The Caldera

The Brotherband Chronicles, Book 7

By: John Flanagan

Narrated by: John Keating

Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

The Herons take to the high seas to fend off pirates and rescue the heir to an empire in the newest adventure from John Flanagan, author of the worldwide best-selling Ranger's Apprentice!

In Hallasholm, Stig is contesting the annual Maktig competition to decide Skandia's greatest warrior. But a late-night knock on the door brings someone Stig never expected to see again, along with a request the Herons are hard-pressed to refuse: a rescue mission of epic proportions.

Across the ocean, the southern city-state of Byzantos is plagued by a crew of pirates who've kidnapped the son of Empress Justina. Slipping out of Hallasholm under the cover of darkness, the brotherband sets sail to recover the boy from his kidnappers, heading south to the island of Santorillos, where a near-impenetrable fortress stands atop a cliff, surrounded by a lagoon - a caldera - formed by the crater of a volcano.

In this explosive seventh book in the action-packed Brotherband Chronicles, the Herons battle pirates amid stormy seas as the fate of an empire rests on their shoulders.

©2017 John Flanagan (P)2017 Listening Library

Enjoyed

I have fun with this series ... the crew are like old friends (although Lydia could be named Mary Sue instead, even she doesn’t really get on my nerves anymore). I also enjoy all the sailing info scattered throughout. The Brotherband books always keep me entertained.

My only real problem with the audio version is the narrator’s dialogue. He reads the prose pretty well, but when they start talking they all sound the same — I can usually pick out Hal and Ingvar, sometimes Thorn ... but even they start to sound alike after a while. Also, a good chunk of the dialogue is read in a weird kind of sing-song that doesn’t seem to have any bearing on the situation at hand. Don’t let that stop you, as this book is a fun one ... just be prepared ...

Love this book!!!!!!

I love this book! It is so funny and I love that it has the small story at the end about Will and Maddie. As ever my favorite person is Thorn. Overall I think this is a great book.

A short story

As always, John Keating does a great reading. This book fills in some back story and is interesting. It is shorter than usual and at the end there is another short story of Will and his apprentice.

Excellent book, excellent series!

Once again, Flanagan has written a fun, entertaining book for all to enjoy.
Anxiously awaiting his next book in either this or the Ranger’s Apprentice series.

GREAT!

I loved it and the short story at the end about Will Treaty and his apprentice.

Almost...

Yet another great book in the Brotherband series, with plenty of action, creative solutions, and character interaction. The only drawback is this: Someone from Stig's past returns, but this character doesn't have a whole lot of depth, and the potential in this twist is mostly wasted. The short story at the end about Will and Maddy from Ranger's Apprentice was great, and I wished it was longer.

Wrong narrator

I would have enjoyed this book a lot more with a different narrator. He reminded me too much of my nieces cartoon Dr. Doofenshmirtz from Perry the Platypus. For me, this book required a narrator with a stronger/gruffer voice.

great

I love these books, listened to them all. John Keating does a awesome job as well.

Byzantium Ahoy!

Another enjoyable story filled with adventures on land and sea, after an unusually long opening set in Skandia. Politcs! I enjoyed Thorn’s decisiveness at the council meeting.

As with the previous book, Stig continues to grow in character. Here he’s confronted with family problems and some uncomfortable truths from his past. This was handled quite well. Skipper Hal supported Stig’s decisions while still dealing with tricky navigation around volcanic islands in the Constant Sea near Byzantium and pirates on the Dan River. We see Captain Manok again, escorting a fleet of trade ships downriver. In this book, Hal makes some mistakes, allowing his able crew to shine.

Characterization for the key secondary character Olaf felt credible.

The short story at the end features Will and his apprentice Maddy of Ranger’s Apprentice. It lasted about 90 minutes.

Excellent narration by John Keating.

Review

Mind blowing, the author is talented, and I hope he writes more amazing books.. good job