John Flanagan shares who he’d face Morgarath with and his opinion on Will’s beard.
Can you believe it’s already been twenty years since the Ranger’s Apprentice books were first published? To celebrate this incredible milestone and the release of the latest book, The Royal Ranger 7: Ambush at Sorato, which came out in June, we caught up with the author for an exclusive Q&A.
Read on to find out what kind of Craftsmaster John Flanagan would be, who he’d go to battle with and what he really thinks of Will’s beard.
If you were in the Ranger’s Apprentice world, what type of Craftsmaster would you most like to be?
I’d have to be a Ranger because I love archery. I’ve loved archery for years and have two bows: one made for me by a guy in Goulburn who's a small arms instructor at the Police Academy, and he's got a side hustle where he makes Ranger bows.
He rang me and said, ‘Would you like a custom-made bow?’ It’s beautiful, and he made about a dozen arrows for me.
If you had to fight Morgarath, which character would you choose to accompany you?
It would have to be Halt, wouldn’t it? Or maybe Horace – an older Horace.
Would you rather face Halt’s sarcasm or Horace’s combat skills?
Halt’s sarcasm because it's mine, really.
Will is based on my son, Mike, and so much of the dialogue in the early books came from us.
Like: ‘Can I ask you a question?’ ‘You just did.’
Your fans have been debating online about Will’s beard in The Royal Ranger, so we decided to go straight to the source. What do you vote for, beard or no beard?
I vote beard.
In the first chapter of The Royal Ranger, I want readers to think he’s Halt . . . and then it turns out to be Will, and it’s years later.
So yes to the beard. It’s important for the plot.
Would you rather try Halt’s stew or Jenny’s mince pies?
Jenny’s mince pies! Every time!
I make Halt’s stew; that’s where it came from.
Would you rather Abelard or Tug as a horse companion?
I think Tug.
Which fictional country from the books would you most like to live in?
I think I’d most like to live in Hibernia because my background is Irish, and Hibernia is based on Ireland. A lot of the place names in the book are the old Roman place names.
Which one would you most like to visit on holiday?
Nihon Ja!
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