After coming off a book that sucked the soul out of me, I was rather pleased by how enjoyable it was to read The Ruins of Gorlan. It's a fun, light read following the story of a teenage boy who has been taken on as an apprentice to one of the most mysterious figures he's ever known, Halt, to learn to ways of the Ranger and train to protect the Kingdom. I've always liked stories like this because the allure of the Ranger really pulls me in. Warriors who uses the bow and stealth to obtain the upper hand on their enemies before they even know to react. So, naturally I'd be all over this kind of story. 
 As for the story itself I enjoyed it quite a bit, even though it may be a tad unoriginal. There are several books in this series, and it's obvious when you read the first one because it's feels like a big introduction to the characters and the way of life in the world the author has created. But it's written in such a way that it's still exciting and has its fine moments to admire. I found the main character, Will, to be pretty generic as protagonists go, but the other characters such as Old Bob, who made me laugh, Horace, with his struggles and growing maturity, and I even found Halt to be somewhat fascinating. So, the story may be a little unoriginal but that's not always a bad thing, because sometimes it's exactly what you want to read. And the Ranger's Apprentice doesn't disappoint when what you're looking for is a fun, medieval adventure filled with knights, monsters and mayhem. 
 The Ruins of Gorlan is a worthy beginning to the Ranger's Apprentice series, and it's so good that I won't be hesitating to read more of the adventure in the following books.