Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths
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The Stern Chase (The Brotherband Chronicles)
Follow the Brotherband in a battle against an Iberian pirate raiding ship in the latest exciting tale in the Brotherband Chronicles from John Flanagan, author of the internationally bestselling Ranger's Apprentice series!
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.
Though the Herons quickly triumph, the Iberians voice their fury at the Herons, vowing to take revenge. And soon they do-raiding the harbor and stealing or destroying as many ships as they can. Though there is little proof the Iberians are behind it, the Herons take their ship, the only one that has survived the raid-and race after their enemy in hot pursuit. They will take down these pirates and get justice-no matter what.
Climb aboard with the Herons in The Stern Chase, the exciting ninth installment of the Brotherband Chronicles!
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.
Though the Herons quickly triumph, the Iberians voice their fury at the Herons, vowing to take revenge. And soon they do-raiding the harbor and stealing or destroying as many ships as they can. Though there is little proof the Iberians are behind it, the Herons take their ship, the only one that has survived the raid-and race after their enemy in hot pursuit. They will take down these pirates and get justice-no matter what.
Climb aboard with the Herons in The Stern Chase, the exciting ninth installment of the Brotherband Chronicles!
Readers Top Reviews
Kindle Daniel
Each book you write gets better, the characters are alive with wonder and the stories always top notch looking forward to the next one
Sara Livingstone
As usual, the latest installment of the Brotherband series is fantastic! Great energy, great adventures, great fun! PLEASE keep them coming Mr. Flanagan!
Don Y
Brotherband always a fun adventure. Light and easy page turner. I like the sailing and the boating. Just like having a little dessert after dinner
Kindle
I love all of John Flanagan's Books. He can't write them fast enough to suit me. What a story teller
I have enjoyed all of John’s books. Even as an an adult they are fun easy to read and full of adventure. I can’t wait till my grandchildren are old enough to read them. I have his whole collection.
Short Excerpt Teaser
Hal smiled to himself as the Heron cut smoothly through the water, rising and falling gracefully; swooping over the small, even waves and sending showers of spray high into the air on either side of her bows as she sliced down into the troughs.
It was good to feel the slight vibration in the tiller and the surge of the deck under his feet once more. He and his crew had spent the winter building this new Heron, and he was enjoying being back at sea, and in command.
They were off the Sonderland coast, well to the west of Hallasholm, carrying out final sea trials on the new ship.
"She's definitely faster than the old Heron," he commented to Stig, who was standing close by, keeping an eye on the taut curve of the sail.
His first mate smiled. "That's only to be expected," he said. "She's two meters longer on the waterline."
Hal nodded. The extra length would make the ship faster through the water. But he had also had time to experiment with the cut of the sails-to shape them and reinforce them with extra seams so they formed a smoother, more efficient curve when the wind filled them. In addition, he had increased the height of the mast and yardarms, so the new ship carried more sail than the old.
All in all, he thought, it was a good result. But there was one thing that bothered him slightly, and that was one of the reasons they had put to sea-to test the new ship under a variety of conditions and see if she would deliver maximum performance.
"Coming about!" he called to Ulf and Wulf, who were crouched amidships by the sheets and halyards that controlled the sails.
Wulf signaled that they had heard him and were ready.
"Tack!" he called, putting the helm over and swinging the ship into the eye of the wind.
The twins brought the current sail down to the deck and hoisted its opposite number as the ship turned.
There, thought Hal, sensing a slight hesitation as the bow came around. But she had enough speed and momentum to carry her through the maneuver, and within seconds, the new sail had filled with a dull, booming sound and was driving her firmly on the opposite tack, the slight hesitation left behind. But, still, he thought, it had been there. He had first sensed it earlier, when the wind had been lighter than the brisk breeze that drove them now.
"Let out the sheets!"
The twins allowed the ropes that controlled the sail to loosen, and the sail to billow out somewhat, losing the tight, hard curve. As the pressure reduced, the speed fell away until Heron was coasting along, with the wind over her port side.
Hal waited, conscious of Stig's watchful gaze. Thorn, in his position by the fin keel, was watching as well. Both of his friends knew what was on his mind. They had discussed it earlier that day when they had set out on these final trials.
"She's griping still?" Stig asked quietly.
Hal nodded. "I'll try her again," he replied, then raising his voice, warned the sail handlers. "Coming about!"
Wulf signaled that he and his brother were ready, and Hal called out the executive order.
"Tack!"
