History Literature / Brotherband

* DistinctionWithoutADifference: In-universe, the Skandians considered themselves to be better than pirates, because they don't kill unarmed civilians and only steal some loot from their target. Most victims of their raids don't see much of a difference.

* GentleGiant: Ingvar. However, his poor sight makes it hard to use his strength around people. He becomes much less gentle when he gets his spectacles.

* TwinTelepathy: Ulf and Wulf are often commented to have some kind of mental link because of their twinhood, but it especially comes up in ''Scorpion Mountain'', when Wulf has to sail with the other Herons, leaving his injured brother with Selethan's doctors. At one point during the voyage, he announces he knows Ulf is improving, because he's awake and hungry. Apparently even Wulf feels confused about how he knows that.

* ContinuitySnarl: Book 5 mentions that Thorn doesn't clearly remember the Temujai invasion as he was seeing most things over the rim of a bottle at the time. However, ''Return of the Temujai'' pretty heavily implies that he was active in those events. Given that there's no clear timeline on where ''Brotherband'' fits into its sister series, it's impossible to tell.[[note]] "The Outcasts" is described as being "a few years" after the Temujai invasion, and is definitively six years after Thorn stopped drinking. However, it's possible that Erak was exaggerating when he said "a few," and that even a drunk Thorn couldn't help but notice what was going on.[[/note]]

* WritersCannotDoMath: It's said in Book 3 that Zavac used to have fifty men, but lost ten or a dozen in the attack on Limmat, eight more when he tried to ambush them in Raguza, and a further ten who refuse to fight the Heron crew (of whom there are ten). Thorn comments that this puts them at three to one, and for the rest of the book, Zavac is treated as having roughly ''thirty'' men. Whoops.

* AncestralWeapon: Hal takes the sword of his father. However, it's seldom mentioned again and doesn't have any special features, unlike most instances of this trope.

* BadBoss: As in ''Ranger's Apprentice,'' this is a defining mark of the bad guys. Tursgud shows little care or respect for the boys in his brotherband or his crew, and Zavac is even worse. The Shurmel, meanwhile, is only at the top of the Scorpion assassins because they practice KlingonPromotion. As per ''Ranger's Apprentice,'' the Temujai function on WeHaveReserves. Myrgos is slightly better, but that's not saying much.

* BoisterousBruiser: This is basically the Skandian's [[PlanetOfHats hat]]. Gilan also has moments of this.

* DistinctionWithoutADifference: In-universe, the Skandians considered themselves to be better than pirates, because they don't kill unarmed civilians and only steal some loot from their target. Many victims of their raids don't see much of a difference.
* DividedIntoDisaster: Defied. When the Skandian teens are being split into "brotherband" groups, Erak refuses to let Tursgood select either Hal or Stig (both of whom he dislikes) into his group. He chastises the young man for using this time of preparation to engage in petty rivalry rather than focusing on the importance of the training.

** Hal averted this in Book 1 by claiming full responsibility for the loss of the Andomal.
* NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead: In ''Scorpion Mountain'', Jesper and Stefan decide to leave out the identity of the slaver the ''Heron'' defeated in Socorro, not so much from deference to [[spoiler: Tursgud]] as his relatives.

** Rolond is a genuinely kind person to Hal and Stig, even rounding up his crew to stop Tursgud from attacking them. Lydia even acknowledges this, which is part of why she has so much trouble rejecting his advances.

* WhatADrag: While the scouting group are attacking the Herons in ''Scorpion Mountain'', their leader tangles his foot in the stirrup while dismounting and his frightened horse runs away, dragging him with it. His subordinates make no attempt to help, as he had been a mean and ineffective leader anyway.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: In both the Skandian and Scorpion assassin cultures, the more badass you are, the higher you can rise.

* ComicBookTime: A minor case. Book 5 mentions that Thorn doesn't clearly remember the Temujai invasion as he was seeing most things over the rim of a bottle at the time. However, Karina and Hal pulling him out of his drunkeness is explicitly stated to be

* ContinuitySnarl: Book 5 mentions that Thorn doesn't clearly remember the Temujai invasion as he was seeing most things over the rim of a bottle at the time. However, ''Return of the Temujai'' pretty heavily implies that he was active in those events. Given that there's no clear timeline on where ''Brotherband'' fits into its sister series, it's impossible to tell.[[note]] "The Outcasts" is described as being "a few years" after the Temujai invasion, Gundar uses the ''Heron'' sail plan in "The Emperor of Nihon-Ja," meaning that it's set after "The Hunters" at least, and "Scorpion Mountain" is definitively after Horace and Cassandra's wedding (though Cassandra isn't pregnant, or at least not visibly pregnant, implying it's only a year or so at most later), but it's unclear on how long exactly it's been.[[/note]]

