The Siege of Macindaw (Ranger's Apprentice, Book 6)

After years as a Ranger’s apprentice, Will is now the protector of his first fief. Not long into his service, everything that can go wrong does: Keren, a renegade knight, has taken over Castle Macindaw, a strategic gateway to the North—poisoning the royal family in the process—and is holding

Show More

Will’s friend Alyss captive. The situation grows direr when Will uncovers Keren’s secret alliance with the Scotti, who have plans to plunder Araluen. Time is of the essence, and Will must recruit a motley crew to rescue Alyss and reclaim Castle Macindaw—before the Scotti can make it their own.

Show Less

Good, not great. It was honestly somewhat boring sometimes. Plus, I was furious that there was not a lot of Halt in the book; I understand why, but I just don't like him not being in the book. He is my favorite character (besides Horace)!

Description: Hiding out in the woods is not a bad position for a ranger like Will to be in. It's what he's trained for, after all. But, with the evil "lord" Keren in control of castle of Macindaw, and holding Will's friend, Alyss, captive, Will finds himself wishing he could get in out of the cold.

Show More

Some real troops might be helpful, too. Fortunately, help is on the way in the form of yet another old friend...

My thoughts: Fantastic! I've been a fan of this series ever since picking up The Ruins of Gorlan on the suggestion of a friend. It's action-packed without being overly gory, and plot driven without ignoring character development. Joe and I both enjoy it, though it's geared towards younger teen boys. If I ever have a son, I will be picking these books up for my home library.

Now, about Macindaw specifically... it's the second half of the two part story that started in Sorcerer of the North, and it has a much more satisfying, non-cliffhangery ending, which I appreciated. SotN almost killed me. I found the dialogue a little stilted here and there, but it didn't bother Joe at all, so I wonder if it's just me.

Overall, great story and I'm looking forward to the next one. Book 7 (and maybe 8?) are already available if you live in Australia, but the rest of us will have to wait until Spring 2010.

Show Less

If you're a follower of this series, this one does NOT disappoint at all. I LOVE the series, and so do my students! Can't keep the copies on the shelves.
In book six, Will and Horace try to rescue Alyss from the castle where she is being kept prisoner by Keren. In the process of scouting out where

Show More

she is being held, and with some help from her secret messages, they uncover a dangerous plot to invade Araluen land, and decide that they have to stop it from happening by taking over the castle before the Scotti get there. They do have some help, but I won't spoil it by telling you any more.

Show Less

John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice: The Siege of Macindaw is the sixth book in a well written serries. In this book, the main character and ranger, Will, attempts a siege at the castle at the north of the kingdom that has been taken over by a knight, Sir Keren, who's goal is to allow forces from

Show More

the north to invade the kingdom of Araluen. Will and his small army of forty Skandians, Sir Horace, and a talented healer will attempt to save the entire kingdom from a terrible war in the making.
Flanagan's amazing style of writing keeps the reader interested and in suspense until the very last page. This book would appeal to fiction readers and ones who enjoy a bit of fantasy in their reading. However, this book might also appeal a bit to the romantic crowd as Will's main goal is to save his love from being held hostage in a tower. Either way, the 293 pages in this book will fly by as this book, as like the others in the series, is a true page turner.

Show Less

This the sixth book in the series. A ranger is a spy/tactician who is trained to spy on enemies and then to led armies against them. In the previous book, a ranger named Will was sent to spy on a castle because there were strange things happening in the castle. Keren, the nephew of the lord of the

