The Battle of Hackham Heath (Ranger's Apprentice: The Early Years) Paperback – October 10, 2017

Author John Flanagan's saga, "The Ranger's Apprentice", might seem complete after 12 volumes, but there are still tales to tell. "The Battle of Hackham Heath" is the second volume in the prequel to the series. The adult heroes of the apprentice saga are all young here, which is appropriate as the books are especially directed toward adolescents and young adults. Of all the characters, it is the Ranger Halt who is especially featured in the the prequel volumes. We can follow him as he learns the life of the ranger during the most difficult period for the kingdom. The story here closely follows volume 1 of the prequel, and foreshadows the main dramas of the entire saga.Many of the favorite characters of the saga appear in the prequel. Without giving anything away of their later adventures, they are able to demonstrate the strong points of their personalities. Flanagan shows his mastery of the narrative form, giving the reader intense drama and bright humor as he lets his stories (and the legend of the Rangers of Araluen) unfold.

I loved The thrilling action and thought it was a very interesting story and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.🤑🤑🤑🤑🗡🚷

My 13 year old daughter and I love these books! They have great stories, and little things that we can both talk about and have inside jokes with.

This was one of the books that took me 1 day to read it is the kind of book that you can sit down and read nonstop till you finish it. I really recommend this book for people who just love a little fantasy as well as some action and adventure! Great book will be recommending to all my friends.

This is the latest in John Flanagan's works, but the 2nd in the The Early Years series. I have to say that while I'm still a loyal Flanagan reader (I own every book in the Early years, Ranger's Apprentice, and brother band series) , I was not too terribly impressed by this book. It suffers from lack of suspense (if you read the other books, the outcome of the battle is never in doubt) and the Wargals are back (a bear-ape mix that the bad guy can control with his mind). I'm hoping that we'll see a return in the future to the new environments and twists on our world's culture that Flanagan has been weaving into the Brotherband Chronicles. Ultimately, I think this book had to be written because this battle is so influential to the Ranger's Apprentice main series. Ultimately, it's not bad and it's great to see more of Halt and Crowley, but it's not as good as his other books. On the flip side, if this is your first encounter with the author, you're likely to enjoy the book better since the outcome of the battle and the roles played by the characters will come as a surprise.

I know that if you read this first it’ll answer questions about the Rangers apprentice series . But I love reading it after because it just put so much more depth to the books. Kind of like knowing the end before the beginning but so much better.

I always thoroughly enjoy every word of Mr. Flanagan's Brotherband series and the closely tied Ranger's Apprentice series. They àre clever, engaging, and exciting! This book was every bit as fun as the others. I started reading the series when my son chose it for a book report. I was hooked immediately.... Read them in order... but read them! You'll fall in love with the characters like I did!

In this book, fans of the Ranger's Apprentice novel will definitely enjoy gaining a clear explanation of the history of the characters in the story. This book, connects the dots and fills the gaps as well as answers questions about the Ranger's Apprentice series. It has comedy, thrilling events, a well thought out storyline and is a great and fantastic read. Certainly a MUST READ!