In this second iteration of the twelve books in the Ranger’s Apprentice series, we revisit our
beloved character Will. Now marked with fame by his contest against the Kalkara and his rescue
of his even more famous master Halt, he is sent on a mission in preparation for war against the
exiled lord Morgarath. But this falls to pieces when Will, accompanied by Halt’s former
apprentice Gilan and his friend Horace, finds the neighboring lands of Celtica deserted, a lost girl
who may be royalty, and a massive bridge that will tear the Araluen army to pieces if it isn’t
destroyed. This book is just as good as the last, adding a new and complex (and important future)
character which also helps build on previous characters personalities and bonds. This is, in my
eyes, an excellent representation of the transition of younger teens into older ones and it really is
impressive how the author managed to capture that. If I were to recommend the first of the
Ranger’s Apprentice books (which I would) I couldn’t not recommend this one.