MAJOR SPOILER WARNING!
The Icebound Land is the third book in the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan, focusing on the journey Will and Evanlyn, the protagonists, make in their escape from slavery in a northern land called Skandia. The Ranger’s Apprentice is set in a set during the medieval era in a world like earth. Will and Evanlyn are best friends despite coming from vastly different backgrounds. Will has always been an orphan, but when the Ranger Corps, a group of people who are trained in the art of stealth, hunting, foraging, and fighting with the bow and arrow, took Will under their wing and trained him to become an apprentice ranger. Evanlyn on the other hand is the princess of Araluen, a kingdom similar to England, with massive castles and located on an island. Evanlyn has grown up as a privileged aristocrat, however she has always been determined and that determination only increases on her voyage of escaping slavery in The Icebound Land.
A civil war has just ended in Araluen and the rebels side hired the Skandians, a people similar to the Vikings to help them to overthrow the current king of Araluen. The rebels and Skandians were defeated but before returning home, the Skandians captured Will and Evanlyn and took them as slaves. As a slave Will is put under the influence of warmweed, a drug that is extremely addictive and makes the addict completely dependent on the drug. Evanlyn escapes slavery with Will, however she leaves Skandia as a far different person than when she entered Skandia. I believe Evanlyn makes this story interesting as she changes throughout the novel. Evanlyn changes from a princess who has been looked after all her life with every luxury available to her, into a determined young woman, capable of surviving on her own.
I feel like Evanlyn really began to care for herself, as well as for Will when he was under the influence of warmweed, during their escape from slavery into the mountains of Skandia. On the night of Evanlyn and Will’s escape, snow was falling in sheets, making both visibility and movement difficult. Though the falling of snow covered their tracks, Evanlyn and Will had a very difficult time maneuvering through the snow. This difficulty of movement is illustrated when Evanlyn and Will are making their way up the Skandian mountains, “she (Evanlyn) paused for a moment, breathing raggedly. The muscles in the backs of her thighs and calves were aching and trembling from the effort of driving on through the thick snow, but she knew she had to keep going as long as she could” (Flanagan, 185). As stated in this quote, the snow that Evanlyn is moving through is deep, and though Evanlyn is exhausted and trembling, she keeps moving to keep herself and Will safe from detection. What I found particularly noteworthy about this passage is not the fact that Evanlyn decided to continue to travel after she was exhausted, but that Evanlyn kept moving until she could not continue. When Evanlyn finally stopped to rest, “Evanlyn continued to stagger mindlessly…she knew she could go no further. She stumbled to a halt and looked for a place to shelter” (Flanagan 199). After pushing herself to her limits, Evanlyn was staggering from exhaustion with just enough energy left to find a place to sleep for the night. Evanlyn’s determination to bring herself and Will to safety, even while she was exhausted, sets her apart from other people of royalty who likely would have given up and turned back to the warmth civilization.
During Evanlyn and Will’s stay at the small cabin in the mountains of Skandia, Evanlyn works tirelessly to break Will’s warmweed addiction. While at the cabin, Will was still heavily under the influence of warmweed and Evanlyn had to slowly “wean him (Will) off it (warmweed) gradually, reducing the amount each week, until his mind recovers and he can do without it” (Flanagan 168). This process of slowly weaning Will off of warmweed was a slow and painful process for Evanlyn and it shaped her into a more capable and confident woman. To break Will’s addiction to warmweed Evanlyn slowly reduced the dosage of warmweed and increased the time between the dosages. Although this process of slowly taking Will off the drug is crucial to his recovery, the process was very painful for Evanlyn as well. Evanlyn has grown very close to Will during their capture and to see him incapacitated, “mutely accepting whatever befell him (Will). Sadly, she contemplated him, remembering him as he had been” (Flanagan 182). As illustrated in this passage, Will is unable to do anything and does not respond to anything. Seeing her best friend his such a sad state devastates Evanlyn, as it would anyone, however Evanlyn fights for months to break Will’s addiction to save her friend.
I think
that The Icebound Land is an amazing book with lots of suspense and
keeps you on the edge of your seat, waiting to find out what happens next.
While this blog post does contain some major spoilers, I would recommend this
book. The Icebound Land is just the third of 12 books in the Ranger’s
Apprentice series, a series I recommend to anyone who enjoys fantasy, a bit of
mystery, or needs a good book after a long day. Either way The Icebound Land
is worth checking out.
- Kai
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