Redwall

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Redwall

Welcome to Redwall Abbey, home of mice, badgers, and all manner of woodland creatures who live together in peace. That is until Cluny the Scourge sets his eyes on the abbey. Cluny is a vile rat who will not hesitate to kill to get what he wants. And he wants to claim the abbey as his own. Matthias, with the heart of a warrior, urges his fellows to rise up and defend the abbey. But can the untrained, and unprepared abbey creatures defeat a roaming band of villains?

Brian Jaques has a beautiful way with words. As he builds the foundation of the Redwall world, you can't help but feel comforted and at peace. Like you're walking into a warm home full of old friends and happy memories. Each character he spends just enough time with and the history of Redwall comes together in a heartfelt tale. You can't help but cheer the abbey creatures on as they defend their home.

As a teen, I loved the mystery element Brian Jacques included in Redwall. To defeat Cluny, Matthias must find the sword of Martin the Warrior. And reaching the sword involves solving a rhyme left by past abbey mice. When I first read this book, I wracked my brain trying to solve the puzzle. And it was satisfying to follow Matthias on his journey to retrieve the sword. But of course, nothing can be easy, and Matthias's quest to reclaim the sword is an exciting journey to undertake.

Redwall was one of the introductory fantasy worlds I fell into as a teen. As an adult, I enjoyed it just as much as when I first read it. If you have a teenager interested in the fantasy genre, give the Redwall series a try. It is age-appropriate, and while there are battles, Brian Jacques never goes too far with detail. Readers will find themselves immersed in a thrilling tale they will not want to put down.

Fun book from my childhood!

I don't think it's the best in the series, but lots of fun with plenty of wonderful characters. It gets surprisingly intense at some points, but also a little easy for the protagonists sometimes.

Pretty writing as always and lovely descriptions.

Somehow this book is about, like...working environments? The villains get into trouble because they create environments in which their employees are fighting for dominance and trying to get the promotion from each other. The protagonists do well because they work together and let people collaborate and cooperate. Definitely not what this book is about, but also it definitely is.

The Redwall series has been one of my favourites for about twenty years. I can't recall exactly how I first learned about the books, but I do remember clearly my mother getting me out of school one day so she could take me to meet Brian Jacques when he came to the area to do a book signing. That was a truly delightful treat.

Despite my love for the series, it had been years since I last read Redwall, and the last time I tried I discovered I wasn't in the mood for that particular book, so I set it aside. Since it had been years, however, I decided to give it another try. I borrowed the audiobook from my local library to listen to during my commute. The full cast audio is delightful, and I really enjoyed listening to this story.

Thing is...I realise now that Redwall is probably my least favourite entry in the series, and in listening to it I've been able to pinpoint a few of the reasons why this is. Redwall is the first book in the series, and on the world-building front it just doesn't mesh cleanly with the later books. The various groups and tribes of creatures are still largely undeveloped. There are mentions of large animals like horses, pigs, and stags, all of which are completely absent in later books. In Redwall there seems to be some implication that the Abbey mice and various woodland creatures are living alongside humans (see the aforementioned farm animals, plus mentions of towns), even though humans are never actually mentioned in the story. Reading Redwall after reading other books in the series winds up being jarring for me, simply because it's a literary step backward.

I still like the book, and I'm sure I'll read (or listen to) it again. Knowing why it isn't my favourite helps me appreciate it for what it is: the foundation and starting point for an amazing series of books that I absolutely love.