Brotherband Chronicles: The Invaders by John Flanagan

429 pages

"As champions of the Brotherband competition, Hal and the rest of the Herons were given one simple assignment: safeguard the Skandians' most sacred artifact, the Andomal.

They failed.

To redeem themselves, the Herons must track down the thief Zavac and his pirate crew and recover the Andomal. But that means traversing stormy seas, surviving a bitter winter, and battling a group of deadly bandits willing to protect their prize at all costs." -Dust Jacket

I still haven't met a John Flanagan book I haven't liked. I think Brotherband Chronicles has a greater sense of camaraderie than Ranger's Apprentice does. That doesn't make it better, just different, which is a great thing in a new series. Ranger's Apprentice had that too, but it was centered around the King's Rangers, who tend to work alone. Halt, Will and Horace would have adventures together but they weren't together all the time. The Herons are together all the time and it creates some fun interactions between them, especially when they get tired of being together. I like how smart Hal is. I like how cranky Thorn is but how much he cares about the boys, Hal in particular, and how he finds a renewed sense of purpose being with them. 

This book is pretty much non-stop adventure. Zavac is a much more despicable character than the villains of RA. He has no regard for human life which is evident in his brutality in this book. Can't wait until October!

{SPOILER ALERT}

Hal & his crew take shelter in Shelter Bay to escape the weather. They've pushed hard for several days through turbulent seas to put enough distance between them and their home they're running from. Eventually the crew gets restless and starts arguing and fighting among themselves. Thorn tells Hal that he needs to put a stop to it and give them something to do. The boys are bored. Hal puts Thorn in charge of training. Thorn runs them through exercises and battle drills. He tells them that he was the Maktig for three years in a row so that they will take his training seriously. Hal & Ingvar start working on a huge crossbow (Mangler) to mount to the bow of the Heron.

Meanwhile, Zavac and his pirates attack a small trading ship from Limmat and learn that the town has a hidden emerald mine. He attacks the city, killing many of the townspeople in a cunning plan. He uses a captured Skandian trade ship to trick the townspeople, making the ship look like it's running from Raven, when instead Raven is using it to get the boom lowered in the harbor and attack the town. They've also enlisted another pirate ship, Viper, to help in the attack. Lydia is a Limmatan who has been out in the woods hunting and comes back to find her town being attacked. She is dressed like a boy. The pirates see her, a chase ensues, and she gets away in a small skiff, but she's lost an oar so she's set adrift in the ocean. She is found by the Heron and tells Hal what's happened in the town. 

Erak sends Svengal out in Wolfwind to try to find Hal and help him get back the Andomal. The first time Hal sees Wolfwind he makes a run for it though because he's afraid they're there to take him back to Hallasholm. Hal, Lydia and Stig go back to Limmat to check things out. Lydia leads them through the marshes where they meet up with Barat, a guy who's cocky and in love with Lydia, and they form an alliance with him and about 40 other townspeople who have escaped. They leave Barat and his men in the marshland and return to Shelter Bay where Wolfwind is lying in wait. Svengal tells Hal that he's there to help him, not take him back. 

Hal starts formulating a plan to attack Zavac that involves three parts: Barat and his men will attack from one side, Svengal and the Wolfwind crew from the other, and the Heron will attack the watchtowers with Mangler. There are some tense preparations that have to be made, one of which is Hal and Jesper floating in on a log to place an oil bag on a gate. They are almost lost at sea. Hal's plan goes smoothly until Ingvar (the only one who can load Mangler) is shot with an arrow during their assault on the watchtowers. Edvin (crew cook & healer) tends to Ingvar's wound. It makes Hal realize that his decisions have life or death consequences and Hal begins to question his abilities. Thorn reminds him that that's what it means to be a skirl. Ulf and Wulf take over loading Mangler and the assault continues. Lydia proves indispensable because she is deadly with her throwing darts. She takes out many of the pirates' best archers. 

The assault on the pirates is successful, the town is retaken, but Zavac sneaks away. Zavac burns Viper and Stingray (the captured Skandian ship), killing any of its crew on board. Raven starts to head out to see while the Heron and Wolfwind make a run to cut it off before leaving the harbor. Wolfwind gets to Raven first, is rammed by Raven, and starts taking on water. Heron narrowly escapes being rammed by the pirates and then Hal has to decide whether to follow the pirates or help Svengal. If he chooses to follow Zavac, Wolfwind will go under and its crew will drown. He chooses to save Svengal. The townspeople throw a huge party, Barat--trying to make a play to become the new mayor of the town--gives a rousing speech in which he declares that he will marry Lydia. Hal and his crew leave to chase the Raven and Lydia asks to join them. She does not want to marry Barat and she wants vengeance. The pirates killed her grandfather in the attack on Limmat. Svengal is forced to stay in Limmat until Wolfwind is repaired. It's suffered serious damage so it will take at least several weeks.