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A review by thepancreas11
Mattimeo by Brian Jacques
5.0
Shouldn't I be tired of this, already? A YA series about woodland creatures fighting vermin--how much material can there possibly be? I read a bunch of these when I was younger, and I've read the first two books of the series only recently. I should be experiencing some sort of fatigue, right? Then why is "Mattimeo" my favorite book of the series so far?
"Redwall" had its gimmick to get by on. "Mossflower" felt like a little more of the same. "Mattimeo" feels like Brian Jacques is hitting his stride. He's past the initial delight of writing a whole new world, and he's starting to find elements of that world that translate even better than realistic fiction would. The Mattimeo-Mathias dynamic, for example, or the dissent among the Guosim, they feel more realized than the conflicts from the previous two books. They feel like natural extensions of the rules he's set forth in the first two installments. There is a general sense of heightening: the stakes are higher--in that more creatures die, the journey is grander, even the motivations of the antagonist are richer than before. I would one hundred percent read a book about the rise of Malarkiss the Polecat or about Slagar's journey leading up to the beginning.
In the end, the broader range of emotions makes this book the best of the first three. There is real, palpable tension. Every time it seems like the Redwallers are going to free their children, they come up just short. Even when the final battle feels over, there's more left to resolve. There's this sense that their fight is never really over. There are more Slagars out there, more cruelty, more greed. I think that's why the Ironbeak subplot works so well: even as the one danger moves farther away, another sweeps in to take its place. The only thing that keeps the Redwallers from collapsing--whether at home or abroad--is their lasting bond. That's probably why it feels so fulfilling when they finally do succeed.
I really hope the rest of the books in the series are like this one: a part of the world, not beholden to it. I know there are some that I really loved as a kid, and I hope they hold up as well as "Mattimeo".
"Redwall" had its gimmick to get by on. "Mossflower" felt like a little more of the same. "Mattimeo" feels like Brian Jacques is hitting his stride. He's past the initial delight of writing a whole new world, and he's starting to find elements of that world that translate even better than realistic fiction would. The Mattimeo-Mathias dynamic, for example, or the dissent among the Guosim, they feel more realized than the conflicts from the previous two books. They feel like natural extensions of the rules he's set forth in the first two installments. There is a general sense of heightening: the stakes are higher--in that more creatures die, the journey is grander, even the motivations of the antagonist are richer than before. I would one hundred percent read a book about the rise of Malarkiss the Polecat or about Slagar's journey leading up to the beginning.
In the end, the broader range of emotions makes this book the best of the first three. There is real, palpable tension. Every time it seems like the Redwallers are going to free their children, they come up just short. Even when the final battle feels over, there's more left to resolve. There's this sense that their fight is never really over. There are more Slagars out there, more cruelty, more greed. I think that's why the Ironbeak subplot works so well: even as the one danger moves farther away, another sweeps in to take its place. The only thing that keeps the Redwallers from collapsing--whether at home or abroad--is their lasting bond. That's probably why it feels so fulfilling when they finally do succeed.
I really hope the rest of the books in the series are like this one: a part of the world, not beholden to it. I know there are some that I really loved as a kid, and I hope they hold up as well as "Mattimeo".