The Tournament at Gorlan

Ranger's Apprentice: Early Years, Book 1

By: John Flanagan

Narrated by: John Keating

Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

When Halt and Crowley discover that the ambitious Morgarath has been infiltrating the Rangers in order to corrupt the Corps, the young Rangers travel north to find Prince Duncan, seeking a royal warrant to stop Morgarath before it is too late. By weakening the Rangers, the most powerful force in support of the King, Morgarath plans to steal the throne.

Yet when Halt and Crowley arrive in Gorlan, they discover just how close Morgarath's scheme is to success. Morgarath has a plan to discredit the prince and alienate him from his father. At the same time, the Baron of Gorlan has been conspiring to win the trust and admiration of the Council of Barons to further his plan. If the young Rangers are to prevent the coup from succeeding, they will have to tread a dangerous path, which leads them to a thrilling climax at the annual tournament at Gorlan, where a series of bitter duels must be fought and won.

This origin story brings listeners to a time before Will was an apprentice and lays the groundwork for the epic battles that will culminate with The Ruins of Gorlan and The Burning Bridge - books 1 and 2 of the Ranger's Apprentice series.

©2015 John A. Flanagan (P)2015 Listening Libarary

Critic reviews

"Action and intrigue, great characters, and a properly scary villain make this book an absolute necessity for any library. With appeal for both boys and girls, libraries can anticipate a waiting list for this title and great anticipation for the sequel." (School Library Connection, starred review)

"Flanagan’s familiar mix of action, humor, and cliff-hanger endings will have fans and newbies hooked." (School Library Journal)

Great Prequel, good story.

As a stand alone story, this is as good as any. Flanagan is good at bringing life to characters you can instantly like through of their interactions with each other. On the other hand, if you've made your way here through the first twelve books, it is a joyous thrill as characters you already love enter the story for the first time, especially when someone is fumbling his way through the first meeting with the person that we know will be the love of his life.

I've said it before... I don't care what age they are supposed to be written for. At almost 47 long years old, I love these books.

fantastic book

great book! enjoyed it almost more than the other Ranger books. I loved the way it set up the remaining books

Great to hear more about Halts backstory!

Was very eager to delve more intoHalts backstory and how Crowley becomes leader of the Rangers.

Another Great Book!

I absolutely love this book. It's great to see how the series began! Love it

Never miss with this author

I've loved every book! Narrator is very talented and creative? excellent moral tones yet exciting enough to keep an age interested.

Amazing!!

This book is so good!! This is my favorite Rangers Apprentice book so far ( other than kings of clonmel). Very very great!! Definitely recommend.

Every spare minute I had, I had to listen.

I was captivatied each moment of the story. I could not stop listening to it. the story had amazing character development, along with the amazing voice actor, which really help the story be brought to life.

Excellent return!

It was so good to return to this world with this book! Good to have Halt back!

just wow is all I can say

loved it so much I played it twice and will keep playing it Jhon Flanagan never fails with his books

Absolutely excellent story and prologue to the amazing series.

truly an amazing experience, my first audio book and an excellent story with a very good series ahead of it