Rangers Apprentice 10: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

By John Flanagan

In his brief time as an Araluen warrior, Horace has traveled the known world and fought countless bloody battles. All for his country, his king, and his friends. For all that is right.
When Horace travels to the exotic land of Nihon-Ja to study the senshi fighting technique, it isn’t long before he finds himself pulled into a battle that is no his- but one he knows in his heart he must wage. The Nihon-Ja emperor, a defender of the common man, has been forcibly dethroned, and only Horace, Will, and their Araluen friends, along with a group of untrained woodcutters and farmers, can restore the emperor to the throne.

So this is the final adventure of Will, Halt, and Horace. :( I actually read this one very slowly with that knowledge so I could make every last second count. And Mr. Flanagan still gets kudos from this fan. I did like the previous 2 books better than this last one, but it was still the characters I know and love, so I can't not enjoy reading it. This book follows Horace more closely than in any previous book as he takes up the fight to protect Shigeru, the empereror of Nihon-Ja (Japan) when one of his Senshi (Samurai) Lords rebells against his plan to give the common people more say in their lives. Of course, we get to see Will and Halt along with old friend Selethen. And not to mention the feuding girls Alyss and Evanlyn. A great end to a great adventure.

Want to know something awesome though? John Flanagan is writing a book entitled The Lost Tales of Araluen which will include stories to fill in gaps he left between books...so while this is the official end, this isn't the last we've heard from the Ranger Corps! And Mr. Flanagan is also starting a new book series titled Brotherband about a group of Skandian boys which I think were mentioned at a point in this last book. I'm happy to not have to leave the Araluen world completely. :)