The Ruins of Gorlan

Ranger's Apprentice, Book 1

By: John Flanagan

Narrated by: John Keating

Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

The international best-selling series with over FIVE million copies sold in the US alone!

They have always scared him in the past - the Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now 15-year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger's apprentice. What he doesn't yet realize is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied....

Here is the fantasy adventure that launched the Ranger's Apprentice series, an epic story of heroes and villains that has become an international phenomenon. 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.

©2006 John Flanagan (P)2019 Listening Library

Critic Reviews

"The last few years have seen the publication of many fantasies, but few have the appeal of this original story. Rather than creating a host of strange creatures and magical powers, Flanigan concentrates on character, offering readers a young protagonist they will care about and relationships that develop believably over time.Readers will look forward to the next adventure in The Ruins of Gorlan series." (Booklist, starred review)

This book is a great adventure

As a middle school librarian I would often recommend this series to my students. They always came back with great reports about how excited and involved they got in this books. They are full of adventure, a little romance, a few monsters, great fights, wars, strategies, terrific characters and humor. I've gotten the whole series for my children to read to their children. I highly recommend this series

great book for preteen and teenagers.

story enticing enough for adults to listen as well. I really enjoyed this book with my 11 year old. we listened to it on a road trip and found it difficult to turn off.

amazing reading (includes some accents)

I loved the book when I first read it in paperback but this narrator makes it even better.

Great performance!!!

Love this book! Gripping story. No plot gaps. Perfect. Loved every moment of it. Get this one!

NEED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best book ever (1000000 way tie) and I always thought of Horace having a deep voice. Huh.

A great listen.

I downloaded this audiobook for my nephew and I to listen to during our long transits. He was very excited and quickly drawn into the story.

Good Story, Bad Narration

I liked the story, but the narrator style was annoying. No one talks the way he read. He is good at accents, but Will sounded like an 8 year old. He's supposed to be 15, and the narrator pauses too much, his intonation is unusual. It was distracting. As for the story, it was pretty good. It doesn't have the big climactic ending I expected. It looks like that will come in later books. I think I'll give the series another chance with book 2, but I'll read it instead of listening to it.

5 Stars

One of the best audiobook series that you can listen to! Or read, narrated by John Keating only!!

I look forward to the next book of this series.

I love the story. I feel a pacing was really good and the characters very interesting. I didn't really like the voice actor but it was easy to get past that and enjoy the story.

Will’s supposed to be 15 right?

Downloaded for nostalgia and the book holds up, but the narrator’s choice to make Will sound like a 6 year old boy is very off putting and I sincerely hope that changes in the sequeals