Reviewed by: Amy and Austin (12)
*NOTE- This review is just for the first three books.
Intended age: 10-16 Main characters age: Never says. Young for a mouse.
Only the lost sword of Martin the Warrior can save Redwall Abbey from the evil rat Cluny and his greedy horde. The young mouse Matthias (formerly Redwall's most awkward novice) vows to recover the legendary weapon. In the course of his quest, Matthias forges strong ties with various local animals. As much as the magic of the sword, it is the help of these new friends that enables Matthias to defeat Cluny once and for all. Jacques's clever use of detail creates an animal world as compelling as that of The Wind in the Willows. From the beginning, each of Redwall's characters is endowed with a unerringly distinct personality: there is a powerful badger named Constance; a mute squirrel named Silent Sam, who knows the forest better than anyone; and his mother Jess, a champion climber who leads a splendid rescue of a piece of the abbey's tapestry. This epic adventure contains elements of all grand quests, with heroic archetypes that will keep fans of Tolkein and King Arthur tales engaged to the final battle.
Magical, mystical, and the stuff of legends, this stunning tale of good battling with--and ultimately triumphing over--evil takes the reader on a roller-coaster adventure that barely draws breath from the first page to the very last. Brian Jacques is a true master of his craft.
There is no sexual content, but the main character does get married to another mouse.
There is some name calling, but there is no swear words. The names are just things like "featherbag."
This book is about a war between mice and rats. Moderate amount of violence. I mean we all kill them when we see them in our home, right?
What I thought about this book:
This book was just very creative. I love how he made the mice, badgers, hedgehogs, sparrows, rats, and many more things just seem like humans. During the same time made them have their own lifestyle. The action scenes are great, and throughout the book there are riddles and puzzles that are very clever. Redwall is an exciting adventure that never slows, never bores, and never disappoints the reader. You could say it's a simple "good vs. evil" story between the good, honorable mice of Redwall Abbey and the evil forces of Cluny the one-eyed rat, but that would be an oversimplification. It's much more, largely in part to Brian Jacques and his skillful writing. If your child enjoys fantasy stories and is not quite ready for Tolkien, 'Redwall' is the perfect transition book/series. As you go through the series, you will start to notice that Brian Jacques starts to reuse some of his ideas. There are over 20 books in the Redwall series, and there is some originality with each book, but as you get further in the series, the less you start to like it. My advice is to read maybe 2 or 3 and then take a break, then read another few. Enjoy.
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