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Brotherhood of Delinquents
They’re lazy. They’re unskilled. And now the fate of the Kingdom is in their hands.
Tam, Kern, and Merrik are all failing at a homeless thief, a disgraced baker’s apprentice, and an incompetent smith. But witnessing a strange ritual in the middle of the night sets them on a collision course with destiny—and with each other. Accused of crimes they did not commit, the boys must band together to clear their names. And in the process, they just might have to do something useful, like battle monsters and save the city. But frankly, that sounds a lot like work.
May contain secrets, puzzles, mystery and/or adventure.
Tam, Kern, and Merrik are all failing at a homeless thief, a disgraced baker’s apprentice, and an incompetent smith. But witnessing a strange ritual in the middle of the night sets them on a collision course with destiny—and with each other. Accused of crimes they did not commit, the boys must band together to clear their names. And in the process, they just might have to do something useful, like battle monsters and save the city. But frankly, that sounds a lot like work.
May contain secrets, puzzles, mystery and/or adventure.
203 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 6, 2015
46 people want to read
About the author
Jefferson Smith
25 books54 followersJefferson Smith has always been something of a mystery. Born in several different communities scattered across Canada, he has never been able to stay put for long and has spent his entire life walking the byways of distant realms, seeking out stories of the fantastic. Like the time he devoted two months to shoeing the seahorses of Narnia, or that six-week stint as a comic jester for the Mad King Aerys. He even spent three months once, sculpting dreams in light for a Mouse-lord in Hollywood.
But no matter where he goes or what he sees, Jefferson has a passion for gathering the best bits and weaving them into tales of whimsy and delight for his friends back home. Like a foreign news correspondent reporting from the worlds beyond, he brings tales of the weird and wonderful right into your living room, just in time for tea.
But no matter where he goes or what he sees, Jefferson has a passion for gathering the best bits and weaving them into tales of whimsy and delight for his friends back home. Like a foreign news correspondent reporting from the worlds beyond, he brings tales of the weird and wonderful right into your living room, just in time for tea.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 8, 2016
A tale of discovery that will appeal to any young boy's sense of adventure. The story takes the classic tropes found in fantasy literature of wizard, warrior and thief and fills their shoes with a merry trio of delinquents. Light-hearted and fun, there are consequences to each boy's decisions that add the right amount of depth for a solid YA novel. The world building is fresh and inventive and my favorite part of the book. But Delinquents only scratches the surface leaving me wanting more of the borderland keep of Deneigh and the inner Realm beyond the gates. Looking forward to the continued adventures of Merrik and crew!
June 4, 2021
Merrick is an apprentice to his da, the smith. However, he’s not a good smith’s apprentice. He thinks too slowly and his skills aren’t advancing. He sleeps in the smithy and when a blue-glowing ghost appears in the smithy, Merrick thinks of only defending his da’s place. When the ghost limps outside, Merrick follows. The ghost lures him to the area where wealthier people live. There, Merrick meets two other young men whom the ghost has also brought to this place. They find a buried box and three strange items from inside. Before they find out what they are, they must run away from the Watchstanders. They don’t know what is going on, but they agree to meet the next night, to find out.
This felt like a boys’ adventure novel with three teen boys who suddenly find themselves in the middle of very important and dangerous events. The adults around them are clueless at best, a threat at worst.
Merrick is the main POV character. The two other boys, Tam and Kern, are quite different from him. Tam is an orphan, living on the streets. He’s an excellent thief, curious and quick-witted. He’s also quick to insult others. Kern grew up on a family ship. But it sank, leaving Kern the only survivor. He’s now a baker’s apprentice but resents it. Aboard the ship, he was taught to fight.
The city of Deneigh is described well. It used to be a mighty fortress city, but has since fallen to disrepair. People are moving out of it. At least some of the Watchstanders are corrupt and take up the job so that they can shake people down for money. The second POV character is a young Watch officer who is also the son of the Reeve, the appointed governor of the city. The officer enjoys tormenting people.
This book is a quick and light read. The ending ties up plot threads but it’s clearly meant to lead to a series.
This felt like a boys’ adventure novel with three teen boys who suddenly find themselves in the middle of very important and dangerous events. The adults around them are clueless at best, a threat at worst.
Merrick is the main POV character. The two other boys, Tam and Kern, are quite different from him. Tam is an orphan, living on the streets. He’s an excellent thief, curious and quick-witted. He’s also quick to insult others. Kern grew up on a family ship. But it sank, leaving Kern the only survivor. He’s now a baker’s apprentice but resents it. Aboard the ship, he was taught to fight.
The city of Deneigh is described well. It used to be a mighty fortress city, but has since fallen to disrepair. People are moving out of it. At least some of the Watchstanders are corrupt and take up the job so that they can shake people down for money. The second POV character is a young Watch officer who is also the son of the Reeve, the appointed governor of the city. The officer enjoys tormenting people.
