To open up Facebook and see that John Flanagan passed away was a punch to the gut. I found the Ranger’s Apprentice books my summer before my senior year of high school. I was deep into looking for new fantasy novels between the Harry Potter books, and Ranger’s Apprentice was the perfect series. John Flanagan wrote the series originally for his young son who hated reading, then went on to create a wonderful action series that was perfect for both boys and girls.
It heavily influenced me as a writer. The good, quick jibes and jokes between characters always had me laughing and showed me how to do witty dialogue right, as well as how to write real, proper fight scenes. He drew from real medieval fighting tactics, and I learned much about archery and even a bit about castle raids.
I did not care for the Royal Ranger books. They were the sequel to the main series, and with the death of a key character, I couldn’t bring myself to read the rest. But I cherish the main series, as well as the prequels. In many ways RA influenced me more as a writer than what Harry Potter did. I will always be grateful for them. I know in college I sent a fan email to him, but I never got an email back. It was fine, though; it was just one of those things.
I am sad that I will never get to meet him and thank him for his stories. For Will, Alyss, Halt, Horace, and of course, the dear ponies. Dear wonder, tough Tug. Every book I got with joy. My heart is broken into pieces. RA was one of the few series I had left to enjoy that wasn’t ruined by the author’s spewing of their politics. Just old-fashioned action/adventure stories. When I was a librarian, I made sure to get the full series, and every single time a boy (and some girls) told me they didn’t like reading, I would give them the Ruins of Gorlan. I don’t believe a single one came back to tell me they didn’t like it. It will always be the best stories to give to a reluctant reader. There needs to be more stories for boys like this, to encourage, not bash, and not tell them they are bad just because they are boys. Boys’ reading is in the negatives, and modern YA novels are mostly all written for women at this point. It’s very disappointing/troubling that this is not being talked about. That is why I will always cherish RA. Always. For a riot you will only need one Ranger. And we need them more than ever.
Thank you, Mr. Flanagan, for giving a 17-year-old girl the influence she needed to continue to work hard on her own stories. To know how to write boy characters. Thank you for the adventures. Thank you.
Lots of Love,
Dragonninjawriter
Kathleen L Shay 