For the past week I have been reading Brotherband: The Outcasts by John Flanagan. It is a companion series to the series Ranger’s Apprentice, so I would recommend reading Ranger’s Apprentice first before you read Brotherband.

Brotherband is about a group of outcasts in Skandia, a seafaring district in the medieval world that Ranger’s Apprentice is based in. The world is actually based off of medieval Europe, and Skandia is where Scandinavia would be on a map of Europe. The main character is Hal, who is an outcast because his father is dead and his mother is a former slave. He is a very skilled navigator and shipbuilder, and is drafted into a set of Skandian groups called Brotherbands, who train in the Skandian arts of war and navigation. His Brotherband is made up of all the outcasts like him, and he makes friends and enemies as he tries to overcome the challenges of being different and competing with others in trials.

Although I really love this book, it is a window book for me for many reasons. For example, the setting is in medieval times and many of the technologies and ways of living life are not what I use today. Also, there is nothing that has ever really set me apart from other people my age, unlike the main character. Finally, a lot of the shipbuilding and war formation terms are new to me, but I enjoy learning about them.

I would definitely recommend Brotherband to any reader who is looking for something good to read. The books are long, about 400-500 pages, but a competent reader should be able to read it with no trouble. Although this is a window book for me, there are a lot of characters that would appeal and be similar to a large number of people. Be sure to keep reading!