Redwall
The Redwall series, Book 1
Brian Jacques
Ace
Fiction, MG? Fantasy
Themes: Anthropomorphism, Classics, Country Tales, Small Animals
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Description
The animals of Redwall Abbey are known far and wide for their healing and peacemaking skills, but it has not always been so. Once it was home to Martin the
Warrior, the mouse who helped create the free land around the abbey. Today, his name is legend, and young mice like the orphan Matthais can only dream of such
exploits.
In the Summer of the Late Rose, the animals face a new threat. Cluny the Scourge, a great rat with a poison-tipped tail, has arrived to pillage the land, and
with him come uncounted hordes of rat forces. Only by solving the last riddles left by Martin may the residents of Redwall fight back. As they search for answers
that have eluded mousedom for over a hundred years, Matthias and the monks of Redwall write the next chapter in the abbey's long history.
Review
I gave this its rating based partly on the writing style, which I found dull, and partly on the inconsistent plot. The animals are cutesy and friendly one second,
yet ferociously bloodthirsty the next. There are also distinctly sexist overtones, despite the women occasionally stepping in to defend the abbey; indeed, the women
oscillate between sweet and shy stereotypes and killers defending the abbey. Cluny the Scourge is an excellent evil character, suitably clever and ruthless in his
assault on Redwall. My enjoyment of him helped salvage this book from a lower rating. If only the good side had anyone half as interesting to offer... The story also
drug horribly, with a side-plot about a serpent (in an unsubtle metaphor about evil) and some sparrows with very annoying dialects.
Overall, it could be enjoyed, but I found myself being bogged down by the inconsistencies and snail's pace of the plot, not to mention the author's often molasses-like
writing style. It had some great moments, but I couldn't be talked into a reread, let alone the pursuit of the series. Younger readers might be more entertained by it
than I was, though parents might want to know that there is a fair amount of violence and death. As always, you might want to give it a quick run-through yourself before
giving it to your kids.