Halt was lying face down and, gently, Will rolled him over. He moved the cowl back from Halt’s face. His eyes were shut and his face was deathly pale. He didn’t seem to be breathing and for a moment Will felt a surge of horror rush through him.
Halt dead? It couldn’t be! It was impossible. He could not imagine a world without Halt in it.
Will loves travelling with his friend Horace and his mentor Halt, who is like a father to him. But this journey is also filled with danger, as the trio track Tennyson and his followers, trying to stop their reign of crime on villagers, and their deception of gullible believers in their cult. When he and Halt take on two Genovesan assassins who try to ambush them, Will wonders whether this might be his mentor’s last battle.
Halt’s Peril is the ninth title in the Ranger’s Apprentice series and picks up in the days following the previous instalment. With the blend of humour, action and adventure which this medieval series is known for, there is also character development as we see Will’s continuing maturation in the face of new challenges and setbacks.
Best read in sequence with the rest of the series, the story does largely stand alone.
Halt’s Peril, by John Flanagan
Random House, 2009
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