Will is small for his age, but fast and quick-witted. All his life, he has dreamed of becoming a great knight like the father he never knew, so he is devastated when he is rejected by Castle Redmont's Battleschool. Instead he is apprenticed to Halt, the mysterious Ranger whose uncanny ability to move unseen is thought to be the result of black magic. Reluctantly, Will learns to use a Ranger's secret weapons: a bow and arrow, a mottled cloak and a stubborn little pony. It may not be the sword and battlehorse he longs for, but when Will and Halt set out on a desperate mission to prevent the assassination of the King, Will finds that a Ranger's weapons are not so useless after all ...
Author Biography
John Flanagan began his working life in advertising before moving to freelance writing and script editing. He has written TV jingles and comedy-drama for television, and is one of Australia's more prolific TV writers. John wrote the first book in The Ranger's Apprentice series to encourage his twelve-year-old son to enjoy reading. Michael was a small boy, and all his friends were bigger and stronger that he was. John wanted to show him that reading was fun, and heroes weren't necessarily big and muscular. Now in his mid-twenties, Michael is six feet tall, broad-shouldered and powerful - but he still loves The Ranger's Apprentice. John lives in the beachside Sydney suburb of Manly.
