Brotherband Chronicles Books In Order

Publication Order of Brotherband Chronicles Books

Brotherband Chronicles is a series of remarkably engaging fantasy novels written by Australian author John Flanagan. The series followed the undeniable success of Flanagan’s well-known series the Ranger’s Apprentice, however, in Brotherband Chronicles the author’s interest is to focus on Skandian characters. Brotherband takes place in the same universe as the previous Ranger’s apprentice series, in a medieval like Europe, but with a bunch of new, fresh and captivating characters.

The series is made up of 6 books, in which the main character, Hal Mikkelson, takes us into a journey to Skandia and its boundaries. Hal comes from a stormy background, his father, who was a Skandian warrior, was killed in battle. After his father´s death the child is forced to live with his mother, a former slave, in their own Inn. Little did he know that by the age of 10 his destiny was to change when Thorn, a dear friend of his father, decided to keep his word and train him changing his life forever. Thorn trained him in the art of war and sailing shaping all the fighting skills of the kid and providing him with incredible weapons. Hal is a remarkable character; he is definitely going to impress you with his many talents such as his precise use of the sword, his incredible sense for navigation, his unbelievable engineering skills and his fearless and fast mind which is always ahead of the enemy ready to attack.

The first Book of the chronicles: The outcast, introduces us to the life of Hal and his mother, he is only a little child when his father, Mikkel, dies. However, before passing away Mikkel makes his best friend, Thorn, promise that He would look after his son and teach him all he needs to know about life. Twelve years after his father’s death Hal has turned into a clever boy eager to build all sort of things from scratch, he even buys a ship which he names Heron. As it is accustomed in Skandia, all the 16-year-old boys start Brotherband training, where they are though the basic skills of navigation and war. In this first book, we get to know that there are 3 Brotherbands: The Sharks, The wolves, and the Herons. As you might have already guessed Hal becomes, unwillingly, the leader of the Herons. A group of outcast boys, where he has to fight his way to the top. While the group of aspiring warriors are still training a pirate named Zavac attacks a Skandian treading fleet changing the course of the story.

In the second novel of these chronicles, entitled: The Invaders. The author shows how Hal and his gang go after Zavac. The boys do not have an easy journey. A Storm damages their ship and they are forced to stop and repair it while Zavac sizes the treasure of Limmat, a neighbouring small town with a great emerald mine. Once again in this chapter the courage of the boy saves the day and things might not end up as you thing they would. The third book: The Hunters, is a continuation of Hal’s journey after Zavac where the author, with the most clever use of language, describes all the adventures and troubles the boys get into. Contrary to what you might expect, this fantasy novel does not feature violence as a major theme it is actually friendship and team spirit what is encouraged among the characters. This is also a story of how a series of underdogs make their way to success overcoming all sort of obstacles.

Brotherband Chronicles is a series that will not only leave you breathless page after page but also will captive you to the point that you would not be able to stop reading. Although Hal is the main character of the books, all his friends play a major role in the development of the narrative. It is definitely a story about honour and friendship. Furthermore, the books are full of symbols and extended metaphors. One of the main items and therefore symbols owned by Hal is the Heron.

The Heron is a ship that Hal initially started building under the supervision of a ship-maker. However, Hal ends up buying the ship and finishing it himself adding some personal details to it. The Heron is half the size of a Skandian wolfship. One of the brightest inventions that Hal added to the ship is an impressive triangular double sail plan that makes it possible to sail 45 degrees into the wind instead of 15. Hal based the design of the ship on the anatomy of the bird he named his ship after. That is the reason why the ship creates the illusion of gliding over the water like a bird. These are only few of the ingenious inventions that can be found in the ship. There is no doubt that the reader will be impressed by the engineering skills of the boy and moreover will be delighted to imagine such unique creations.

The sixth book of the series: The Ghostfaces, has not yet been published but it is due to be brought into the open on June 14, 2016. This is certainly not going to be a disappointment and its action-packed pages will take the readers into a different dimension where honour and victory are the only words to live up to.

In Brotherband Chronicles Flanagan demonstrates once again his ability to attract young audiences, especially teens that are blown away by the Viking like characters of his books. He is an expert at putting his characters into troubles that a teenager would be eager to solve. His characters, although in constant development, are fresh and an approachable. Alike other of his books one of the major messages of this series is that no matter what, good will always win over evil. He has built a whole universe full of intricate paths, exciting and picturesque places and seas of never ending stories, in which one would never be bored. He is an extraordinary writer who knows how to engage the reader in fascinating adventures