Erak's Ransom

What does it mean to earn the Silver Oakleaf? So few men have done so. For Will, a mere boy and apprentice to the most difficult Ranger to please, that symbol of honor has long seemed out of reach. If he is to ever earn it, he must prove himself in ways he never imagined.

Now, in the wake of Araluen's uneasy truce with the raiding Skandians comes word that the Skandian leader, Erak, has been captured by a desert tribe. The Rangers, along with a small party of warriors, are sent to free him. But the desert is like nothing these warriors have seen before. Strangers in a strange land, they are brutalized by sandstorms, beaten by the unrelenting heat, tricked by one tribe that plays by its own rules, and surprisingly befriended by another. Like a mirage, nothing is at it seems.

Yet one thing is constant: the bravery of the Rangers.



Erak's Ransom by John Flanagan is the 7th book in the Ranger's Apprentice series. This novel begins with a beautiful wedding, but then it immediately jumps into a journey at sea, and then to a harsh desert adventure (if you're writing a book, this is an example that you should start a book as close to the action as possible, so as to catch the reader's interest). The characters that I've come to know and love are thrust into an unforgiving land. Now they are out of their element as they try to rescue their friend and ally, Oberjarl Erak.

I would recommend this book to anyone, even to those who haven't read any of the previous books in the series yet. This book contains swordfighting, twists and turns, contrast in different cultures, and amazing details about the desert that makes you think that you're really there. This story will take you on an adventure full of suspense and danger. I don't know how many times I wondered if the main character was going to survive until the end of the book. Seriously, go read it.