The Ghostfaces

John Flanagan

Jun 2016 · The Brotherband Chronicles Book 6 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

From John Flanagan, author of the worldwide bestselling Ranger's Apprentice, comes a brand-new chapter in the adventures of young Skandians who form a different kind of family--a brotherband.

When the Brotherband crew are caught in a massive storm at sea, they’re blown far off course and wash up on the shores of a land so far west that Hal can’t recognize it from any of his maps. Eerily, the locals are nowhere in sight, yet the Herons have a creeping feeling they are being watched.
 
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. But the peace is short-lived. The Ghostfaces, a ruthless, warlike tribe who shave their heads and paint their faces white, are on the warpath once more. It’s been ten years since they raided the Mawagansett village, but they’re coming back to pillage and reap destruction. As the enemy approaches, the Herons gear up to help their new friends repel an invasion.
 
In this sixth book in the action-packed Brotherband Chronicles, the Herons find themselves in unfamiliar lands and prepare for battle with a ruthless, unknown enemy.

Ratings and reviews

The book, and the series overall, is excellent, all the way up until the end. Spoilers, stop reading if you haven't finished. I believe this would have been a perfect way to send off Stig and create another alliance, like with the Arridiand Seley el Then, or Will with Tug, an element that we love but can come back to periodically in the series. Instead, we lose a new character in what seems to be a forced encounter, Stig doesn't mature at all as a character, as he's pretty much remained as he is for several books now, and our new native friends, which were excellent exposure to at least the idea of native Americans, are apparently one-off characters. Tragic ending to what could have been a beautiful addition to the series. I show as a compliment to Flanigans writing, the death and farewell DID get me close to tears, as most excellent books do, but this one did for the wrong reasons. Disappointing end to such an excellent book, and to such excellent new characters

It really pains me to know that the love of Stig died during the encounter with the Ghostfaces... I wanted him to end up happily with the girl..

But, unfortunately, Flanagan is just too compelling of a story teller and I burned through the book in a day.

About the author

John Flanagan grew up in Sydney, Australia, hoping to be a writer, and after a successful career in advertising and television, he began writing a series of short stories for his son, Michael, in order to encourage him to read. Those stories would eventually become The Ruins of Gorlan, Book 1 of the Ranger’s Apprentice epic. Together with his companion series, Brotherband Chronicles, the novels of John Flanagan have now sold millions of copies and made readers of kids the world over. Mr. Flanagan lives in the suburb of Manly, Australia, with his wife. In addition to their son, they have two grown daughters and four grandsons.
 
You can visit John Flanagan at
 
www.WorldofJohnFlanagan.com