****spoiler Alert**** There captured and might not even return but will they survive the terrible prison that awaits them.This is a adventure,action type of genre and man it's so good.I give this book a 5 out of five stars because it's so so good and you should read it. The setting takes place in a wolf ship and Gallica but mostly in a shelter base where Skandians rest when there's a storm coming in.Okay so Will and Evanlyn are captured and are taken as slaves to be sold of when they reach Skandia but then a storm comes and are delayed. They reach a cove where they can relax until the storm ends and well Will and Evanlyn are forced to serve and obey them for until the storm ends. But Will not giving up exercises and trains to find a way out of this place and go home but Evanlyn thinks it's useless and no point then say's to Will that she is the princess and thinks that her father can just pay for for him and her but the leader of the Skandians the Oberjarl of Skandia has declared that he will kill all people that is related to the crown no matter what it takes. Meanwhile back in Areluan Halt is trying to find a way to rescue Will and the princess but the king say's no not until all of Morgaraths men and leaders are captured and halt gets mad and gets drunk so drunk that he starts to make fun of the king and gets arrested and gets banished from the kingdom but the king and Halt already seemed to know why halt did this and plays along with it. As halt is leaving Horace comes and joins him but halt was saying "better not ask any questions in the way" and as always Horace just kept on saying questions. As they almost were about to leave to Skandia girls with little skirts start to peak Horace's attention but couldn't make out what the girls where saying about him and ask halt and halt just say's "they have small skirts because there couriers and they use them to run" then feels ashamed to lie to Horace about what does skirts are really for. Back in the cove where Will is another ship comes with a more baddest crew and comes and disturbs them all so Will say's now is the time to leave as they were about to leave on there small boat it sinks and get caught then for some odd reason Erak the captain feels passion for them. They leave and Erak feels sorry and wants to keep them close as much as he could and does but at what cost to Will when he gets yard duty.It's a person vs person where Will and Evanlyn try to escape Erak and his crew. I was surprised when Halt lied to Horace because to my i feel like halt's the type of person that will tell you the truth.The character changed Erak the skandian captain like he hated them Will and Evanlyn then he started to feel passion for them when he said "i hope they stay together if not then it will ruin there lives if it did." Why did Evanlyn take so long to tell will that she was the princess i mean come on it took so long and still she could have a little bit of fate.I was satisfied with the ending and how the yard duty is terror and then cliffhanger i hate those it even said " the terror a whats for him" then it ends. I give this book a 5 out of five stars because it's just so good and you should really read it. If you like cliffhangers action and adventure you must read this. It's not over so don't stop reading until we know what happens next.
Nice read.There is so much incompetence in this book it's difficult to even begin to chronicle. The much vaunted Ranger awareness is shown in this book to be a total joke. In chapter 24 Halt, the best ranger in the entire kingdom, who's horse has the amazing ability to sense danger lurking in bushes, who himself can hear the slightest whisper of movement from uncanny distances, is caught completely unaware by a dozen untrained crossbow wielding louts hiding in the bushes. Will, the up and coming ranger who can make himself practically invisible at will, in a land where the cutlery is all miraculously saxe shaped (which happens to be the knife Will trained with to an amazing level of skill) left to his own devices in the courtyard of his enemies, doesn't think to use any of his skills to change his situation in the slightest, and instead promptly develops a debilitating addiction to weed. Horace, the warrior-in-training, of a guild of warriors that carries their swords everywhere, even into the presence of their king, leaves his sword hanging "behind the door of his room, upstairs", this of course this when he has cause to need it most; Presumably to maximize both his incompetence and helplessness. Clearly carelessness is a state most favored by the author for every one of his protagonists. Worse than the innumerable examples of incompetence are the outrageous lengths the author goes to in order to avoid bloodshed.Swords, axes, arrows, throwing knives, lances, outlaws, pirates, and dark knights. Surely someone will draw blood eventually, right? Miraculously, no; there is no bloodshed in this book at all (up to the point where I threw it down in disgust, at least). There's violence but the violence never seems to hurt anyone too badly. For the villains that idle threats and empty bravado aren't enough to send scurrying to surrender, a warning arrow or inexplicably bloodless whack with a broadsword seem to suffice. Near the beginning of the book, in chapter two, Halt takes out a group brigands with a single shot which hits only a cloak and causes its target only mild temporary discomfort upon which all brigands immediately give up without a fight. Similarly, throughout his journeys in France, Will's friend Horace engages no less than 5 knights in full armor, each time doing no more damage than denting their helms and knocking them unconscious. Some may think this an ideal lesson for older children to be learning, I however disagree. Is this the lesson that should be taught, that waving a weapon around will immediately accomplish your goals without bloodshed, that full battle with deadly weapons results in at worst a mild concussion? Far better to teach that weapons kill, and kill permanently. One might argue that children of the age for which this book is intended (nine through twelve) should not be reading of death, however the way this book approaches violence is equivalent to a story in which dancing on a lake of thin ice results in ice-cream and rainbows. The mores found in this book are repugnant.
What do You think about The Icebound Land (2007)?
This as another solid fantasy adventure to add to the series. In this installment Will and Evanlyn have been taken by the Skandian Jarl Weak back to his homeland to be sold as slaves. Halt, unwilling to let Will disappear forever, leaves behind the Rangers to go after his young apprentice with Horace as his companion. Horace and Halt were a fun team, although not as entertaining as Halt and Will often are. Their adventures and dedication to Will were a nice touch to the story and we got to see quite a bit of development in both of them. Will is not truly here for a large portion of the book, which is unfortunate because he's a lot of fun. We do get to see Evanlyn take charge more though. She's definitely a strong woman and adds a lot to the story. Their interactions with Erak were a nice touch. I'm wondering what will happen there in the future. The ending was fairly satisfactory, but definitely left a lot open. I'm excited to pick up the next installment and continue on with this story. Ten years ago I would have been completely obsessed with this and even now I find it very enjoyable.
—Courtney
"This book continues from The Burning Bridge, where Will and Evanlyn are taken hostage to Skandia as captives of the Skandian Jarl, Erak. Halt has sworn that he will rescue Will, but is forced to stay in Araluen by the Ranger Commandant Crowley and King Duncan. In order to allow him to leave, Halt publicly insults King Duncan who reluctantly banishes him for one year and removes him from the Rangers.As he is leaving, Galin approaches to join him on the quest to Skandia, but Halt refuses. He also
—Brian
I found this disappointing. It seemed to be an in between book, as if it is setting up the overall story arc for something but I'm not sure what. We know from the last book that Will and Evanlyn are taken by the enemy as slaves. We know Halt will go after them. That was actually the best part of the book: where Halt ended up getting his way since his superiors feel he should be helping to secure the kingdom from the remaining enemies. Will and Evanlyn spend several of the winter months at a halfway point across the sea where things weren't so bad. Of course, Will, especially, was trying to find a way to escape. Eventually they end up at the home country where the raider sold them to his head Jarl. Or rather, gave them to him. Evanlyn is put in the kitchens and has it adequate. However, Will was put in the yard where most people don't last long. He is tricked into addiction to warmweed and when the original raider sees that, he decides to help Evanlyn get the two of them away. At the end of the book, Halt and Horace are back on the way to rescuing them (after several adventures) and Evanlyn has so far at least, successfully escaped with Will, who she is weening off the warmweed. I have to feel that a lot of the reason for the book was a rant against drugs since that is when the book seemed most alive and powerful. Really not much happens in this book: They were captives in the beginning and are now hopefully escaped captives. Halt said he'd come after Will and he still is coming after Will. I'll try the next book but only because the first two in this series were good enough to keep me interested.
—Joan