* RememberTheNewGuy: Not for people, but for concepts. Despite their deep roots in Skandian society, neither the Maktig nor the Andomal are mentioned in Literature/RangersApprentice. The Andomal may be justified, as Skandia's most valuable treasure, but the Maktig's absence has no InUniverse excuse. In fairness, the Araulens probably aren't too interested in Skandian culture, and there's no particular reason for it to have been brought up.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Olaf left his family and stole from his shipmates, showing little to no regret for it, but he does care for Stig a little, and helps Lydia when she is wounded (though this may be simple pragmatism).

* RealityEnsues:
** Even the best GadgeteerGenius will occasionally come up against a problem they can't [=McGyver=] their way out of.
** Just because the Skandians no longer act as pirates (or 'raiders'), doesn't mean the seas are safe. There are plenty of other groups willing to fill in the power vacuum.
** Jesper is faster than Tursgud, but that doesn’t mean he has more endurance (especially because Jesper's expertise is in running away from pursuit, requiring agility and a good start rather than endurance, while Tursgud is a natural athlete). When he runs a marathon against Tursgud, he gets exhausted and loses at the very end.
** Similarly, while Jesper is the StealthExpert, he doesn't have superpowers. As he lays out in Book 3, even if he could sneak through a well-lit jetty and onto the ''Raven'', he would still have to deal with a) the ship moving when he stepped onboard, b) a maximum of fifty or so crewmen, plus Zavac himself. Even Gilan probably wouldn't have been able to pull it off.
** [[SarcasmMode Surprisingly, people do get hurt in battles]], and not just the bad guys. Ingvar discovers this in Book 2, and Ulf and Wulf in Book 5. Similarly, many warriors are {{Combat Pragmatist}}s and won't hesitate to stab an off-guard enemy or pull a fake surrender.
** There being a lot of escaping slaves is no guarantee that they can fight Socorro’s city guard. Only two groups end up escaping, and the rest are recaptured or killed.

* AncestralWeapon: Hal takes the sword of his father. However, it's seldom mentioned again, unlike most instances of this trope.
* AndCallHimGeorge: Downplayed; Umar's {{bear hug}}s cause Gilan to lose his breath but don't do any lasting harm. The ranger still tries to avoid more of them after the first couple.

* BadBoss: As in ''Ranger's Apprentice,'' this is a defining mark of the bad guys. Tursgud shows little care or respect for the boys in his brotherband or his crew, and Zavac is even worse. The Shurmel, meanwhile, is only at the top of the Scorpion assassins because they practice KlingonPromotion. Myrgos is slightly better, but that's not saying much.

* ContinuitySnarl: Book 5 mentions that Thorn doesn't clearly remember the Temujai invasion as he was seeing most things over the rim of a bottle at the time. However, ''Return of the Temujai'' pretty heavily implies that he was active in those events. Given that there's no clear timeline on where ''Brotherband'' fits into its sister series, it's impossible to tell.[[note]] Book 1 is described as being "a few years" after the Temujai invasion, and Book 5 is definitively after Horace and Cassandra's wedding (though Cassandra isn't even pregnant, implying it's not too long after), but it's unclear on how long exactly it's been.[[/note]]

* HairTriggerTemper: Stig flies off the handle at any provocation, real, imaginary, slight or serious. It even costs the team one of the wrestling matches during Brotherband training when his opponent [[IShallTauntYou mocks him]] to goad him into making a mistake. [[CharacterDevelopment he grows out of it.]]

* {{Interquel}}: With Literature/RangersApprentice. Erak is the Skandian Oberjarl, elected in Oakleaf Bearers. However, Hal's sail plan is used in The Emperor of Nihon-Ja.

** Jesper is faster than Tursgud, but that doesn’t mean he has more endurance. When he runs a marathon against Tursgud, he gets exhausted and loses at the very end.

* MasterSwordsman: Gilan and Thorn are both this, and Olaf is no slouch either, if not quite at their level. Subverted for the Shurmel, who only [[ArrogantKungFuGuy thinks he's this]].

* RememberTheNewGuy: Not for people, but for concepts. Despite their deep roots in Skandian society, neither the Maktig nor the Andomal are mentioned in Literature/RangersApprentice. The Andomal may be justified, as Skandia's most valuable treasure, but the Maktig's absence has no InUniverse excuse.
** In fairness, the Araulens probably aren't too interested in Skandian culture, and there's no particular reason for it to have been brought up.