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Fantasy. Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. HTML:They are outcasts. Hal, Stig, and the others - they are the boys the others want no part of. Skandians, as any reader of Ranger's Apprentice could tell you, are known for their size and strength. Not these boys. Yet that doesn't mean they don't have skills. And courage - which they will need every ounce of to do battle at sea against the other bands, the Wolves and the Sharks, in the ultimate race. The icy waters make for a treacherous playing field . . . especially when not everyone thinks of it as playing. John Flanagan, author of the international phenomenon Ranger's Apprentice, creates a new cast of characters to populate his world of Skandians and Araluens, a world millions of young readers around the world have come to know and admire. Full of seafaring adventures and epic battles, Book 1 of The Brotherband Chronicles is sure to thrill readers of Ranger's Apprentice while enticing a whole new generation just now discovering the books.… (more)
User reviews
I just thought I better mention that I haven't read The Rangers Apprentice, so this review has nothing to do with that series. This is a good book if you want action, and adventure, but not exactly great literature, and in my opinion books like the 'Thieftakers Apprentice' by Stephan Deas or 'The Spooks Apprentice' by Joseph Delaney (I know, so many apprentices!) by Joseph Dealany are much better written and have far more complexity of plot. However this book is still good in terms of giving the reader an exciting read, definitely a teenage boy book.
What spoiled it for me was the ending, which set it up for the rest of the trilogy. It almost felt as if it was just stuck on so that more books could be written when it would have been a perfectly good book without it. I doubt that I will bother reading the rest of the trilogy.
I loved Flangan’s Ranger Apprentice series so I approached this new one with both glee and a bit of trepidation. After reading the description of the book I was a bit worried that Flangan was recreating Will Treaty (the main character in the Ranger Apprentice series) just in a different nation. I mean Hal sounds a good bit like him--an outcast, an Araluen, smart and quick on his feet, a leader...but he’s much more as well. He’s an inventor always seeking to improve things, a shipbuilder, and a swordsman like his dad. And even though some of the characters, such as Steig, have some traits similar to other Ranger Apprentice characters they stand on their own. My worries were clearly unfounded as Flangan has once again crafted a fantastic tale of adventure and intrigue.
It’s clear that Flangan has grown as a writer as this book jam packed with action, adventure, and humor--such as Erak’s storeroom of treasure. The story has a good pace and keeps you turning the pages till the very end. I started the book rather late at night with the anticipation of only reading a couple chapters, yet as the hours past I kept saying one more chapter till I finished it (and was quite glad that I stayed up till the end.) Flangan still creates characters that aren’t perfect, that have flaws for everyone to see. Such as Thorn (who is one of my favorite characters,) Hal’s mentor, who begins the story as a drunk one armed former warrior. And by the end shows everyone what he’s really made of.
I have some minor concerns about where the series takes us, but...I’m going to trust in Flangan. This is a great start to a new series, with a new group of heroes, and I can’t wait to read and find out what happens next.
As far as I am concerned John Flanagan has another hit series going. It was exciting and drew you in from the first. Did not want to put it down. The only bad thing is wait till the next book comes out.
It starts out 12 years in the past when Erak is still raiding and two warriors are holding
Than it tells a little about Hal his mom Karina and Thorn lives. How Hal became good friends with Stig and how he builds his boat .
Then most of the story is about the Brotherband training camp. How their is 3 teams competting to be the best. Wolves led by Rollond, Sharks let by Tursgud and the Herons by Hal. The first two co-captains were picked but no one second the third so the first two teams picked 10 and the ones no one wanted became the Herons named after Hal boat that 5 of them had worked on and sailed with him. They only had 8 to their team.
Right away you want to root for the Herons the underdogs. Tursgud is spoilled and does not fight fair. It build the story very well and you want to see what happens next. See how they come together and become a team.
Definitely an 8th grade level!
