Rejoice! Ranger's Apprentice Prequel Coming!

I just received the info today via email, and followed the link to the Random House website, which has announced that both paperback and ebook will be out this week, on September 16. If you live in New South Wales you can attend the launch next weekend at the St Ives Renaissance Faire. John Flanagan will be there if you want an autograph. 

Here's the blurb for the book:

Before they became the most famous Ranger in the land and the hard-working Ranger Commandant, Halt and Crowley were young friends determined to change the world. 

The scheming Baron Morgarath is drawing other power-hungry knights and barons to his banner. King Oswald is wasting away and, if gossip can be believed, Prince Duncan is causing havoc in the north. 

Halt and Crowley set out to find the prince, uncover the truth, and re-form the weakened Ranger Corps. Once-loyal Rangers are scattered across the country, and it will take determination, skill, and leadership if they're to come together as one. Can the Rangers regain the trust of the Kingdom, or will the cunning Morgarath outwit them at every turn? 

And here's the cover!

The only problem with a prequel, of course, is that you know which characters will be there for The Ruins of Gorlan and that no, the villain won't win, because if he did the good guys wouldn't be there in the first book of the series. I'm having a similar problem with my prequel to Wolfborn, in which the villain of the next book appears - you know he has to survive unpunished and that means the new king has to make a huge error of judgement...

But still, it will be great to see our favourite characters again. I'm loving the spinoff, but honestly, Hal is just too perfect. I'm wishing that just once he would make a mistake and have to deal with it... Though it wouldn't fit in with the humour of that series.

Anyway, I will be downloading the ebook and hopefully buying a copy for my library as soon as I can.