Show More

castle, took over the castle, and he poisoned the lord and his son, Orman. Will and Orman barely managed to escape from Keren. At the end of the previous book, Will stayed with a healer named Malcolm who lives in the forest. Malcolm had the power to create illusions,which he used to keep the villagers away. Will learned that Keren is going to sell the castle terrain to enemies of Will's country, called the Scotti. Also, Keren gathered a big number of criminals to protect the castle, and sent away all of the lord's soldiers.
In the beginning of this book, Will is in a bad situation; He has to defeat Keren before the Scotti arrive to buy the land. Will encounters some of his country's allies called Skandians, and he hires them to help him take over the castle. Will learns that a Scotti general is going to the castle to start the negotiations with Keren. Will learns this on time so that he can lay a trap to intercept the general. Will is successful, and he manages to take him back to Malcolm's forest. Will cannot get information from the general, so he asks Malcolm to use his illusions to scare the general into giving the information that they need. Malcolm does so, and the general tells them that the Scotti army is going to move into the castle in two weeks. For the next couple days, Will plans on how to break into the castle. Will comes up with the perfect plan. He hides under a wagon for several hours, so that the guards stop paying attention to the wagon. Then at night, Malcolm uses his illusions to distract the guards. While the guards are busy, Will sneaks into the castle, and he helps the Skandians get into the castle. Then, Will and the Skandians overpower the guards from the inside while most of the guards are distracted with the illusions. His plan is successful. Will defeats Keren. At the end of the book, Orman becomes the lord of the castle, and another ranger is assigned to protect the castle from the Scotti's future attack. The story ends with everything back to normal.This book is 293 pages long.
I recommend this book to people who enjoy reading about medieval times and sword fighting. I don not recommend this book to people who enjoy reading about drama.

Show Less

Maybe it's because I'm reading all the books in one go, but this book didn't enthrall me as much as the previous books. Of course, that doesn't mean I didn't like it. I am a fan!

I really enjoy the Ranger's Apprentice series the characters are well written and interesting without bogging the plots down. I feel this volume had less of a climax then some of the others, but I still enjoyed it.

In this book Will a new Ranger is at Macindaw fief in the forest near it with a healer suppose to be evil wizard. His best friend and specail friend Alyss is a prisoner in the castle. The new castle lord is commiting treason with the Scotti, one of the most dangerous country to Arluran. Will has to

Show More

get control of the castle before the Scotti get there. His best friend Horace also comes along and Will finds some Skandians that he has helped and recruits them to take the castle.

Show Less

Sixth in the series, and all kinds of awesome! Alyss is trapped in Castle Macindaw with the rebel Keren and his band of thieves and mercenaries, who are plotting to allow a massive invasion of the kingdom from the north. The fate of the entire kingdom is dependent upon its youngest Ranger, Will,

Show More

and its youngest knight, Horace. They find help from a stranded group of Skandian warriors, Orman the nearly-poisoned son of the real castle lord, and the sorcerer/healer Malcolm and his ragtag group who hide in the haunted forest near the castle. Lots of intrigue and action, especially when the Skandians get involved in the battles! Excellent medieval setting and strong characters, for 6th grade and up.

Show Less

In the last book, Will flees from Castle Macindaw to help Orman heal from the poison that Sir Keren fed Orman. In Malcolm's hidden house, Will rallies up some Skandians to help Orman retake Castle Macindaw. Alyss meanwhile, is getting hypnotised by Keren to get some more information. She sends

Show More

messages and later gets some stellatite to defend against the hypnotism. Will meets Horace and they devise a plan to get Macindaw. With some help from a Scotti, (MacHaddish) they get the info they need to carry out the invasion. They carry it out, and Will is trying to save Alyss, but she gets hypnotised and attacks Will. Just before she gets in the final blow, Will says that he loves her. That breaks the hypnosis, but Keren attacks Will. Alyss attacks him with poisen/acid and he fell to his death through the window. The book ends with Will going back to guard his fief (and then leaving to visit Alyss).

This book deserves a 5 star rating. I like the plan that Will and Horace came up with, because a) it'll probably work in real life, and b) it's pretty cool. The idea with a broken cart is pretty unique. The humor is pretty witty, too. Alyss upgraded from a damsel in distress to a Lady Fighter. She didn't fight, but she did spray acid on the bad guy's face, and indirectly caused his death. It's also weird how the author made the bad guy go into a good light (for a while...). All in all, this is a great book.

