Brotherband Chronicles: Slaves of Socorro by John Flanagan

462 pages

"Hal and his fellow Herons have returned home to Skandia after defeating the pirate Zavac and reclaiming Skandia's most prized artifact, the Andomal. With their honor restored, the Herons turn to a new mission: tracking down an old rival turned bitter enemy. Tursgud--leader of the Shark Brotherband and Hal's constant opponent--has turned from a bullying youth into a pirate and slave trader. After Tursgud captures twelve Araluen villagers to sell as slaves, the Heron crew sails into action...with the help of one of Araluen's finest rangers." -Dust Jacket

This is another solid installment in John Flanagan's Brotherband Chronicles. The Skandians no longer raid coastal villagers but instead hire out their skills to different countries to protect their coasts and shipping vessels. Hal and his crew are sent by Erak to Araluen. Hal adopts a large dog that does something that forces Hal and the Herons to make another hasty departure from Skandia.

{Some spoilers}
After being in Araluen for just a couple of days, and being summoned to see the king by Gilan, a Ranger, they hear that Tursgud has captured twelve Araluens and is taking them to Socorro to sell them as slaves. Hoping the king will understand, Hal, the Herons, and Gilan take off after him. Hal has come into his own and really asserted his authority as captain. Gilan learns to respect Hal and the Herons even though they are young. They disguise their ship after landing in Socorro so that Tursgud won't recognize it and sabotage his ship in a way that has unexpected consequences. Gilan and Lydia run reconnaissance in the gold market to see what kind of diversion they can create and make for a good team while Hal, Thorn, Stig and Jesper pretend to want to sell Ingvar to check out the slave pens and security. Jesper is an expert lock pick and thief. They meet an overbearing slave trader named Mahmel who tells them that once a slave is brought to sell he must be left there. They can't change their minds. So, they have to leave Ingvar with the other slaves. That makes the success of their mission even more important. Of course, like every other Flanagan book, they meet with obstacles yet prevail.

I like that the Ranger's Apprentice and Brotherband books are starting to overlap. I'm hoping that Will and Halt might make an appearance sometime. There is a lot of similarities between the two series--Hal's a lot like Will and Thorn's a lot like Halt, but it's still a fun series that stands alone. I love books for kids that are clean and have characters that are admirable and courageous. I'm looking forward to the next one!