Magus’ Gambit new launch date is December 11 2023. Don’t ask me I have other projects on the burner and I’ve said it before: If the difference is a project is better because it takes a few months more I say take all the time they need; proofreaders and editors have lives and I have something to edit.
I can probably get the second book of Master of Puppets done by end of year – probably by November if I tried but I’m in no real rush. I have the book at 3 beta readers and asked them for feedback in one month, so I might make some real changes to the ending or expand book 1 into a duology and make book 2 the third in a trilogy, but whatever developmental editing is a thing. Right now Ballad feels good and I changed a bunch of names but, it also feels bloated and like it needs to come down. Book 2 I had some great ideas, but it’s tied in with book 1 so I want to get some feedback before I plunge ahead anymore. It’s already full-novel sized, but like I said these are longer books so whatever. Assuming I’m done those for end of the year I have two projects that want to get started and I can probably fix Chimera over the winter.
I like to get books for my nieces and nephews and at least five years ago I got the first book in John Flanagan’s The Ranger’s Apprentice series for my cousin, who calls me auntie that’s how much of an age difference there is between us. One of my brother-in-laws asked me if it was good, and I had no idea – the books started coming out when I was too old for them, but if I was about eight or ten or whatever, they’d have been right up my alley.
Fast forward and my cousin looks back on them fondly, and has read all of the main series and some of the spin-offs, and one of my nieces is looking at The Royal Ranger, which follows the next generation. Spanning a main series of ten, a prequel spin-off, a spin-off involving their version of Vikings, it’s a fantasy series meant for younger readers.
So what the heck am I doing reading it?
I jumped from Beverly Cleary to Edgar Rice Burroughs at a young age. I read Dune and Animal Farm because they were available. I very seldom got to go to the bookstore and when I did I usually bought art books, but my mom took us to the library, and I devoured whatever I got, but in hindsight it’s weird to read some dusty old classics I really didn’t understand and then go to Babysitter’s Club.
So fast forward again and I wanted to write a book for my niece, who was at the time like eight. I realized I don’t know that much about kids books, so if you’re curious as to why I’m reading to many titles that are aimed at YA or even middle-grade audiences, I’m doing it to learn. It’s incredibly false notions that kids books are easier to write. They may be intentionally easier to read, but I’ve done a few now and I like the challenges they present me as opposed to writing with an adult audience in mind.
The main series starts out following a band of 5 orphans who are turning fifteen and they’re wards of their lord, their parents been killed in a war and they’re about ready to take on their apprenticeships. If they don’t get their apprenticeships, they get to work in the fields, so it’s a big deal.
There’s George the skinny but clever one who wishes to be a scribe, Jenny the aspiring chef, tall and beautiful Alyss who wants to be a diplomatic courier, rough and tumble Horace who dreams of battle school, and then there’s slightly small and sneaky Will, our protagonist. Will dreams of being a hero like his father, but unlike Horace who is built for battle school, has his hopes dashed not once but twice, as those accepting apprentices don’t appear to have a use for him. It seems that everyone has their dreams come true except for Will, who doesn’t realize it but he’s being tested before being accepted into being a ranger, which he initially has apprehensions about because he has no idea what rangers exactly are.
The first book is mostly about him and Horace finding their places in their respective professions, with Will learning that his natural talents and abilities could be fostered and trained to make him an elite ranger. Rangers are more of an intelligence force that go in, inspect areas, then report back and come back with heavy artillery if they can’t handle it themselves, but for the most part they’re trained so besides apprentices one ranger can solo an area if needed. The first book ends with Will given the opportunity to join battle school, as he’s proved himself, but Will decides that being a ranger is the life for him.
The rest of the main series that follows shows Will and once again, mostly Horace going on adventures while they’re apprentices and several books when they’re full knights and rangers in their own right, though other characters join them for specific adventures.
As said in a different post, the world takes place in a world that’s really close to our own but not. They’re basically England, early on in the series Will gets captured after a battle and is made a Skandian Slave, he and his companion escape but later band with the Skandians to defeat Mongols, Holt goes to Gallica where he speaks French. There’s just enough high fantasy elements that means it is a fantasy series, but the series isn’t dripping with wizards and monsters at every turn. Don’t expect historical accuracy – in fact, the very beginning where orphan Horace is selected for battle school to become a knight would be enough to cause many authors I know to rage quit, but it’s meant for a young audience who don’t know how the knighting system actually worked in a feudal society or, does know and doesn’t care they’re here for a ripping story and like that boys like Horace can rise above their station.