I thought the book was really good. It kept me on my toes every page. I would want to stay up all night just to read the last pages. There was a twist every page of unexpected happenings. I thought at first the kids were going to lose but in the end they won. i knew this book was going to be good because of the Author. So i would recommend if you like thrilling stories.
While listening to the story, I was intermittently accompanied by my son who is nearly nine years old. I make mention of this because it affected how I ended out with four stars for a rating. Jackson loved every member of the Heron Brotherband! He fancies himself bright like Hal and probably picked some kids from school who were like the other boys. I was trying to decide between 3 and 4 stars for this book, so I asked him to rate it. He offered 4.5 stars. Since indecision amounted to 3.5 stars, I averaged both our opinions and ended out with a 4 star rating! Jackson told me that he took away half a star because the story was a bit more “describey” than his usual fare of Harry Potter and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
Now on to me and my wonderful opinions! Just kidding…Unless you were thinking the same thing.
I’ve never heard of Flanagan or Ranger’s Apprentice beyond what the book cover acclaims. I was delighted to see that someone who is a Bestseller uses the omniscient third person point of view, or gaining the insights and thoughts of any character and the ability to be where all the best action and conversation is whether or not the character has an important role in the story. I’ve spent a long time in writing workshops and one thing that a lot of people in the Young Adult genre have told me is that stories flow better from a fixed character’s point of view and that only Charles Dickens could write in omniscient third person because it was so long ago that the style of the era was different and no one knew any better. I wrote my entire first novel before I began workshopping, so I had never even considered what “today’s readers” think is the best POV for a story. I published it because I’m the type of person who would rather write a second book in another style than completely rewrite the first book over something like point of view. Sorry if I ran off the topic, but I feel the need to make mention since I was running this rant through my head every time we left Hal, the main character’s head to hear Thorn, or Tersgood’s thoughts. After being on both sides of the conversation and then listening to a story that carries the underdog view, I’ve now decided both are just fine.
Based on the other’s accurate, technical description of boxing and grappling I believe Mr. Flanagan has trained in martial arts. One bit of footwork he described early on really stuck in my craw for a couple days. It was about throwing a right hook, when your jab hand is your left hand. Most people would never connect a right hook because their arm wouldn’t be close enough with their right foot behind their body. Later Thorn explains to Hal that he should always press forward. Aha! When you step forward with your right foot, a right hook is possible and very effective. I practiced a handful of martial arts for years so I love dissecting another writer’s ability to write a fight and Flanagan can write good action scenes. One grappling scene lost me, but again I was driving so perhaps my attention was simply frayed.
I disliked the use of certain phrases that I felt don’t fit the time period. “Who are you, his lawyer?” and “brand new” are two examples I noted (while pulled over, safety first!).
Thorn and Hal’s relationship was heartwarming. When Hal literally rebuilds Thorn into a whole man the symbolism of Thorn’s spiritual healing represented by the boy’s inventions nearly made me weep. I’m a father though, and that kind of thing hits the button!
One final nitpick, sometimes the narrative spoils a scene by stating flatly what dialogue and action are about to show. I know I’ve used this device myself a couple times, but I heard it enough to become annoyed by chapter 40.
I will definitely look out for the next adventure of the Brotherband. I know this book has been out a while and there are plenty more to go, but I may wait until my son and I have a road trip. The dynamic between Hal and his seven friends is great. I clearly remember seven of the eight by their distinct characterization. Perhaps the last boy is just a wall flower! I won’t mention who, challenge yourself and try to guess.
All my criticism above is just a personal reflection of style and I don’t feel like it should dissuade even the reader who shares my opinions. I really enjoyed this Viking adventure!
I rated this book because it's a great book with good characters but there's very little backstory that makes it a bit confusing.
Brotherband is a continuing series from 'Ranger's Apprentice' and I would recommend this book to 9-12 year olds because younger readers may not understand the plot and older readers tend to be interested in different topics.
on behalf of Firelion (age 10)