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dr_dumpling's review against another edition
4.0
The Emperor of Nihon-Ja sort of left us hanging, but The Lost Stories concluded the series perfectly. It wrapped everything up about the main characters, explained some important concepts, and gave us insight into certain characters' pasts. Several moments in the short story were hilarious--I'll miss Halt's dry humor. Finally, I thought that the ending was amazing, giving the Ranger's Apprentice series a definite conclusion but introducing the next spin-off series, The Brotherband Chronicles.
kiwisteak's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
lonnnneke's review against another edition
4.0
Suprisingly this was a very fun addition to the Ranger's Apprentice series. I'm normally not that much into short stories about a serie of books because often they just have some unnecessary scenes without actually adding something to the series itself.
This wasn't like that though. A few of the stories were little scenes in the characters their lives and those weren't my favourite, but the other ones gave some more information about the series and answered some question I still had after finishing the book 10. Personally I liked the death of a hero, the hibernian and the wolf the most since those actually gave some new information, but the stories about new adventures were really enjoyable too.
This wasn't like that though. A few of the stories were little scenes in the characters their lives and those weren't my favourite, but the other ones gave some more information about the series and answered some question I still had after finishing the book 10. Personally I liked the death of a hero, the hibernian and the wolf the most since those actually gave some new information, but the stories about new adventures were really enjoyable too.
indecisivescout's review against another edition
5.0
That was so fantastic. A spectacular ending to the story, as well as stories regarding other characters as well....I cried buckets with The Wolf, but they turned into tears of happiness with the final story. Fabulous series, just incredible...if I could give more than 5 stars, I would.
nzhouey's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn't sure how I would feel about the short story format at first, but I actually really enjoyed it. It's essentially bonus content for me and gives a glimpse of what happened to some of the characters in between or after the stories in the original installment.
michleifcook's review against another edition
4.0
Loved the idea of this book, going back and filling in gaps, answering questions we never got resolved. Wish all series did this!
bibliophilesara's review against another edition
5.0
I've loved this series so much and I was glad to get "extras" and some answers to questions I didn't even know I had. It was great to see Will married and just revisit all the beloved characters :) Plus this author is great at writing, you don't want to pass up on his books!
jabs_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
izzie2000's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars!
You definitely shouldn't skip this book if you're reading through the series. This is a collection of short stories that take place in many different times through out the series, but it contains information that'll be useful in book #12. I really recommend this book and the rest of RA if you haven't read it already (but make sure you read them in order: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. <- That's chronological). If you have, re-read it! I love the writing, characters, and adventures. Now on to spoilers.
FOREWORD
I love the idea that all of the Ranger's books so far have been stories discovered by archeologists. It makes it feel more real. Like all these things actually happened years and years ago.
DEATH OF A HERO
This is probably my favorite of the lost stories! Even though I thought they were gonna kill off a main character or something... In the beginning, all I could think was "Okay, Will's fine... What about Halt?! Oh. He's there. Good. Gasp! Where's Horace? WHO DIED! HALT, WHY ARE YOU SO NERVOUS?" Took me a while to realize this was the story of Daniel and his nameless wife. I knew the basics of what happened to Will's family before reading this, but I still loved getting the details. And I always thought that the "mother dying during childbirth" thing was a bit odd. Not impossible, just hard to believe. I was the most eager to read this one and as always Will and Halt's relationship is beautiful.
THE INKWELL AND THE DAGGER
This just further established for me that a Gilan series would be fantastic. He's probably one of the most interesting Rangers out there! (What? This guy carries a sword too?) Switching hands during the fight was cool and impressive. It had been a while since I read the first book when I finished this one so I mostly just went along with everything they said. I couldn't remember anything that happened story-wise. But sill, more Gilan please!
THE ROAMERS
Ah, the way this ended. "Now I'm ready to go," she said after stomping on his foot. Alyss, I love you. This was a cool story. I liked how it started. Showing how some of their missions can go by really quickly makes you wonder how many they've been on. I like seeing how Will is with his animals. Sure, this one wasn't as epic as the others but it was still cool.
PURPLE PROSE
This is the funniest story of them all! It had the adventure you'd expect, plus some good old fashioned English humor. Seriously, it's like he wrote a perfectly good speech, took out a thesaurus, picked the longest words possible, plugged them in, and that was his speech. I remember reading the first part of the seventh chapter and thinking "This is like Burning Bridge when Gilan was telling Will and Horace not to fight an axman." And when that exact moment was mentioned, I felt like a genius. Side note: It's mentioned multiple times in this book how some people misuse the word "who" in sentences. Geez, someone call the grammar police!
