I met young Will in The Ruins of Gorlan, which is the first of ten books in the series.  He was fifteen years old and struggling to find his place in the world.  One of the most enjoyable experiences I had while reading that book, was the feeling that I was there; I was not just standing watching, as with a movie, but I was made to feel what Willwas feeling.
I was lent the book, and I was so greatly enthused by it, so I have now read up to Book Eight, The Kings Of Clonmel, in his series of ten.  I am now waiting to read Book Nine, Halt’s Peril, till I am able to check it out from the library.  Books one through eight I can freely recommend to most children over twelve; there is some violence that you would not want to read at a younger age. 

(There is a book title with a sorcerer in it, but there is no true magic.)  Also (sadly) there is some strong language that you would not be likely to want repeated in your house. 
Now on to happier things.  Will lives in the land of Araluen, which is bordered by The Mountains of Rain and Night the Lands of Hibernia, and Teutlandt.  Very interestingly I was able to find a probable interpretation for each of the countries I have named, and also a great many more you will have to find out on your own.  From what I have read, it seems that Flanagan has taken some time from history, when the English were born archers, the Danes and Saxons were raiding and burning, and the French were divided into petty duchies and provinces, and slightly altered it to fit his purposes as an author.  Araluen is the land of the longbow where every village with more than one hundred inhabitants is responsible for training all its young men as archers.  Hibernia is a land divided.  The rulers of the six kingdoms are petty and weak, more concerned with the name of king than of actually being a good ruler for their people.
The series is very well knit together with only a slight need of directions as to the order of reading.  The series is readable in chronological order, which was how I read them, but I would recommend reading Book Seven, Erak’s Ransom, right before Book Five, The Sorcerer of the North, after that I would suggest numerical order.  Also, there are definite sets of books. The Ruins of Gorlan, Will’s acceptance of apprenticeship to Halt, The Burning Bridge, The Icebound Land and The Battle for Skandia, Will’s capture by the enemies and escape from the same.  Five through Ten deal with Will as a full-fledged Ranger.   Erak’s Ransom, a trip to an arid country to rescue Skandia’s Oberjarl and Will’s graduation as a Ranger, The Sorcerer of the North and The Siege of Macindaw, the rescuing of a northern fief from the Picta.  The Kings of Clonmel and Halt’s Peril chronicle the outbreak of a deadly cult, and I won’t make anything up about The Emperor of Nihon-Ja, because I haven’t read it yet.

Books by John Flanagan
The Ruins of Gorlan
The Burning Bridge
The Icebound Land
The Battle for Skandia
The Sorcerer of the North
The Siege of Macindaw
Erak’s Ransom
The Kings of Clonmel
Halt’s Peril
The Emperor of Nihon-Ja


A companion volume of short stories
The Lost Tales