The tiller went over and the bow started to swing up into the wind. But this time, without the same speed and momentum behind it, the movement was slower and more tentative. Hal felt the resistance that shuddered through the hull as the bow pointed up and tried to cross the wind's eye, then fell back to starboard, the sail shuddering violently and losing the wind so that Heron sagged off, away from the turn, and wallowed to a halt, sail flapping and sheets loose. Then the bow began to fall off further to starboard and the wind caught the sail, so that when Ulf and Wulf hauled in on the sheets, it filled once more and the ship steadied and slowly began to cut through the water, back on the original port tack.
Stig shook his head, a worried look on his face. "The old ship wouldn't have failed to come about like that," he said.
Hal shrugged. He was relatively sure he knew where the problem lay and it would be easy to fix. "Her bow is sitting too low in the water. It's causing resistance to the turn," he told Stig. "She simply needs re-trimming."
He called to Ingvar and Jesper, who were watching events, crouched in the rowing well on the port side, several meters astern of the mast.
"Move the cask back a meter," he ordered, and the two of them scrambled up onto the raised center deck, where a twenty-liter cask of water was standing on the center line, and where Hal had chalked a set of half-meter measurements.
They wrestled the cask back along the chalk line, settling it on the mark that Hal had indicated, taking a few seconds to make minor adjustments so the positioning was perfect. They knew that when...
It was good to feel the slight vibration in the tiller and the surge of the deck under his feet once more. He and his crew had spent the winter building this new Heron, and he was enjoying being back at sea, and in command.
They were off the Sonderland coast, well to the west of Hallasholm, carrying out final sea trials on the new ship.
"She's definitely faster than the old Heron," he commented to Stig, who was standing close by, keeping an eye on the taut curve of the sail.
His first mate smiled. "That's only to be expected," he said. "She's two meters longer on the waterline."
Hal nodded. The extra length would make the ship faster through the water. But he had also had time to experiment with the cut of the sails-to shape them and reinforce them with extra seams so they formed a smoother, more efficient curve when the wind filled them. In addition, he had increased the height of the mast and yardarms, so the new ship carried more sail than the old.
All in all, he thought, it was a good result. But there was one thing that bothered him slightly, and that was one of the reasons they had put to sea-to test the new ship under a variety of conditions and see if she would deliver maximum performance.
"Coming about!" he called to Ulf and Wulf, who were crouched amidships by the sheets and halyards that controlled the sails.
Wulf signaled that they had heard him and were ready.
"Tack!" he called, putting the helm over and swinging the ship into the eye of the wind.
The twins brought the current sail down to the deck and hoisted its opposite number as the ship turned.
There, thought Hal, sensing a slight hesitation as the bow came around. But she had enough speed and momentum to carry her through the maneuver, and within seconds, the new sail had filled with a dull, booming sound and was driving her firmly on the opposite tack, the slight hesitation left behind. But, still, he thought, it had been there. He had first sensed it earlier, when the wind had been lighter than the brisk breeze that drove them now.
"Let out the sheets!"
The twins allowed the ropes that controlled the sail to loosen, and the sail to billow out somewhat, losing the tight, hard curve. As the pressure reduced, the speed fell away until Heron was coasting along, with the wind over her port side.
Hal waited, conscious of Stig's watchful gaze. Thorn, in his position by the fin keel, was watching as well. Both of his friends knew what was on his mind. They had discussed it earlier that day when they had set out on these final trials.
"She's griping still?" Stig asked quietly.
Hal nodded. "I'll try her again," he replied, then raising his voice, warned the sail handlers. "Coming about!"
Wulf signaled that he and his brother were ready, and Hal called out the executive order.
"Tack!"
The tiller went over and the bow started to swing up into the wind. But this time, without the same speed and momentum behind it, the movement was slower and more tentative. Hal felt the resistance that shuddered through the hull as the bow pointed up and tried to cross the wind's eye, then fell back to starboard, the sail shuddering violently and losing the wind so that Heron sagged off, away from the turn, and wallowed to a halt, sail flapping and sheets loose. Then the bow began to fall off further to starboard and the wind caught the sail, so that when Ulf and Wulf hauled in on the sheets, it filled once more and the ship steadied and slowly began to cut through the water, back on the original port tack.
Stig shook his head, a worried look on his face. "The old ship wouldn't have failed to come about like that," he said.
Hal shrugged. He was relatively sure he knew where the problem lay and it would be easy to fix. "Her bow is sitting too low in the water. It's causing resistance to the turn," he told Stig. "She simply needs re-trimming."
He called to Ingvar and Jesper, who were watching events, crouched in the rowing well on the port side, several meters astern of the mast.
"Move the cask back a meter," he ordered, and the two of them scrambled up onto the raised center deck, where a twenty-liter cask of water was standing on the center line, and where Hal had chalked a set of half-meter measurements.
They wrestled the cask back along the chalk line, settling it on the mark that Hal had indicated, taking a few seconds to make minor adjustments so the positioning was perfect. They knew that when...
