Showing results by narrator "John Keating" in All Categories

When the Heron brotherband become the Skandian duty ship to the Kingdom of Araluen, they're excited at the challenges ahead. Hal, Stig, Thorn, and the Herons eagerly set off for the trip - with an unexpected new crew member aboard. But an enemy from their past returns, causing the Herons to be thrown into a dangerous quest to free captured Araluens from the slave market in Socorro. Even with the help of an Araluen Ranger, the task may be too much.

Hal and the Herons have done the impossible. This group of outsiders has beaten out the strongest, most skilled young warriors in all of Skandia to win the Brotherband competition. But their celebration comes to an abrupt end when the Skandians' most sacred artifact, the Andomal, is stolen--and the Herons are to blame. To find redemption they must track down the thief Zavac and recover the Andomal. But that means traversing stormy seas, surviving a bitter winter, and battling a group of deadly pirates.

Hal and his brotherband crew are hot on the trail of the pirate Zavac and they have one thing only on their minds: stopping the bloodthirsty thief before he can do more damage. Of course, they also know Zavac has the Andomal, the priceless Skandian artefact stolen when the brotherband let down their guard. The chase leads down mighty rivers, terrifying rapids, to the lawless fortress of Ragusa. If Hal is to succeed, he will need to go beyond his brotherband training. He will need to challenge the pirate one-on-one, knowing only one of them will survive.

John Flanagan returns to the world of Ranger’s Apprentice to find out what happens when Will’s apprentice, Maddie - the Royal Ranger - returns home to Castle Araluen. The Kingdom may have been at peace for a number of years, but there are always those who would commit treason to take power for themselves. When Maddie learns of a plot against the crown, she must go undercover to find out more - and hopefully stop it. But going undercover isn’t easy when you’re the princess - even if you’re trained as a Ranger.

Will and Maddie are sent to the neighbouring kingdom of Celtica to investigate reports of terrifying direwolves, an ancient species thought to be extinct. What they discover is even more of a threat - a sorceress who has brought direwolves and Wargals under her control and is building an army of creatures both living and supernatural. After receiving help from locals, Will and Maddie learn the name of the sorceress behind these strange and dangerous attacks – Arazan.

The Herons take to the high seas in the action-packed eighth instalment of the Brotherband Chronicles. In a battle of Skandians vs Temujai, the brotherband are facing their most formidable enemy yet. The Heron brotherband are home in Skandia - but their usually peaceful country is in danger. The Temujai have never given up on their ambition to claim Skandia for their own. The ruthless warriors from the Eastern Steppes waited a number of years after the Skandians thwarted them last time - with the help of the legendary Rangers of Araluen - but now they're on the move.

When the worlds of Ranger's Apprentice and Brotherband cross over, action and adventure are guaranteed!King Duncan of Araluen has an urgent mission for Hal and the Heron brotherband. One assassination attempt on his daughter Cassandra was foiled – but the would-be killers are from the deadly Scorpion cult, and they won't be satisfied until they have completed their task. The Herons team up with Ranger Gilan to track the killers across the deserts of Arrida and infiltrate their mountain lair.

In this explosive seventh instalment in the action-packed Brotherband Chronicles, the Herons battle pirates amid stormy seas as the fate of an empire rests on their shoulders. Hal and the brotherband are back home in Hallasholm when a knock on the door brings an unexpected visitor: Stig's long-absent father, Olaf. The Empress of Byzantos's son has been kidnapped by pirates, and palace guard commander Olaf has been held responsible. The only way to redeem himself is to rescue the boy.

On Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, the first great revolution of the twentieth century began as working-class men and women occupied buildings throughout Dublin, Ireland, including the general post office on O’Connell Street. Among the commoners in the GPO was a young staff captain of the Irish Volunteers named Michael Collins. He was joined a day later by a fourteen-year-old messenger boy, Eoin Kavanagh.

When the Herons are caught in a massive storm at sea, they're blown far off course - so far that they wash up on the shores of a land to the west that Hal can't recognise from his maps. They sense they're being watched but don't encounter the locals until they have to rescue two children from a marauding bear. This action earns them the gratitude of the Mawagansett tribe, and the two groups finally meet. But the peace is short lived.

