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A warning: it is probably better that you have read at least the first four or five of the Ranger’s Apprentice books, or even all of them, as the Royal Ranger series comes chronologically after the Ranger’s Apprentice series. They can be read independently if desired, since they are good stories, but they will mean even more if one has the background knowledge that comes from first reading the Ranger’s Apprentice series.
The author is John Flanagan (1944 to 2026), an Australian advertising and TV writer who turned his hand to juvenile adventure fiction later in life. For the last ten or fifteen years, my daughter and I awaited eagerly for the new John Flanagan book of the year. Sadly, he passed away in early 2026, so we won’t be getting any more books from him. However, he has left us with a wonderful legacy: eleven books in the Ranger’s Apprentice series, two prequels to this series, nine books in the Brotherband series, and seven books in the Royal Ranger series – 29 books in all. The first RA book, The Ruins of Gorlan, was published in 2004, the year Flanagan turned 60! There is hope left for us late-blooming would-be authors…
All 29 books are set in a medieval world that looks a lot like the countries in our world. Araluen is England, Picta is Scotland, Celtica is Wales and Cornwall, Hibernia is Ireland, Gallia is France, Skandia is Scandinavia, and Toscana is Italy. The Eastern Steppes or western Russia, is the home of the Temujai, fierce mounted archer-warriors similar to the Mongols, and Nihon-Ja is Japan, reached by passage through the Blood (Red) Sea.
There are pirates galore and barbarian invasions outside of Araluen, and outlaws, fell beasts, con-men cultists, assassins, rebels, and spies roaming the forests of Araluen. Standing against these are the Ranger Corps, fifty highly trained men who keep the peace in the fifty counties of Araluen. Some of these Rangers, such as the most famous Ranger of them all, Halt, his former apprentice Will, and Will’s new apprentice Madelyn, also go on missions to other countries, so we get to see this medieval world through their eyes. This world has been called a “fantasy world” but it is nothing like, for example, Middle-Earth or Narnia. There are very few fantastical elements in Flanagan’s world, which are mild and mainly confined to the first two or three books in the RA series and a bit in the two prequels. The rest are medieval adventure, pure and simple, spiced with loads of wonderful humor and creative invention. Flanagan also gives many wonderful details about the weapons, the training, and the tactics of the various kinds of warriors – knights, archers, and Rangers – until you can clearly picture the life recounted in the books.
The Royal Ranger series closely follows on the original Ranger’s Apprentice series. In fact, the first Royal Ranger book was listed as #12 in the Ranger’s Apprentice series, but then was renumbered by the publisher as #1 in the Royal Ranger series. The “Royal” name comes from Madelyn or Maddie, as she likes to be called, who is the Crown Princess of Araluen. She starts out at 15-years of age as a generally nice and intelligent girl, who loves martial exercises but is too daring for her own good, who is also a bit of a spoiled brat who tends to manipulate those around her. Her mother, Queen Cassandra, and her father, Sir Horace, place her in the care of her “Uncle Will” for five years of Ranger training. Will is Cassandra’s and Horace’s best friend (see the Ranger’s Apprentice series) and Maddie’s godfather. Maddie’s mother and father expect that the training to be the first female Ranger will make her a more effective queen and leader someday, a better person now, and also help out Will, who has been embittered by a tragic blow and withdrawn into himself.
One of the funniest parts of the first book, The Royal Ranger, is when Maddie arrives at Will’s little cabin, expecting this training to last a few weeks and then she can go live a life of freedom and frivolity at the nearby castle. Will soon cures her of this misconception! This first book deals with Maddie’s training and her helping Will to find the criminal who murdered his wife. The 2nd and 3rd books, The Red Fox Clan and Duel at Araluen, go together and tell a complete story, covering both books, in which Maddie helps her mother and father put down a rebellion against the Crown, using her hard-won Ranger skills. In The Missing Prince and Escape from Falaise, Will and Maddie go undercover on a mission to another country to rescue a kidnapped prince. This mission becomes much more complicated than they first thought. Again, these two books form a complete story. Arazan’s Wolves, the sixth book in the series, is a little different in that Maddie and Will are confronted by real supernatural evil in a local sorcerer who is plotting against the people of several villages in Araluen. The final book in the Royal Ranger series, Ambush at Sorato, is a great story. The Temujai, invaders from the Eastern Steppes who play a role in the Ranger’s Apprentice series and in the Brotherband series, make another appearance. Will and Maddie are in Toscana when the Temujai make a reconnaissance-in-force, looking for invasion routes for their entire army. Ranger Will and his Apprentice Maddie rally the local Toscana forces by first teaching them about the mounted warriors’ tactics and then leading the locals to victory over the invaders.
I have enjoyed all of John Flanagan’s books very much indeed. I have to admit that if someone forced me to choose, I would say that I liked the original Ranger’s Apprentice books slightly better than the Royal Ranger series – but only slightly. The original series focuses on Will, his apprenticeship with Halt and friendship with Horace and their further adventures. Seeing Will train Princess Madelyn in the Royal Ranger series, after seeing him trained by Halt in the original series, gives a special touch that I really enjoyed. It made me remember back to when we were raising our children. I would tell them things and give advice that I later realized I had first heard from my Dad. Will gives advice to Maddie that we first heard Halt tell him, which brings the two series together in a pleasing way.