This book is a quick and light read. The ending ties up plot threads but it’s clearly meant to lead to a series.
February 19, 2016
It has to be a pretty good story to keep me up past my bedtime reading. This book qualifies. A bit slow to start, as we meet the characters and their lives get intertwined. Once the action fully started, though, only my own eyes closing kept me from finishing this book that evening.
A rolicking adventure with just a touch of magic. Smith is delightfully stingy with the world details, only revealing enough to keep me fascinated and wanting more of this series. Best of all, it's most definitely not Disney; the characters bear real burdens and have thoughts no properly sunny movie character should entertain (but are still light enough for a YA novel). I really enjoyed that a trio as clichéd as a fighter, a thief and a mage could be as unrecognizably introduced, and as thoroughly handicapped by reality, as Merrick, Kern and Tam.
My one complaint is that the denouement leaves rather a lot of the climax unexplained. Hopefully, the next installment will reveal a bit more about why that was possible, if implausible. I eagerly await all future tales of the Delinquents and will be reading this to my two boys for bedtime storytime as soon as we finish our current book.
A rolicking adventure with just a touch of magic. Smith is delightfully stingy with the world details, only revealing enough to keep me fascinated and wanting more of this series. Best of all, it's most definitely not Disney; the characters bear real burdens and have thoughts no properly sunny movie character should entertain (but are still light enough for a YA novel). I really enjoyed that a trio as clichéd as a fighter, a thief and a mage could be as unrecognizably introduced, and as thoroughly handicapped by reality, as Merrick, Kern and Tam.
My one complaint is that the denouement leaves rather a lot of the climax unexplained. Hopefully, the next installment will reveal a bit more about why that was possible, if implausible. I eagerly await all future tales of the Delinquents and will be reading this to my two boys for bedtime storytime as soon as we finish our current book.
February 4, 2016
This is a terrific read if you've hungered for that feeling you had in middle school or early high school- new things were happening, you could still make fast friends, they pulled you against your family sometimes and most of all you felt a yearning you couldn't name. The action here rolls out very clearly and the author is almost too tight-fisted about revealing aspects of this interesting world. True to his heroes he shows just what they are interested in, and you get the significance to the city and the world beyond only when destiny forces them to pay attention.
There's a great deal of very precise description of things and places; sometimes I didn't quite see where we were but the action was wonderfully paced and the characters quite believable. I really enjoyed this tale and would certainly pick up the sequel when it comes out. The book stands alone very nicely, and also has plenty of threads that lead the adventure onward. Read it, no question.
There's a great deal of very precise description of things and places; sometimes I didn't quite see where we were but the action was wonderfully paced and the characters quite believable. I really enjoyed this tale and would certainly pick up the sequel when it comes out. The book stands alone very nicely, and also has plenty of threads that lead the adventure onward. Read it, no question.
July 22, 2015
A decent fantasy novel with some severe pacing issues. It's too bad, because I really liked what you do get of the world-building, and the action when it arrives is exciting and fun to read. Everything in between is just really dull though. I can't decide if it's an issue with the prose or just taking too long to get from plot point to plot point, but whatever it is kept me from enjoying the book more or finishing it quickly. Every attempt I either gave up quickly or started skimming until the next interesting thing happened.
May 7, 2015
I really enjoyed this book, it kept me page turning until the very end. A great read.
Friends, if you like books with fast action and adventure, danger, suspense and a bit of magic thrown in, then you will love this book!
Friends, if you like books with fast action and adventure, danger, suspense and a bit of magic thrown in, then you will love this book!
June 2, 2015
A tad bit formulaic for my tastes. Seemed a little more like an old fashioned boys' adventure novel then I was originally expecting.
Parts of the read were fun; the rest was expected, mundane, and, therefore, a little boring.
Parts of the read were fun; the rest was expected, mundane, and, therefore, a little boring.
May 13, 2015
Great read for all ages. Fighting, mystery solving, and humor. What else does a book need? 9.9/10 (only because they don't get the girl at the end)
March 5, 2016
Simple, fun and engaging fantasy adventure. If you enjoy those, recommended.
September 4, 2015
Started well but the ending felt rushed and did not deliver on the promises from the beginning.
May 22, 2015
I'm not a fan of books where its children, especially delinquents, against adults. I did enjoy the setting and it did keep my attention to the end.
April 30, 2017
I'll be honest, I think the title is terrible and the idea of the "brotherhood" within the novel to be a little odd.... but overall, I found this to be an enjoyable read, and I want to see where the author takes the series. There's a couple of points where I thought the visual language could be improved, as I couldn't quite wrap my mind around how to visualize what the author was trying to detail. However besides a few nit picky details, I found this to be a fun and quick read that made me interested in the world and willing to see where it went next.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews