books 2010: Halt's Peril (Ranger's Apprentice, #9), by John Flanagan
This book completes the story begun in the previous book: Will, Horace, and Halt hunt down the last of the religious cult guys and quash them. A pretty emotional book for Will, since (as the title implies; I'm not giving anything away here) his mentor Halt comes into serious danger and Will has to save him.
I'm not sure how far Flanagan is going to go with this series. Will is a full-fledged Ranger now and has been for a while, but Flanagan keeps dropping hints that, because of Halt's long experience and their close relationship, Will will always feel like his apprentice. So as long as the series continues to center on that relationship, the "Ranger's Apprentice" title will still feel appropriate. But Will's got to be in his early 20s by now. He's got a girlfriend. Not sure how many more books Flanagan can milk out of Will--unless, of course, Will ends up getting his own apprentice.
I'm not sure how far Flanagan is going to go with this series. Will is a full-fledged Ranger now and has been for a while, but Flanagan keeps dropping hints that, because of Halt's long experience and their close relationship, Will will always feel like his apprentice. So as long as the series continues to center on that relationship, the "Ranger's Apprentice" title will still feel appropriate. But Will's got to be in his early 20s by now. He's got a girlfriend. Not sure how many more books Flanagan can milk out of Will--unless, of course, Will ends up getting his own apprentice.