King Duncan and Princess Cassandra are trapped high in the south tower of Castle Araluen. In the north, Sir Horace and Ranger Commandant Gilan are besieged in an old hill fort as they wait for the Red Fox Clan's next attack. Ranger's apprentice Maddie must find the Heron brotherband and convince them to join her, so she can give her father the help he needs to break out from the hill fort and ride to confront the traitor. Will they reach Castle Araluen in time? And when the battles have been fought and the dust has settled, who will rule the Kingdom of Araluen?

After their plan to rescue the prince of Gallica has gone horribly wrong, Will Treaty and his apprentice, Maddie, are being held captive at the Chateau des Falaises in Gallica. The dangerous baron Lassigny is intent on keeping them - and the prince - no matter what. But Will and Maddie are determined to escape. If they ever want to return to their home, they’ll have to find ways to outwit the baron and get outside the locked tower. When friends from home endeavour to find their own way to help, it seems escape is closer than ever.

Will and Maddie are in Toscana on a diplomatic mission when word comes of a cavalry force crossing the northern body and marauding through the countryside. At the behest of the emperor, the rangers head north to investigate. They discover that the invaders are a group of Temujai – a reconnaissance force searching for a place to penetrate and invade. So Will and Maddie must split up to gather forces and information in order to push the Temujai back once again.

From the acclaimed author who enthralled the world with Exodus, Battle Cry, QB VII, Topaz, and other beloved classics of twentieth-century fiction comes a sweeping and powerful epic adventure that captures the "terrible beauty" of Ireland during its long and bloody struggle for freedom. It is the electrifying story of an idealistic young Catholic rebel and the valiant and beautiful Protestant girl who defied her heritage to join his cause. It is a tale of love and danger, of triumph at an unthinkable cost.

For years now, the Skandians have been the guardians of the Stormwhite Sea, stopping piracy wherever they find it. But there are some who don’t like the Skandians' new role. When their enemies strike at the heart of Hallasholm, damaging every ship and stealing the pride of the fleet, there is one hope. Hal's ship, the newly rebuilt Heron, was being repaired so the attackers didn't find her. Hal and the Heron brotherband—along with the Oberjarl, Erak—set off to find Wolfwind.

The New York Times best-selling series continues with another nail-biting mission for Will Treaty and his fearless young apprentice. King Philippe of Gallica appeals to King Duncan for help. His son is being held hostage by a power-hungry baron, and Philippe wants Duncan to send a Ranger to rescue the boy. Will and Maddie are perfect for the task. Travelling as father and daughter to allay suspicion, they will pose as entertainers to infiltrate the Chateau des Falaises, where the prince is being held.

In Skandia, there is only one way to become a warrior. Boys are chosen for teams called brotherbands and must endure three months of gruelling training in seamanship, weapons and battle tactics. It's brotherband against brotherband, fighting it out in a series of challenges. There can be only one winner. When Hal Mikkelson finds himself the unwilling leader of a brotherband made up of outcasts, he must step up to the challenge.

Love is in the air in the colourful Ulster village of Ballybucklebo, where Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly has finally proposed to the darling of his youth, Kitty O'Hallorhan. There's a wedding to be planned, but before O'Reilly can make it to the altar, he and his young colleague, Barry Laverty, M.B., must deal with the usual round of eccentric patients—and crises both large and small.

I was the girl who survived the Nothing Man. Now I am the woman who is going to catch him.... You've just read the opening pages of The Nothing Man, the true-crime memoir Eve Black has written about her obsessive search for the man who killed her family nearly two decades ago. Supermarket security guard Jim Doyle is reading it too, and with each turn of the page his rage grows. Because Jim was - is - the Nothing Man. The more Jim reads, the more he realises how dangerously close Eve is getting to the truth.

Fans of Taylor's bestselling Irish Country novels know Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly as the irascible senior partner of a general practice in the colorful Irish village of Ballybucklebo. Newly married to his once long-lost sweetheart, he's ready to settle into domestic bliss, but there's always something requiring his attention, be it a riding accident, a difficult patient with a worrisome heart condition, a spot of grouse-hunting, or even some tricky shenanigans at the local dog races.