Show Less

Will is trying to save Allyss from Keren. Kerens army of criminals is dealing with the Scotti in the north. Will hires the help of 25 Skandians. Horace the friend of Will is sent to help Willsave Allyss. They ambush the Scotti general and find out Kerens true plans. The group soon attack the fief

Show More

in a plot to take it over. The group takes it over and free Allyss. They threaten the Scotti general and prevent the attack.

This is a great book. The action is great with a major ending battle. The story was great and had a good action scene. The plot was great and had a romantic mood between Will and Allyss. The rest of the book besides the ending was actually boring with alot of talking between the charaters. The story was the main thing with only action at the end. In the end this two book story part ends. I really want to read the next.

Show Less

Sixth in the series, and all kinds of awesome! Alyss is trapped in Castle Macindaw with the rebel Keren and his band of thieves and mercenaries, who are plotting to allow a massive invasion of the kingdom from the north. The fate of the entire kingdom is dependent upon its youngest Ranger, Will,

Show More

and its youngest knight, Horace. They find help from a stranded group of Skandian warriors, Orman the nearly-poisoned son of the real castle lord, and the sorcerer/healer Malcolm and his ragtag group who hide in the haunted forest near the castle. Lots of intrigue and action, especially when the Skandians get involved in the battles! Excellent medieval setting and strong characters, for 6th grade and up.

Show Less

This is the sixth book in the Ranger's Apprentice series. It was an excellent addition to the series and does a good job wrapping up the story that was left hanging in book 5.

Will is trying to conceive a plan to rescue Alyss from Keren, the knight who revolted and took over Macindaw. Horace shows

Show More

up and between him, Will, a small group of Skandians, and the people who live outside Macindaw in the forest they will have to come up with a plan to rescue Alyss. Things become even more dire when Will finds out that Keren is allying with the Scotti; this is a move that puts the country in danger and is something Will needs to stop before it happens.

This book basically completes the story started in the fifth book, which ended on a total cliffhanger. You can really see how the characters have grown and matured in this book; Will has lost a lot of his impatience and Horace has become a very tempered and strategic warrior. I love the banter between Will and Horace; they differ in opinions and complain to each other but are still obviously wonderful friends and support each other. It was fun to see how Alyss has grown as well. The relationship between her and Will is sweet and also a bit frustrating since they have trouble expressing their feelings for each other. I was a bit disappointed that Halt wasn't in the book more.

I also enjoyed that the Skandians play a big part in this book. The bad guy here, Keren, is a good bad guy. He is not totally evil and isn't all that happy with his actions; so he does generate some sympathy with the readers despite his evil actions.

Like previous books this is a well-written fantasy story. This book focuses more on battle tactics and strategy than adventure. It is all very well done and easy to read. There is nothing ground-breaking or incredibly creative here, it is just a very well done middle grade/YA fantasy.

Unlike the previous book this book wrapped up nicely. I can't wait to see what future books hold for these characters.

Overall I enjoyed this continuation of the Ranger's Apprentice series. I am excited to read the next book, Erak's Ransom. This is a solid fantasy book that focuses mostly on battle tactics, not adventure like the previous books. It is well-written and has characters that are very well done. A great read for fans of more traditional fantasy fare.

Show Less

This is the second half of the story started in "The Sorcerer of the North" and the conclusion of Will's first mission as a full-fledged Ranger. If I didn't know that John Flanagan has already written 4 more in the Ranger's Apprentice series, I would say that this was a fitting conclusion. Will is

Show More

no longer an apprentice, his first mission goes well and it ends on a high note.
The action is good and the tactics are imaginative. It makes for a quick and satisfying read. More to the point, I am looking forward to books 7 and 8.

