Richard Sun reviews The Sorcerer of the North

The Sorcerer of the North is the fifth book in the Ranger’s Apprentice series. This book is quite an exciting and fun book, especially if you have read the earlier books. However, even if you have not read them, it is still quite easy to catch up in the storyline as the book describes it nicely. Will is the main character of the book, who works as a Ranger that serves the king. They act as the king’s eyes and ears, and go around to map the world. Will, now a newly commissioned ranger, has been assigned his own fief to look after. There are many conflicts inside this book, but the main conflict is that Will has to figure out the truth of what is happening in the north. Lord Symon has been struck down with an ill, and there is no cure for it. There has been a rumor that a sorcerer lives in the woods nearby, and nobody every finds out what really is in there. Disguised as a jongleur, Will and his friend, Alyss, go to investigate what is happening, and find out who is truly loyal to Lord Symon. Soon though, Alyss is kidnapped and taken hostage, and Will is forced to make a decision to save his friend or to finish his quest.
Will is only believable to a point, as he is a brave character who will sacrifice anything to save his friends. Miraculously, he always gets away unharmed, and at the end gaining great rewards from the king and others. Most people will not follow his behavior; however, it is what makes this story interesting. Will is also a very affectionate character, as he always cares for people that he loves. As in a previous book, Will goes to save his mentor, Halt, when he is in deep trouble. Will is an intelligent person, and is also very keen. When he first meets the Baron at his newly assigned fief, “he was aware that Ergell was watching him closely, waiting for his response.” (Flanagan, 29) He knows how to handle situations very well, and his eyes almost never miss anything. Not many people in the real world are able to have that ability, but it is still possible. Also, Will is a person that knows how to handle extreme situations very well. When the fief that he served in was attacked by raiding sea riders, also called Skandians, he invited them to a banquet. The Skandians got what they wanted, and the fief was not attacked. Alyss says later on, “I’d say you handled things pretty well.” (Flanagan, 43) Of course, this is not what normal people would be able to do, and therefore I think Will is not a believable and realistic character.
I would recommend this book for people who like adventure and fantasy books. Although it isn’t a Walt Disney style of fantasy book, the world is a bit different from the modern day world, as it is set sometime in the past. There are castles and kingdoms in this book and the Rangers use longbows as their weapons instead of machine guns. The majority of people who read this book will be boys, but girls can also read it too if they are interested in adventure and exciting books. Put in a short way, the entire story is revolved around the brave and intelligent acts of Will, and that is what makes the story exciting but not very realistic. Overall, I think that this novel is an exciting and fun one to read, and many people should read it!