Ranger's Apprentice

Rangers Apprentice Quotes

The Ruins of Gorlan-

Will: "I'm not nervous."

Horace: "He ought to be nervous! After all, which Craftmaster is going to want him as an apprentice?"

Alyss: "I'm sure we're all nervous. We'd be stupid not to be."

Horace: "Well, I'm not!"

• chapter 1, pg. 5-6 (paperback)

Halt: "Boy, if you don't know something, don't try to bluff your way through it. Simply tell me 'I don't know,' is that clear?"

Will: "Yes, Halt. ... Halt?"

Halt: "Yes?"

Will: "About King Herbert... I don't really know."

Halt: "Well, I never would have guessed."

• chapter 8, pg. 57 (paperback)

Halt: "Not bad at all. Your shooting is definitely improving. With more practice -a lot more practice- you might even achieve mediocrity."

• chapter 12, pg. 85 (paperback)

Gilan: "It appears that I was so intent on catching myself an old gray fox that I overlooked the small monkey hiding in the trees."

• chapter 23, pg. 173 (paperback)

Will: "But I thought..."

Gilan: "Never say that in front of Halt. He'll simply reply, 'You're an apprentice. You're not ready to think,' or 'If you thought about it, you wouldn't ask'."

• chapter 23, pg. 175 (paperback)

Halt: "No fire."

Gilan: "You're right, of course. It's just that I'd happily kill someone for a cup of coffee."

Halt: "Light a fire to brew it, and you might end up having to do just that."

• chapter 25, pg. 192 (paperback)

The Burning Bridge-

Will: "Let him out? Is the King crazy? Why would...? I mean... no offense or anything like that. It's just-"

Halt: "Oh, I'm sure the King wouldn't be offended to hear that a lowly apprentice Ranger thought he was crazy. Kings usually love to hear that sort of thing."

• chapter 1, pg. 12 (paperback)

Will: "Me? Why me? What can I do in Celtica?"

Halt: "Ask interminable questions, interrupt your betters and forget to do your chores, I suppose. The real question is, can you be spared from duty here? And the answer to that is 'Definitely'."

• chapter 2, pg 15 (paperback)

Halt: "Yes. A few weeks with people closer to his own age will do [Will] good. After all, folk do say I can be a little grim from time to time."

Gilan: "You, Halt? Grim? Who could say such a thing?"

Halt: "You know, Gilan, sarcasm isn't the lowest form of wit. It's not even wit at all."

• chapter 2, pg. 18 (paperback)

The Icebound Land-

The Battle for Skandia-

Halt: "How would you get us past the border?"

Horace: "We could fight our way in."

Halt: "So it's immoral to bluff our way past with an official document-"

Horace: "A false document. With a forged seal at the bottom."

Halt: "All right- a forged document if you like. That's reprehensible. But it would be perfectly all right for us to go through the border post hacking and shooting down everyone in sight? Is that the way you see it?"

• chapter 6, pg. 38 (paperback)

Halt: "I thought you said you could ride."

Erak: "I did. I just didn't say I could ride well."

• chapter 13, pg. 88 (paperback)

Halt: "The Tem'uj- he's covering his tracks. I don't think your man would have been able to follow him."

Erak: "Well, that's why you're here, isn't it?"

Halt: "Yes. The question is, why are you?"

• chapter 13, pg. 89 (paperback)

Erak: "I can be inconspicuous when I need to."

Halt: "Just like you can ride, I suppose."

• chapter 14, pg. 91 (paperback)

Halt: "Are there bears in these mountains?"

Erak: "Of course. But it's a bit early in the year for them to be moving around. Why?"

Halt: "Just a vague hope, really. There's a chance that when the Temujai hear you crashing around in the trees, they might think you're a bear."

• chapter 14, pg. 92 (paperback)

Erak: "It's a risk."

Halt: "It's war. The trick is to know which risks to take."

Borsa: "And how do you know that?"

Halt: "You wait till it's over and see who's won. Then you know those were the right risk to take."

• chapter 22, pg. 152 (paperback)

Halt: "Problems postponed have a habit of solving themselves, more often than not."

• chapter 31, pg. 213 (paperback)

Haz'kam: "There have been reports that a foreigner has been seen with the Skandians... one of those cursed [Rangers]."

Bin'zak: "They were rumors only, Shan. None of my men could confirm the fact."

Haz'kam: "I think we've just had it confirmed."

• chapter 33, pg. 226 (paperback)

Horace: "What do you think you're up to?"

Will: "I'm watching your back."

Horace: "Well, next time let me know. I nearly cut you in half just then!"

• chapter 38, pg. 261 (paperback)

Horace: "When I tell you, drop to your knees."

Will: "Fine. I may even do it before you give the word."

• chapter 38, pg. 262 (paperback)

Will: "Do you think Erak has a chance?"

Halt: "He's a popular war leader, but his only one of [many war leaders]. Add to that the fact that he's no administrator. And he's certainly no diplomat either."

Will: "I guess the fact that Erak spent the last few years as Ragnak's chief tax collector isn't going to help either."

Halt: "Not a good career move if you want to be Oberjarl one day."

Horace: "He probably wouldn't make a good Oberjarl anyway."

Erak: "I'm the new Oberjarl."

Halt: "I knew it!"

• chapter 39, pg. 271-272

King Duncan: "For your ears alone, your Craftmasters tell me that they believe you will be one of the greatest of the Rangers in years to come."

Will: "Not as great as Halt, surely, your majesty?"

King Duncan: "I'm not sure anyone could be that great, wouldn't you agree?"

• chapter 40, pg. 293 (paperback)

Horace: "He's a Ranger. And people like us can never understand Rangers. There's always a part of them they keep to themselves."

• chapter 40, pg. 294 (paperback)

The Sorcerer of the North-

The Siege of Macindaw-

Erak's Ransom-

Gilan: "If you do mess things up, don’t try to hide it. Don’t try to rationalize it. Recognize it and admit it and learn from it. We never stop learning, none of us. Not even Halt."

The King's of Clonmel-

Will: "Oh, it's a case of they think I'll think that they'll do A, so they'll do B because I wouldn't think they'd think of that but then because I might think I know what they're thinking they'll do A after all because I wouldn't think they'd think that way.

• Pg. 202

Halt: "I think I'll skip the meal." "Horace looked at him, horrified. How anyone could contemplate such a thing was beyond him."

• Pg. 264

Halt's Peril-

The Emperor of Nihon-Ja-

Horace: "Take me to that bath and color me happy."

• Pg. 92

Will: "...Halt has been known to burn water when he boils it,"

• Pg. 220