Erak’s Ransom (Ranger’s Apprentice #7) by John Flanagan

Book Synopsis:

In the wake of Araluen's uneasy truce with the raiding Skandians comes word that the Skandian leader has been captured by a dangerous desert tribe. The Rangers - and Will - are sent to free him. But the desert is like nothing these warriors have seen before.

Strangers in a strange land, they are brutalized by sandstorms, beaten by the unrelenting heat, tricked by one tribe that plays by its own rules, and surprisingly befriended by another. Like a desert mirage, nothing is as it seems. Yet one thing is constant: the bravery of the Rangers.

My Review:

4.25/5 stars. Similar to most of the Ranger’s Apprentice books, this one was engaging and full of great character dynamics, but the author’s portrayal of women, as well as a few other small issues, bring the rating down. But I’m very much cc enjoying the series.

My first mild criticism is with Halt’s wedding. Not the wedding itself—the fact that he got married was crazy but I liked it—but that we never actually saw the ceremony. It was talked about after the fact (basically “this had happened, he had done this, etc.) which made it less “in the moment.” It also feels like a bit of a retcon because there was no mention of it in the previous books that took place chronologically after this one.

I knew the interactions in this book would be fun once I saw that the whole gang would be together. I was ccrrect. The group dynamic was the best part of the story. Horace and Evanlyn/Cassandra are probably my favorite characters, so I loved seeing more of them. Although the group got split up partway through and went through a ton of hardship, everyone still played an important role. And speaking of them getting separated, it was interesting to see the circumstances that led to them ending up back together. That was one thing that kept me reading.

The story definitely held my attention. There were some pretty tense moments I couldn’t see a way out of and other twists and turns. It picked up a lot in the second half.

While the large cast of characters was a strength of the book, it also led to some confusion and head-hopping. There were frequent POV changes, sometimes in the middle of a chapter, and I sometimes of a bit lost.

My biggest criticism is the same one I’ve had in the previous books, the female characters, but it was even more annoying in the one. Why can’t Alyss and Evanlyn just be friends? Why does there have to be a stupid jealousy between them just they’re the main girls who are pretty and the main boys like? It was stupid.

In a very similar vein, why does there have to be jealousy, usually from Will, with anything between one of the girls and any man? One specific moment that stood out was when Evanlyn shook hands with a man she was negotiating with, but oh no, she held the grip a tiny bit longer than necessary! Will noticed and wasn’t happy! Moments like this happen all throughout the series, and it’s frustrating.

There was one other tiny problematic thing. At one point, it was mentioned that Will needed to “darken his skin a bit” to blend in with a group, which kind of feels like blackface.

Content:

Language: h*ll, d*mn, God’s name taken in vain

Sexual Content: a mention of kissing, a mention of cheating

Violence/Gore: human and animal death, dead bodies, blood, wounds, extreme dehydration and heatstroke, blisters/peeling skin from sunburns, attempted execution, animal abuse

Drugs/Alcohol: people get drunk