Show Less

Sixth in the series, and all kinds of awesome! Alyss is trapped in Castle Macindaw with the rebel Keren and his band of thieves and mercenaries, who are plotting to allow a massive invasion of the kingdom from the north. The fate of the entire kingdom is dependent upon its youngest Ranger, Will,

Show More

and its youngest knight, Horace. They find help from a stranded group of Skandian warriors, Orman the nearly-poisoned son of the real castle lord, and the sorcerer/healer Malcolm and his ragtag group who hide in the haunted forest near the castle. Lots of intrigue and action, especially when the Skandians get involved in the battles! Excellent medieval setting and strong characters, for 6th grade and up.

Show Less

The sixth book in The Ranger’s Apprentice series starts slowly but picks up around the halfway point. Will and Horace must rescue their friend Alyss and stop the Scotti from invading Macindaw. The characters each have their own specialties that help the cause and most of them play an important

Show More

part in the story.

Show Less

This was a great conclusion to the story started in book 5. His characters are easy to relate to and his stories make you want to keep reading...even if he has one story that spans two books.

An amazing book! I got this free as a goodreads givaway, and I was a little worried, as it is book 6 of a series that I had never even heard of. But it stands alone, and I now want to buy and read all the previous stories. Very well-written, good characterisation, and a fun parallel world. Highly

Show More

recommended to anyone who, like me, had never heard of this author before. A cracking good yarn!

Show Less

An amazing book! I got this free as a goodreads givaway, and I was a little worried, as it is book 6 of a series that I had never even heard of. But it stands alone, and I now want to buy and read all the previous stories. Very well-written, good characterisation, and a fun parallel world. Highly

Show More

recommended to anyone who, like me, had never heard of this author before. A cracking good yarn!

Show Less

An amazing book! I got this free as a goodreads givaway, and I was a little worried, as it is book 6 of a series that I had never even heard of. But it stands alone, and I now want to buy and read all the previous stories. Very well-written, good characterisation, and a fun parallel world. Highly

Show More

recommended to anyone who, like me, had never heard of this author before. A cracking good yarn!

Show Less

"The Siege of Macindaw" continues the exciting story that John Flanagan started in "The Sorcerer of the North." The main characters must outwit formidable enemies to save the kingdom of Araluen and in the process lay siege to a castle and rescue a friend. The pages are rift with intrigue, action,

Show More

fighting, and danger, and they even contain a bit of romance. In short, this is yet another satisfying read in "The Ranger's Apprentice" series. I can't wait to start the next installment!

Show Less

This is the sixth book of John Flanagan's series. What I thought would be a continuum of the first five books actually had its own set of page turning action that folds over itself. He works his magic by changing the setting of this story and introducing another new group of enemies that all

Show More

readers never expected to see. Will, the main character, now becomes a full Ranger in Araluen and discovers the stressful life of protecting his beloved land from his enemies. "The Sorcerer of the North" is a very ravishing book with plenty of action and adventure to keep pages turning and minds stuck in the world of "The Rangers Apprentice."

Show Less

Another amazing installment of one of my favorite series - honestly, it doesn't even seem worth bothering with a review anymore, given the fact that I'm now six books in and would assume most people would be either sold on the series or will have long since given up by this point. Still, this is a

Show More

direct continuation off of book five, and also continues the second overall story-arc of the series that was introduced in that book. I'll give Flanagan a lot of credit on that front - he has a good feel for when a timeline is too worn out and thus knows exactly when to remove the reader from that story and jump smoothly into another one. The characters are still the ones that a reader will love from before, but off on a new set of adventures with new friends and enemies to be found. Overall, it's a solid read and riveting story, though, yes, the series quickly comes to noticeably lack the overarching tension one usually expects from a book series, instead relying on smaller story-arcs within a cohesive timeline and universe. But then, it really does work here, and you really aren't craving some common enemy throughout the series or anything like that. So, while it is extremely noticeable by this point that this is the case, I honestly didn't even care anymore by the end of the book. I just wanted to know what Will would get up to next. So, I guess, mission accomplished on that point.

Show Less