For the most part I think where the series shines is when we have the longer, multi-length books and I do think the series peaked early on. Books 2 through 4 is essentially a three-parter, and I think it had some of the best story telling and adventure. That isn’t to say that it’s all downhill from there, but it seemed to be that the series didn’t have an overall plan, so much as was meant to be more episodic.
For instance, the first four books Will’s an apprentice, then the next two books he’s a ranger in his full right. Sounds good, time passed, and the author realized that he made a character who wasn’t meant to be Will’s love interest dear to the audience because they had an adventure together and she showed signs of affection, so he gave Will a different adventure with actual Best Girl to try to correct course. Book 7 goes to the past where he’s an apprentice and then 8 and 9 Will’s a full ranger again.
This of course is not a problem in and of itself, but it also feels like each story is meant to be its own thing, which is probably a good thing, but it also feels like there’s no plan or reason for me to read or even skip out of order unless it’s an obvious two-parter.
The action is very good, though sometimes it feels like we’re grinding to a halt, but ironically I think it’s those slow moments where the book shines. There’s times where Halt’s trying to save Will but he’s stuck in a French castle, but then we have slow tender moments where Will’s trying to make the best of his bad situation as a skandian thrall. If you’re looking for a big, swooping fantasy with a masterful plot, these aren’t them, but if you want to have guys meticulously playing cat and mouse in the woods trying to flush assassins, or spend a lot of time getting information in entertaining ways, I believes really works for the target audience even though my author brain is telling me ‘hey, you couldn’t get away with this’.
My big criticisms are the clichés that wouldn’t fly in a book for older readers, such as Halt really being royalty that escaped and is now slumming it as a ranger in another country, as well as the love story/love triangle? Mentioned above. It’s kind of funny how Will and friends go to strange parallels of different cultures from our world, and pick up friends, but whatever ten year old me would have loved having the Viking, the Arabian, the samaurai, etc., along for more adventures.
As mentioned above, Will and a girl get captured by Skandians early on and they depend on one another to escape. I’m not a huge fan of ‘and now they must wed’ but the author set these characters up as being very endearing to one another – but hey, that wasn’t the plan – but then his actual love interest is catty.
Now, I’m not saying people aren’t jealous or that she isn’t entitled to her insecurities. I just think way too much is spent on her being that way as opposed to setting up the resolution. Spoiler below:
In book 2, Will, Horace and Gillam find the only survivor of a royal enterage who introduces herself as Evanlyn, one of the princess’ ladies-in-waiting. Gillam goes south to warn the king and report that the group was killed, including the king’s heir princess Cassandra. Guess who Evanlyn really is? Anyway, she is an action chick and helps Will and Horace defeat the Vikings by taking out the titular bridge, and she and Will are captured and taking to Skandia where they spent basically the next year as captives, he doesn’t only protect her as she’s the one responsible for their eventual escape. Later on when they’re rescued, Princess Cassandra conspires to keep Will close to her by trying to make him a Royal Scout, but Will is oblivious until Best Girl Alyss basically outright tells him she loves him in their duology together and he’s like “Hot diggidy” and gallops off to see her. Princess Cassandra moves on with Horace, but it feels like it’s out of left field as Alyss basically spends the entire last book being mad at Cassandra and we don’t see much between Cassandra and Horace romantically. I know the book is meant for younger readers and they don’t want a lot of mushy stuff, but they probably don’t want Best Girl being jealous over and over again neither over a non-issue as the princess had already moved on.
My favourite parts of the series basically have to do with Halt. I won’t say he carries the series but he’s enjoyable because he’s incredibly competent and fun for readers – I think he’s the sort of fellow who’s not a bully but likes to let the audience (through Will) make mistakes but is there for when it’s crunch time. He’s a surrogate father figure for Will and generally a great character.
Will I read more of the books? Probably, I’m trying to clean up my ‘to-read’ list on Goodreads and I’m a little behind, but I’m going to be reading more YA/Middle Grade books as I want to start writing them more often. I probably won’t be reading every Spin-Off, but I’ve given them as gifts and my one niece likes the cover with a female protagonist, so who knows?
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