasant-looking lad wouldn’t be wearing the Ranger gray and green if he didn’t have steel in him. Rangers were deceptive folk and that was a fact. There were even some who held that they were skilled in the black arts of magic and sorcery and the boatman wasn’t altogether sure that those people didn’t have the right of it. Surreptitiously making a sign to ward off evil, he moved to the front of the punt, glad for an excuse to break off the conversation.

“Best be getting us across then,” he said. Will sensed the change in atmosphere. He glanced at Tug and raised his eyebrows. The horse didn’t deign to notice.

As the boatman heaved again on the thick hawser, the punt slid across the water toward the island, small waves burbling under the blunt prow and slapping against the low timber sides. Will noticed that the ferry operator’s home, a small planked hut with a thatched roof, was on the island side—presumably as a security measure. The prow of the ferry soon grated into the island’s coarse sand, the current slewing it sideways a little as the forward progress stopped. The operator unhitched the single rope rail across the front and gestured for Will to disembark. Will swung up astride Tug and the horses’ hooves clopped on the planks as they stepped carefully forward.

“Thank you,” he said as Tug stepped off onto the beach. The ferry operator saluted again.

“At your service, Ranger,” he said. He watched the slim, erect figure as he rode into the trees and was lost from sight.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0142414298
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Viking Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (June 25, 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780142414293
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0142414293
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 10 - 13 years
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 850L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 5 - 9
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.06 x 0.86 x 7.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #45,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #179 in Teen & Young Adult Wizards & Witches Fantasy
- #230 in Teen & Young Adult Fantasy Action & Adventure
- #240 in Teen & Young Adult Sword & Sorcery Fantasy

Customer Reviews:
4.7 5,376 ratings

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John Flanagan

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John Flanagan grew up in Sydney, Australia hoping to be a writer. It wasn't until he wrote a highly uncomplimentary poem about a senior executive at the agency he worked, however, that his talent was revealed. It turned out one of the company directors agreed with John's assessment of the executive, and happily agreed to train John in copywriting. After writing advertising copy for the next two decades, John teamed with an old friend to develop a television sitcom, Hey Dad!, which went on to air for eight years. John began writing Ranger's Apprentice for his son, Michael, ten years ago, and is still hard at work on the series. He currently lives in the suburb of Manly, Australia, with his wife. In addition to their son, they have two grown daughters and four grandsons.

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GenevieveP L.

Great book!

Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2024

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The Saga of the Rangers Apprentice is a great coming of age series of stories for teen aged boys especially NYT for girls too.

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Judy Daniels

Exciting and fast moving

Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2023

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These books are written for tweens and young teens. But as a lover of clean fantasy--enjoyed it myself. Good action and fun to read in a slow afternoon.

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Mel Odom

Another winning entry

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2012

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My wife and fifteen year old love John Flanagan's The Ranger's Apprentice series. We've been listening to the audiobooks for a few years now, always when we're on long trips so we can get a whole book in. This Thanksgiving we got away for a few days, and we listened to The Sorcerer of the North, the fifth book in the series of ten. Our trip was shorter than normal this time, though, but we ended up listening to the book during the quiet hours of our stay at a rental cabin.

In this book, young Will is a man hand has his own territory to cover as a Ranger. He's pretty much a law unto himself, a spy and a force for the king. It was odd seeing Will in action as a man instead of a teen, although he isn't a very old man, barely into his twenties. I missed seeing him a Halt's side, or trying to figure out how to play the odds against the adults. But it was also nice to see him pretty much full grown and doing what he was trained to do.

The plot is complicated in this book, and it took a little while for all the pieces to come together, but Flanagan is a gifted author when it comes to plots. Will is tasked with finding out what sickness has stricken down Lord Syron and who is truly loyal to him, and maybe sorting out who the eventual inheritor of the lands should be.

I liked the plotting and the characters, the hiding and the spycraft that goes on throughout. Alyss, Will's friend who is also a spy, joins the mission and things really heat up on all fronts because during the action Will and Alyss discover that they're drawn to each other in ways they hadn't expected.

Flanagan's sense of the world is awesome in this one. As Will traipses around the castle, the castlegrounds, and the forest outside the walls, the environment comes to life on every page. Flanagan has a vivid imagination and shares if quite elegantly with his readers.

I also enjoy the author's subtlety, the way he leads you down a path and you start expecting events to take a certain turn, then he twists everything around so that you don't know quite what is going on or who to trust. Flanagan is at his best in this one.

