The Red Fox Clan

Three years have passed from the time that Princess Madelyn was brought to her "Uncle" Will Treaty. The spoiled, entitled princess no longer exists and instead Maddie has become the first female ranger's apprentice and is only a year away from earning her permanent title and her oak leaf. Meanwhile...trouble is stirring in the kingdom of Araluen. King Duncan's royal edict that the rule of succession has been changed. No longer will it be only the first born MALE child, but, in fact, the first born child - Regardless of gender!!! Needless to say, that does not sit well with the less enlightened. And so, the Red Fox Clan comes into existence with its sole purpose to return the kingdom to its former rule of ascendancy. And while the discovery of those intrigues and plots draw the kingdoms champions away to deal with, Maddie is left at home - to spend time with her mother! A ranger does NOT stay at home to spend time with their mother!!! Author John Flanagan leaves the ongoing spinoff BROTHERBAND series and returns to his main story line as he continues the adventures of the NEXT generation of apprentices to the kingdom. Flanagan hasn't lost any of his storytelling flair and the ability to spin an exciting tale set in a mythic world of kings and princesses, knights and villains, and political intrigue around the game of thrones. New readers to this series can pick up this book and will be fully able to read and enjoy the story in and of itself as the author provides plenty background detail from prior stories. Warning though... this book IS part one of a two part story that concludes in the second book, DUEL AT ARALUEN. Don't let that dissuade you from reading it though because it's another classic from Flanagan...But...I'm pretty sure you WILL want to pick up the conclusion.

Let me start by saying there has literally never been a bad Flanagan book.... Every single one is fantastic. If Mr Flanagan reads any of these reviews I'd like to say THANK YOU for sharing your amazing talent with us all! This was another great read... I started reading this series by accident. My son read it for a book report in middle school years ago (he's in college now so, yeah, a long time ago) and I read it to make sure he actually did read it... You parents know what I mean! :-) Now I'm a 50 year old Ranger/Brotherband addict. I was hooked on book 1 and haven't put them down since. Royal Ranger is another fantastic installment in the series. Love the double plot, (*tiny spoiler alert *) love the Skandians, Maddie is great... love all of the characters. Mr Flanagan is very good at keeping the character's personalities, quirks, weaponry, etc. consistent throughout both series. Easy to pick up where you left off. Now for the bad part.... I absolutely HATE 'to be continued ' books!! Hate them! I won't remember all of this book a whole year from now. That's really disappointing. Ugh! Having said that, it's not enough for me to reduce to 4 stars... the writing is too good! Please hurry with the next installment!

There was a lot of positives in this novel. Let's start with them. Maddie has to work independently throughout the novel, a great step forward for the series. Plot and suspense were up to par for Flanagan- i.e. excellent Moral standards are stood for and upheld. Clean and entertaining as ever! However, there are a few issues that I have. The cliffhanger is a moneymaking scheme. I am under no delusions of this being done to keep the readers involved; that sells the fanbase so far short it is insulting. Why does Maddie never wish Will were there? I actually am angry about this one: Alyssa is never once mentioned in the story. I know Will isn't really part of the plot and Alyss was his conflict, but when you literally never mention a fallen hero and beloved character in the next book, you have to start to wonder if Flanagan only wanted to move the plot along and felt little need to pay tribute to those who fall. So much time is spent on the secret corridors you have to wonder if Flanagan was filling pages a bit there so his cliffhanger scheme could be "justified" and he can continue to sell one plot for twice the profit. I respect Flanagan too much to keep getting irritated though so remember my respects to Flanagan and his unmatchable series. Overall an excellent book, but give us the next book before our brains boil for too long!

I was thrilled to see another entry in the Ranger’s Apprentice series. As with any big series, the backstory could get a little complex but I think Flanagan kept this to a minimum. Maddie is an engaging character, but the character was more developed in the last book. Readers who start with this book may find some characters lacking dimension. For those of us familiar with the series, however, they are old friends. I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next.

I can tell everyone that this is an amazing continuation of the series, and that it introduces many plot elements that enhance the series in unexpected ways. The Red Fox Clan is a must read. I loved the story line of it, and the intrigue sets off all of the warning bells in your head. Yet, I did not know why I was on edge and suspicious until the pieces started coming together, then it was like an epiphany and I thought "How could I have been so blind?" Amazing book and a must read. But the ending? Just cruel to the readers. Now I can't wait to know more.

I liked the book a lot, it had a good story and was an entertaining read. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that Bumper seemed to be speaking like a full on human. In previous books it feels like the horses saying fairly simple stuff and we get to decide if they actually talked or not. This time it felt like they were full on talking to each other, with lines like: "thoroughbreds are hysterical". (Minor spoilers ahead) I loved the fact that we got to see the Skandians again, and I loved the fact that Thorn saw through Maddie's "princesssiness". The main thing I dislike about this book is that I have to wait for another one. I have no big issues with the book, but it's a "to be continued" and I'm impatient. Hopefully we get to see more of the Herons playing an important role in the next book. Can't wait!

I'll be the first too admit I hated almost everything about the royal ranger book. It felt tacked on and wrong in so many places. However with the Red Fox Clan I can happily say it makes up for the awful predecessor and is a great book that has me excited for the rest of the series.it has charm, humor, a good storyline, and great characters. While it was a little predictable and has a huge cliff hanger that imo it's a bit too much, it's a great read all with anyone's time.

The bad news: The book ends in a cliff hanger. The good news: That means we get another book in the series! This is a great addition to the Rangers Apprentice series. An enjoyable read with many familiar characters. It's also a unique story in the series. Even knowing who the "bad guy" was early in the book doesn't detract from the reading. Hope we don't have to wait too long to see what happens next.