DINNER FOR FIVE
I loved seeing Gilan and Jenny! It sucks that their date was so rudely interrupted, but at least we got to see how tough Jenny is. And Gilan... So many one-liners have come from you. I'm not complaining but "The Inkwell and the Dagger" ended with a one-liner and so did this one. Just pointing it out. At first I thought this story was going to involve Jenny and Gilan going on a date and Horace, Alyss, and Will get in the way or something. Though I did enjoy this one, what actually happened was a lot worse!
THE BRIDAL DANCE
Halt mouthing the words "Well done" to Will was nice. I don't know why those rare moments of praise from him make me so happy. This was probably my second favorite of the lost stories. The clues Will got that led to him finding out about the Genovason thing seemed far fetched, but whatever! I'm happy we got to see the wedding even though we missed Horace's speech. :(
THE HIBERNIAN
Aaaah! Young Halt and Crowley! I am going to love "The Early Years", I just know it. I like how we saw the origin of Halt's pseudonym and the Ranger saying. The story of their mentor is sad but it's kinda cool how they had the same teacher. I like Crowley a lot more than I thought I would. And is it just me or was Halt weird? Like weirder than you'd expect? I suppose he had to have changed during the time in between this story and when we first met him, but still. Maybe I was feeling Crowley's awkwardness. My favorite quote from this story: "I don't have a great deal of trust in princes." -Halt
THE WOLF
Get ready for a rant. Yes, Tug had to retire at some point. Yes, giving Will a horse very similar to tug makes sense; he's used to Tug and his ways. But did you need to name the new horse Tug? Did you need to cripple this amazing horse who is one of the fastest out there so he can't run like he used to? Look at what you've done to him, John... How dare you? I bet this new horse is great, but don't pretend he's the original Tug. Naming him that makes me feel worse about replacing him. I would've been just fine with a horse that's a lot like Tug filling in for him if the names didn't have to change. And it's like Will completely forgot about the original Tug after getting the new one. 15 years! They had 15 years together (Wait. Will's 30? Dang.) and I'm not gonna believe he got over it that quickly. Least favorite of the lost stories! I cold ramble on and on but I won't do it here. If you wanna hear more about what I have to say regarding this "new Tug", I'll be writing about it on my blog. Plus I've cried enough over this story. Don't feel like it right now.
AND ABOUT TIME, TOO...
Third favorite lost story! I crossed out the part where Horace says Will's new horse is the Best Horse at his wedding. Because I was so upset about it while reading (still am). That line is now "Best horse and best dog." Anyway, this story made me cry too but in a good way. This story would've been a cute way to end the series, but there is a 12th book and this one isn't over yet...
AFTERWORD
Again, I love the archeology aspect to this. And it would've been such an awesome transition from RA to Brotherband. What I'm saying is book 11 should've been the last one. 12 could still exist, but I would've preferred to end on this note (not that "Royal Ranger" is bad. It's really good).
The only thing I can say about the preview of #12 is this:
Whoa............. ;_;
Overall this was a good book with good stories and a nice addition to the series as a whole. 4 stars, and I'd love to re-read it soon!
You definitely shouldn't skip this book if you're reading through the series. This is a collection of short stories that take place in many different times through out the series, but it contains information that'll be useful in book #12. I really recommend this book and the rest of RA if you haven't read it already (but make sure you read them in order: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. <- That's chronological). If you have, re-read it! I love the writing, characters, and adventures. Now on to spoilers.
Spoiler
FOREWORD
I love the idea that all of the Ranger's books so far have been stories discovered by archeologists. It makes it feel more real. Like all these things actually happened years and years ago.
DEATH OF A HERO
This is probably my favorite of the lost stories! Even though I thought they were gonna kill off a main character or something... In the beginning, all I could think was "Okay, Will's fine... What about Halt?! Oh. He's there. Good. Gasp! Where's Horace? WHO DIED! HALT, WHY ARE YOU SO NERVOUS?" Took me a while to realize this was the story of Daniel and his nameless wife. I knew the basics of what happened to Will's family before reading this, but I still loved getting the details. And I always thought that the "mother dying during childbirth" thing was a bit odd. Not impossible, just hard to believe. I was the most eager to read this one and as always Will and Halt's relationship is beautiful.
