Will, who was orphaned as a baby and left on the steps of the Castle Redmont, has now turned 15 along with four other orphans and now must choose a trade to work in. However, none of the trade masters want him as an apprentice for various reason; too small, too impatient, etc. etc.
Just before Will is certain that he is going to be left with a life in the fields, Halt, a ranger, takes him in as his apprentice.
Will is not sure of this at all. Ranger's are mysterious men, and their job is rather unclear to Will until he begins to learn.
Ranger's are almost like spies, as well as messengers and law-keepers. As the battle with Morgarath, the evil man who has been in hiding in the hills and building up his army, approaches, Halt teaches Will everything he knows.
Will also gets pulled into an unexpected adventure as he and Halt track down several savage creatures in order to save the kingdom.
I listened to this as an audio, and did not really care for the narrator very much. His voices are alright, but his narration in between the dialogue is rather boring.
There also is something about the authors writing style that was not my favorite. Maybe it is slight wordiness; for example, 'Alyss said, "Now can't we work this out without a fight?" Will knew she would say this; she was being diplomatic, as usual.' I just did not like the way they presented the characters in the beginning, because all of them said things that Will knew was 'usual,' making every character very very defined. I don't like that he pointed out that Alyss was being diplomatic, because just by her saying 'Can't we work this out without a fight' tells us that she is diplomatic without the author telling us so.
Other than that, the story was great and very original. I really do think the second book was better, though.
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