In this fifth book in the Brotherband Chronicles, old friends reemerge to take on new enemies as the worlds of Ranger’s Apprentice and Brotherband join forces in battle!

Without going into any more detail, I can just say that I was sadly disappointed by this book. The first five Brotherband books were great and I definitely recommend them, but these latest two, I honestly didn't enjoy at all. Oren had been a contender for the prize. Arndt is a trawlerman. Anders owns a shipyard. Gordy is one of the boys who worship Hal.

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The Herons are home in Skandia—preparing to celebrate two of their own and working on sea trials in the newly constructed Heron. But during a short excursion, they encounter an Iberian pirate ship raiding the coast of Sonderland, so Hal and his crew take action. Look--I love this series. I love Hal and the crew and the adventures. Like the other books in the series, there are great moments of dialogue and amazing ship maneuvers. I also really enjoyed seeing Ulf and Wulf separate their personalities to some (small) extent.

Suddenly the silence is broken when a massive, marauding bear appears, advancing on two children. The crew springs into action and rescues the children from the bear’s clutches, which earns them the gratitude and friendship of the local Mawagansett tribe, who finally reveal themselves. Forming a BrotherBand grants players with extra Link Power and gives players special benefits such as Brother Cards which can be used in combat. These special cards can act as both the selected Brother's favorite card, or grant the player that Brother's transformation depending on their version of the game that they play.

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Erak's Ransom (2007) (While released in 2007 this book happens before "The Sorcerer in the North" ) The Heron (can ram the oars off other ships — but it doesn’t have a cutting ram projected from bow) Later Hal, Stig, Ingvar, Ulf and Wulf test Hal's ship, the Heron, which he has been working on for weeks. They sail it around, testing out Hal's new sail plan which enables the boat to sail at a 40 degree angle into the wind, an impressive feat since a Wolfship can only sail into the wind at a 15 degree angle . Hal, wanting to show off a little, decides to steer the boat around into the port at Halasholm. He does this and it causes quite a stir as initially no one can tell what the boat is due to its unusual sail plan. Hal manages to get the boat into port, narrowly missing Erak's ship Wolfwind. The stories are fast-moving and exciting. There’s lots of action and fighting and intrigue. There’s a lot of humour in the books, too. (I can’t help myself.) Well, that's my thoughts on those issues. In general I enjoyed the book and the action is still good, but I do have some issues with plot lines being abandoned and not keeping the characters ages/timeline straight. I'm mostly removing a half star for the slow start.

My second gripe is not actually specific to this book, but more of a series thing, but it needs to be said. They are outcasts. Hal, Stig, and the other members of the brotherband - 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. The Herons are home in Skandia, but the usually peaceful country is in danger. The Temujai--ruthless warriors from the Eastern Steppes--have never given up on their ambition to claim Skandia for their own...and now they're on the move. Hal and his crew will have to brave the treacherous icy river and rapids to stop them, no matter the cost. Erak is the Oberjarl, the ruler, of Skandia, and he's based in Hallasholm. Wolfwind is his ship with Svengal, Erak's best friend, as its skirl. Borsa is Erak's hilfmann (chief administrator). Gert-by-Sea is an elderly widow. Rollond is skirl of Wolfrunner, a contemporary of the Heron's crew. Torval is part of Wolfrunner's crew. Dean is an Araluen archer commander. At the end of the book, Barrat publicly says that Lydia will marry him. Furious, Lydia decides to leave her hometown. She goes with the Herons, seeking revenge on Zavac for her grandfather's death.

Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice is a favorite series, yet while RA was written for the same age group as Brotherband, the two series are worlds apart in style, strength of story, strength and depth of character, and tightness of writing. The omniscient point of view was successful in RA, not so much in Brotherband; we even know what Kloof, Hal's dog, was feeling/experiencing at one point in The Caldera, which was a bit much for me. 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! In fact, the Brotherband books are very much like Ranger’s Apprentice, only with different people and a different setting. And they’re based on a ship, so the scene is always changing. The Brotherband can wander anywhere in the world they want to. Or anywhere I want them to. I do like the sailing terms Flanagan includes at the start. I also love that the Skandians are so practical about feeding the fort's garrison so well. It only makes sense. As does Hal and Stig learning to ride horses, lol.