The Ruins of Gorlan

Concept and development

The Ruins of Gorlan was originally a set of short stories written by author John Flanagan for his son Michael to encourage him to read. Flanagan wrote one story each week for twenty weeks. About ten years later, Flanagan returned to these stories and decided to write them into a full-length novel. The character Horace was based on Michael's friend Jeremy, but in the original short stories Flanagan made Horace the villain. In the stories, Horace disappears after Will saves his life on the boar hunt, while in the novel, Flanagan was able to make Morgarath the main villain and "rehabilitate" Horace to keep him as a main character. Flanagan thought that the idea of a bully being bullied was a strong concept which was not in the original stories and was later incorporated into the novel. He planned this parallel storyline in Battleschool to develop and show how Horace could help Will through his "linear thinking". Flanagan was careful to make the distinction that Horace was not stupid, since he was in fact a straight thinker which helped balance Will's wild thinking. Will was based on Michael, and shared some of his physical attributes, including his small stature and agile movement. Most importantly, Flanagan wanted to show his son that there was an advantage to being small and that not all heroes have to be tall and muscular.

Plot summary

Morgarath, the exiled lord of the bleak, barren Mountains of Rain and Night has been waiting fifteen years in his dark realm, carefully planning his revenge against the Kingdom of Araluen. His former fief, known as Gorlan, was long ago brought to ruin as a result of his unsuccessful rebellion against King Duncan. Now he silently plots to rebel again, rallying creatures known as Wargals to his side. Wargals have little will of their own, and are easy to control, therefore being suitable as soldiers in Morgarath's army. Now, after the fifteen years, Morgarath prepares to unleash his power and attempt to take the Kingdom once more.

Meanwhile in Araluen, in the fief Redmont, a special day has come for Will and his fellow wardmates (Horace, Alyss, George, and Jenny), called Choosing Day, where they all become an apprentice to a craftmaster or have to work in the local farms. Although Will's first choice was Battleschool, he becomes apprenticed to Halt of the Rangers. Rangers are the intelligence group of the country and specialise in long range weapons and the art of staying unseen. Will is trained in these skills as he prepares for the annual Ranger meeting called the Gathering which is where his skills will be tested. During this time he becomes closer to Halt and is given a horse named Tug, from an old horse trainer by the name of Old Bob.

Meanwhile Will's wardmate Horace is in Battleschool. His life is harsh and he is often bullied by other Battleschool cadets. During a local holiday Horace and Will fight, increasing their hatred for each other. After this Will and Halt find signs of a boar that has been roaming the area. The two get a group of men that will take down the boar, once of which was Horace. During the hunt it is discovered that there are two boars, one which runs straight to Horace before being distracted by Will, saving Horace's life, and charging at Will before finally being killed by Halt. This cements a friendship between Will and Horace and erases the lasting tension between the two. After the killing of the boar, Will is visited by the cadets bullying Horace. They attack Will before being stopped by Halt and banished from the fief, stopping the bullying against Horace and making him closer with the Rangers. However it has now come time for Halt and Will to go to the Gathering. Here Will meets Halt's former apprentice, Gilan. During the Gathering, the Rangers receive a report that the Kalkara, vicious creatures under the control of Morgarath, have come into Araluen.

Halt, Will and Gilan leave to track down the Kalkara. Halt thinks that the Kalkara are headed to the Ruins of Gorlan and tells Will to go back to Redmont, get backup and meet back at the ruins. At Redmont, Baron Arald, Sir Rodney, and several others head out to slay the Kalkara and to save Halt and Gilan. Finding that Halt is battling the Kalkara, Sir Rodney and Baron Arald manage to slay one, but are badly injured by the other. Suddenly, the last Kalkara is killed by Will with a flaming arrow that burns it because of its highly flammable fur. Back at his fief, Will is considered a hero and receives his bronze oakleaf which identifies him as a Ranger Apprentice. Meanwhile, Araluen prepares for a war with Lord Morgarath and his army of Wargals.

Critical reception

Reviewers praised the action and characters of The Ruins of Gorlan. Steven Engelfried of School Library Journal enjoyed the description of Ranger crafts and meetings with bullies and a wild boar which "help to establish the boy's emerging character". Engelfried said the "well-paced plot moves effortlessly toward the climax, letting readers get to know the world and the characters gradually as excitement builds". However, he felt that the sudden welcome by the public was a little over the top since Rangers are described as silent and solitary. Carolyn Phelan from Booklist praised how Will is a normal hero without any magical skills making him a very original and believable character. Phelan also recognised the setting as "a colorful place, threatened by an evil warlord and his fierce minions, but it's the details of everyday living and the true-to-life emotions that are memorable". Kirkus Reviews found that "Flanagan does nothing to boost his typecast characters, familiar themes or conventional, video-game plot above the general run, but readers with a taste for quickly paced adventure with tidy, predictable resolutions (Kalkara and bullies vanquished, Will and Horace become heroes and buddies) won't be disappointed".

Awards

The Ruins of Gorlan received an Aurealis Award in 2004 and was chosen as the Children's Book Council of Australia Notable Book in 2005. In 2008, the book was nominated for the Grand Canyon Reader Award.

Film Adaptation

As of 7 January 2008, United Artists has obtained the film rights for The Ruins of Gorlan and is in discussion with Canadian director Paul Haggis.

Although the film exhausted its funding not long after the original time the project began, author John Flanagan has confirmed that as of December 2014, the group had re-acquired the necessary funds, and were to start production Summer 2015.