This solid second book in The Ranger’s Apprentice series continues to follow teenage Will, now well into his apprenticeship with the Ranger Halt. Will is battling a crisis of confidence after freezing in fear during a brief battle. Halt decides Will needs a change of pace and agrees to let him accompany another Ranger, Gilan, on a mission to Celtica. Their purpose is to remind the Celtic king of his sworn loyalty to their own country of Araluen now that Lord Morgarath is on the rampage. But instead they discover that Morgarath’s terrifying army of Wargals has made it to Celtica before them. Gilan races back to Araluen to alert the king, leaving Will in charge of his old friend Horace, a Battleschool apprentice, and Evanlyn, an Araluen servant girl who had been visiting Celtica with her noble mistress, who was murdered by the Wargals. When Will, Horace, and Evanlyn discover that the Wargals have been kidnapping Celtic miners and craftsmen to dig a tunnel and build a bridge to cross the once unsurpassable boundary into Araluen, they realize that they are the only ones who can possibly save the Araluen army from marching into a trap. A deft blend of action, intrigue, and humor (particularly in scenes where crusty Halt is clearly missing Will but loath to admit it) lend a fast pace to a story that builds to a cliffhanging ending, featuring a young hero whose uncertainty about his own abilities makes him all the more appealing. (Ages 10–14)

Will’s skills as a Ranger’s apprentice are tested when, while on a special mission, he discovers that evil Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, has a plan to bring his troops, including the brutish, nonhuman War gals, over a previously insurmountable pass to ambush the King of Araluen’s army. It is up to Will and his friend Horace, an apprentice knight, to thwart Morgarath’s devilish plot and save the kingdom. The Burning Bridge contin ues the epic adventure begun with The Ruins of Gorlan (2005). ca

Originally published by Ran dom House Australia Children’s Books, in 2005.