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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
Like usual, Brian Jacques has written a book that has meals to make your mouth water, battles that enthral you and a happy ending that makes one content. I wish this world was as simple and wonderful as this fantastic fantasy place.
Another amazing book by Brian Jacques! While not my favorite, this is still a lovely story!
This is a story full of adventure, camaraderie, cute fluffy creatures and significant character deaths. The cutesy 'children book' illustrations topping each chapter heading are massively offset by the beheadings, impalements and other violent deaths found in the text. This is chock-full of likable characters with rambunctious attitudes, true villains to boo and hiss at and so many descriptions of mouth-watering food. When they're not adventuring or killing each other, these critters spend the rest of their time eating. As with all the Redwall books, there's a richness to this world where every species has its own distinctive voice and strength.
The story is the most complex and fulfilling out of the five I have read (reading in publication order) featuring: The Dryditch Fever and the quest to go and retrieve the remedy; The theft of Martin the Warrior's sword and the quest to go and bring it back; The siege of Salamandastron.
There was so much packed into this story with its multiple threads that gradually saw all the (surviving) heroes and villains bring about a satisfying conclusion.
The highs are exhilarating worthy of punching the air, and the lows very nearly brought me to tears on one occasion.
My only niggle is of the series as a whole: The scale. I know it shouldn't be important but I have a tremendous trouble fathoming how big all these creatures are in regards to their environment and each other. In one scene boats built by and for shews carry, as well as two tribes of shrews, three badgers (big and strong enough to roll boulders about), a squirrel, a mole, and a hare - all dwarfed by an immense water serpent (okay, I'll can justify a giant serpent as it is a mainstay of fantasy). In another, an otter meets a great eagle whose legs are the same size as the otter's body. Yet the whole lot (apart from the serpent) sit round the same table for a feast.
The story is the most complex and fulfilling out of the five I have read (reading in publication order) featuring: The Dryditch Fever and the quest to go and retrieve the remedy; The theft of Martin the Warrior's sword and the quest to go and bring it back; The siege of Salamandastron.
There was so much packed into this story with its multiple threads that gradually saw all the (surviving) heroes and villains bring about a satisfying conclusion.
The highs are exhilarating worthy of punching the air, and the lows very nearly brought me to tears on one occasion.
My only niggle is of the series as a whole: The scale. I know it shouldn't be important but I have a tremendous trouble fathoming how big all these creatures are in regards to their environment and each other. In one scene boats built by and for shews carry, as well as two tribes of shrews, three badgers (big and strong enough to roll boulders about), a squirrel, a mole, and a hare - all dwarfed by an immense water serpent (okay, I'll can justify a giant serpent as it is a mainstay of fantasy). In another, an otter meets a great eagle whose legs are the same size as the otter's body. Yet the whole lot (apart from the serpent) sit round the same table for a feast.
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I read this book as a child and fell in love with the world. It was one of those books that stuck with me because of the author's imagination. It was fun to re-read it!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This really has two parallel stories that come together with the finding of a new badger guardian to occupy the long-unfilled position at Redwall Abbey. It takes its time getting there, with multiple points of view, multiple plot threads, and a big cast of characters.
While the villains, a father-and-son duo of weasel assassins at the head of a large horde of "corpsemakers", are pretty standard Redwall badguys, right down to the plotting to stab each other in the back, the addition of an epidemic threatening the abbey brings a new type of threat to the fore.
The author does an excellent job of juggling multiple groups of travelers on multiple quests and journeys, and the descriptive language is as lush as always in this series. There is also some nice character growth among several of the main characters as they begin young and reckless and get a hard lesson in the dangers of the world.
While the villains, a father-and-son duo of weasel assassins at the head of a large horde of "corpsemakers", are pretty standard Redwall badguys, right down to the plotting to stab each other in the back, the addition of an epidemic threatening the abbey brings a new type of threat to the fore.
The author does an excellent job of juggling multiple groups of travelers on multiple quests and journeys, and the descriptive language is as lush as always in this series. There is also some nice character growth among several of the main characters as they begin young and reckless and get a hard lesson in the dangers of the world.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Violence, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Solid Redwall adventure! Admittedly, these follow a pretty set format, but it's a very enjoyable format, even for adult readers, and this held up well against my childhood memories. The audiobook full-cast performance is excellent, with some really good music composed for the songs. I will admit that reading this as an adult, I'm a lot less enamored with the mysterical badger lords and much more frustrated by their reckless endangerment of the hares' lives; going into a berserk rage against your foes is all very well, but not if you make astoundingly stupid choices as a result, and other critters have to pick up the pieces.
5 stars from the 10ish year old me reading her first ever fantasy novel. It got me hooked, I devoured the whole series, then went searching for more like it. Present day me gives it 3.5 stars. Jacques is an excellent writer; I really do love the way he blends multiple story lines throughout the books only to tie them up together in one neat little package at the end. The characters and the world are just lovely. What I wouldn't give to live at Redwall Abbey! However adult me recognizes that each books plot is almost exactly the same, and doesn't really like having a moral lesson shoved down my throat at every opportunity.
All the same, I look forward to reading these with my little ones someday. I think they are the perfect stories to instill a love of reading into a child.
All the same, I look forward to reading these with my little ones someday. I think they are the perfect stories to instill a love of reading into a child.