I really, really tried to like this series. I really thought I would, too. Ranger's Apprentice was so appealing, and I'm always a sucker for stories like these. 
 ...Then I read The Ruins of Gorlan last month, and my hopes were instantly lowered. But I still continued on to this book, hoping it would be better than the disappointment that is The Ruins of Gorlan. 
 Unfortunately, I found it even less bearable than The Ruins of Gorlan. 
 Let's talk about what Flanagan did right, though, before I continue on to the thousands upon thousands of wrongs. 
 I complained about the writing style in my review of The Ruins of Gorlan. In this book, however, it's much more bearable and easier to cope with. So that's something. 
 Then I also complained about the little females in The Ruins of Gorlan. We had one more female character...and while it's not much, I'll take it. 
 I laughed at some points, and the dialogue was funny and entertaining. 
 The plot was a lot more exciting, the reasoning of the title was reached a lot quicker, and the action parts were well drawn-out and I really enjoyed them. However, they didn't make my heart beat for the characters because I didn't like many of them. 
 (We're getting to the characters later.) 
 An issue I had was that there were SO LITTLE plot twists. I can really only name 1 in this entire book. And in order for a book to get a 3, it has to have at least 2 interesting and surprising plot twists. Sure, I guess that the 1 plot twist was surprising, but I couldn't care for the characters at all. 
 The beginning was a little boring, but it gets...not boring later on. 
 I can't really find anything else to talk about, so we'll proceed to the characters. 
 I only liked TWO characters in this entire book: Halt and Gilan. I was fine with Evanlyn, and actually almost liked her by the end of the book, but she played such a minor role in everything and I felt that she was just...there. As an information dump and a plot element, as well as a way to introduce more females. Basically, a plot device. 
 But my liking for Halt started to wear away by the end of the book. At one point in the end of the book, he shoots all of his remaining arrows (ten) and gets rid of five people, leaving two people alive. And these are the enemy. He's trying to stop them, and he's not trying to get information from them. Halt has good combat skill? Good aim with an arrow? And...he MISSES half of the time when he is trying so desperately to hit? Sigh. 
 Gilan I liked. He was realistic, funny, yet all he did was teach Horace and Will about everything. Gah, why do the characters I like have to be there only to educate everyone about things? 
 Horace was a boring character and I felt next to no compassion for him. I really can't think of one reason why he would be likable. 
 There's also this huge issue I have with how females are judged in this book. Everyone thinks that women "can't do a men's job", and I understand that this is "back in the day" when women are "judged", but honestly, is there a single person who can't give a woman credit? And also, in the book, it says that diplomacy is a "man's job", which it isn't, because girls are probably better at diplomacy than men. Ugh. 
 And can I ask where the queen is? 
 Let's talk about Alyss for a moment here. I always pictured Alyss as serious. As an intellectual person who would always think a situation through. Who would get the hint. Who would not smile all the darn time and drive everyone bonkers. Yet she does smile all the time, and she does drive everyone bonkers. Or, at least, she drove me bonkers. 
 I also hated Evanlyn until the late middle. She just seemed too vulnerable and I was hoping that there would be a STRONG female in the book. But she does get stronger in the late middle. Yet although she cries at the mention of Wargals, she does not cry when they are literally in her face. Eh, maybe she likes their look. 
 Then we have Will. 
 Will. Freaking Will. Why. What a horrible character this boy is. I could say so many disgusting things about Will. So many. 
 He's always trying to do a job by himself. 
 Ugh. Just ugh. He always tries to get Horace and Evanlyn to leave him, but apparently he does not understand what friends are for--they're there to help you. To be with you, every step of the way. He's all like, "No! Stay back! I can't get you involved! You might die, and I can't risk that, even though I know you're good with a sword, Horace! You might die, and I can't risk that, Evanlyn! Females aren't very good at fights anyway! I have never heard of a female warrior before, have you?" 
 (Yes, I have, Will. Please refer to Annabeth Chase. Thank you and good day.) 
 To obey Gilan's instructions, he argues with Horace for some time, yet less than 24 hours later he's disobeying Gilan's instructions. 
 I think this is self-explanatory. 
 He panics when facing four Wargals with Halt while they're charging him, yet doesn't panic when he's facing at least three times as much Wargals, when they're charging him, without Halt at his side. 
 What. I guess it shows character development, but no. It's the same issue with Evanlyn. Fears do not disappear because you're facing a greater version of that fear, like crying when you think of them and not crying when you see them, or panicking when you fight four of them and not panicking when you fight a dozen of them. 
 And also, at the end, I guess there was supposed to be a plot twist, which has to do with knighthood and single combat and all of that. It would be a scary moment, and it would be a plot twist, if we actually knew what the rules of knighthood and single combat were. And we don't, until that moment. 
 (Halt, the Ranger, is challenged in this scene. He is not a knight, he is a Ranger!) 
 (Horace, the apprentice, issues a challenge in this scene. He is not a knight, he is an apprentice!) 
 Overall, I hated this book. I did not feel any sympathy for the characters because they weren't likable in the first place. I'm no longer reading this series. I'm giving up. I might go back and read The Icebound Land later, but for now, I'm giving up. 
 Trini would like to apologize for the length of this review. 
 My review for The Ruins of Gorlan