The only thing that will put some readers off, especially the new ones, is how the book ends with so many things left hanging. I howled when we got to the end, not prepared to let go. My son patiently reminded me that every book Flanagan does is more or less two parts. And that's true. Books five and six basically form one large story, as did the first pair of books and the second pair. However, the other two were not truncated quite so suddenly as events come to a halt in this one.

I've got the sixth book in the series. I'm just waiting on another family trip!

3 people found this helpful

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Karen Keyte

Will On His Own

Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2011

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After six years as an apprentice to the legendary Ranger Halt, Will has finally graduated. As a newly minted Ranger, he's sent to the relatively sleepy Fief of Seacliff. Not much happens in Seacliff, which means Will can get his feet underneath him and get used to relying on making decisions without Halt to guide him. As it turns out, Seacliff is not quite as boring as it first appeared. Before he is even properly settled, Will must deal with an angry and dangerous local man, as well as a wolfship full of raiding Skandians that comes ashore not far from Seacliff Castle. Successfully resolving these difficulties gives Will a much needed boost of confidence and it comes at the perfect time.

After a visit from his childhood friend, the diplomat Alyss Mainwaring, Will is headed off on a secret mission to the icy Fief of Norgate, charged with investigating the mysterious illness of Castle Macindaw's Lord Syron. Though small, Macindaw occupies an important defensive position for the Kingdom of Araluen, protecting a significant pass through the northern mountains from the Scotti tribes to the north. With rumors of sorcery surrounding Lord Syron's illness, King Duncan needs someone he can trust on the scene to determine exactly what is happening. It's up to Alyss and Will to uncover the truth and perhaps save Araluen from invasion.

Although The Sorcerer of the North is officially book five in The Ranger's Apprentice series, chronologically it follows Erak's Ransom (book seven), which fills in some of the three years that pass between books four and five. Like all the books of The Ranger's Apprentice, The Sorcerer of the North is exquisitely crafted, filled with the kind of description and detail that draws the reader directly into the story. Of all the books in The Ranger's Apprentice series though, this one provides the least amount of battle action. This does not mean it suffers from a lack of suspense. This is more a novel of espionage, although I expect to find some of Mr. Flanagan's trademark battle scenes in the second part of this story, The Siege of Macindaw.

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Kindle Customer

Good book on its own merits

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2022

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As the fifth Installment of the Ranger's Apprentice series this book gives life to characters we have learned to love. This book drops you right into Will's first mission as a full-blown ranger. John Flanagan provides us with lots of fun and mystery in this one. I approve. If there was anything missing from this book it would be Will's graduation ceremony as in there was none! I mean I'm 5 books in and you think I don't wanna see this kid graduate. 😂

Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2022

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I was a little dissapointed about the time line of 5 years but the story is well written and full of action. Plus the writter always leaving you wanting more!!!

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Polar Bear

Great plot, awesome characters

Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2011

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"The Sorcerer of the North" is book 5 in John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series and picks up where book 4 left off. Will is no longer an apprentice now; he is a full fledged Ranger assigned to his own fief. Rumor has it that a sorcerer is terrorizing citizens of Araluen up north, and Will is dispatched to investigate. I don't want to ruin the plot if you have yet to read the book, but Flanagan again does an amazing job of telling his story. He paints vivid images with his words, his characters truly come alive, and there are several unexpected plot twists and turns. The book is fast paced, the action intense, and the character development top notch. I'm a huge fan of Flanagan's and can't wait to continue reading this series. If you're looking for a good read, any of his books are highly recommended!

One person found this helpful

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M Saavedra

Easy read

Reviewed in Mexico on April 11, 2023

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Really enjoyed the book, it’s easy to read and follow, the whole book series has a fun catch

Badapple

Great books

Reviewed in Canada on September 2, 2022

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Highly recommended for boys and their dads.

Alex

Ótimo !!!!

Reviewed in Brazil on January 26, 2018

Verified Purchase

Para quem conhece a saga, acompanhar nosso querido protagonista crescer e se tornar um Ranger completo é uma ótima experiência, como sempre a narrativa é impecável, a história envolvente e os personagens cativantes, recomendo muito !

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Kindle Customer

The BEST BOOK EVER! I Love you John Flanagan!

Reviewed in Australia on October 16, 2019

Verified Purchase

I chose this 5 star rating because I love all your books.
I loved all of it. You are also very eloquent.
I'd recommend this to any nine year old that is excellent at reading and doesn't fit in like me.

ruth hart

Great book

Reviewed in Spain on November 17, 2013

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It's a little easy to guess what happens and it was a fantastic adventure I would recommend his over sereis

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