THE INKWELL AND THE DAGGER
This just further established for me that a Gilan series would be fantastic. He's probably one of the most interesting Rangers out there! (What? This guy carries a sword too?) Switching hands during the fight was cool and impressive. It had been a while since I read the first book when I finished this one so I mostly just went along with everything they said. I couldn't remember anything that happened story-wise. But sill, more Gilan please!
THE ROAMERS
Ah, the way this ended. "Now I'm ready to go," she said after stomping on his foot. Alyss, I love you. This was a cool story. I liked how it started. Showing how some of their missions can go by really quickly makes you wonder how many they've been on. I like seeing how Will is with his animals. Sure, this one wasn't as epic as the others but it was still cool.
PURPLE PROSE
This is the funniest story of them all! It had the adventure you'd expect, plus some good old fashioned English humor. Seriously, it's like he wrote a perfectly good speech, took out a thesaurus, picked the longest words possible, plugged them in, and that was his speech. I remember reading the first part of the seventh chapter and thinking "This is like Burning Bridge when Gilan was telling Will and Horace not to fight an axman." And when that exact moment was mentioned, I felt like a genius. Side note: It's mentioned multiple times in this book how some people misuse the word "who" in sentences. Geez, someone call the grammar police!
DINNER FOR FIVE
I loved seeing Gilan and Jenny! It sucks that their date was so rudely interrupted, but at least we got to see how tough Jenny is. And Gilan... So many one-liners have come from you. I'm not complaining but "The Inkwell and the Dagger" ended with a one-liner and so did this one. Just pointing it out. At first I thought this story was going to involve Jenny and Gilan going on a date and Horace, Alyss, and Will get in the way or something. Though I did enjoy this one, what actually happened was a lot worse!
THE BRIDAL DANCE
Halt mouthing the words "Well done" to Will was nice. I don't know why those rare moments of praise from him make me so happy. This was probably my second favorite of the lost stories. The clues Will got that led to him finding out about the Genovason thing seemed far fetched, but whatever! I'm happy we got to see the wedding even though we missed Horace's speech. :(
THE HIBERNIAN
Aaaah! Young Halt and Crowley! I am going to love "The Early Years", I just know it. I like how we saw the origin of Halt's pseudonym and the Ranger saying. The story of their mentor is sad but it's kinda cool how they had the same teacher. I like Crowley a lot more than I thought I would. And is it just me or was Halt weird? Like weirder than you'd expect? I suppose he had to have changed during the time in between this story and when we first met him, but still. Maybe I was feeling Crowley's awkwardness. My favorite quote from this story: "I don't have a great deal of trust in princes." -Halt
THE WOLF
Get ready for a rant. Yes, Tug had to retire at some point. Yes, giving Will a horse very similar to tug makes sense; he's used to Tug and his ways. But did you need to name the new horse Tug? Did you need to cripple this amazing horse who is one of the fastest out there so he can't run like he used to? Look at what you've done to him, John... How dare you? I bet this new horse is great, but don't pretend he's the original Tug. Naming him that makes me feel worse about replacing him. I would've been just fine with a horse that's a lot like Tug filling in for him if the names didn't have to change. And it's like Will completely forgot about the original Tug after getting the new one. 15 years! They had 15 years together (Wait. Will's 30? Dang.) and I'm not gonna believe he got over it that quickly. Least favorite of the lost stories! I cold ramble on and on but I won't do it here. If you wanna hear more about what I have to say regarding this "new Tug", I'll be writing about it on my blog. Plus I've cried enough over this story. Don't feel like it right now.
AND ABOUT TIME, TOO...
Third favorite lost story! I crossed out the part where Horace says Will's new horse is the Best Horse at his wedding. Because I was so upset about it while reading (still am). That line is now "
AFTERWORD
Again, I love the archeology aspect to this. And it would've been such an awesome transition from RA to Brotherband. What I'm saying is book 11 should've been the last one. 12 could still exist, but I would've preferred to end on this note (not that "Royal Ranger" is bad. It's really good).
The only thing I can say about the preview of #12 is this:
Whoa............. ;_;
Overall this was a good book with good stories and a nice addition to the series as a whole. 4 stars, and I'd love to re-read it soon!