Reads just as well a bit later in life--it's a very sweet story that isn't afraid to take some darker turns. ( )

Not bad. Not fantastic either. A joy to read but if I let myself I also could have stopped at any time. As someone who usually falls in love with animal fantasy and actually chose to read this when I did because my mouse had passed I wasn't as taken by it as I could have been. Matthias was a flat character to me. Just happened to be an expert warrior without any training ever? K... Still an interesting world and interesting little animal society. ( )

a cute read but is not an adult type book, at least I didn't think so. I was surprised when this was listed as a book for one of my book clubs. I think this story might even be too predictable and "goody two shoe" for my 11 year old. a cute story but definitely for the kids! ( )

Independent Reading Level: Grades 5-8
Awards: ALA Notable Children's Book, Children's Book Council Children's Choice Award. IRA/CBC Children's Choice Award

I feel like as one of the first fantasy books I read as a kid that I really connected with when I read it the first time. It wasn’t necessarily a magic system or an even a large world build, but truly just a simple little country fantasy with little animals who run their little abbey. I do feel like I don’t connect with all of the characters but I truly find that I do love the heart of all of the characters. I solid reread. ( )

Redwall was one of the big novels of my youth. They were read to me in the early 90s and I picked up reading them myself shortly thereafter. I haven't returned to them in 25 or so years.

First thing that stood out to me was how snappy everything was. Most problems are introduced and solved in rapid succession. 1 or 2 chapters. In a lot of ways it feels like a collection of short stories all tied together by the overarching thread of Cluny threatening Redwall. There's an almost episodic feel to how contained each piece of the adventure is.

A good example is the riddle Methuselah discovers behind the Martin tapestry. In short order, Methuselah and Martin sit down, solve the first part, find the hidden passageway, and visit Martin's tomb. It all just flows out.

This gives very good stopping points throughout reading. A little bit of closure, but not too much. Given that Redwall was conceived by Jacques as he read books to children, that makes sense. The Brian Jacques audio book is 10.5 hours. You aren't reading that (out load) in one sitting.

Anyway, Redwall is a very good intro to novels for children. It isn't small, but neither is it hefty. Solid but simple story. The text isn't overly dense on the page. Plenty of action. Not over-complicating the good guys and bad guy. Though there are some characters, from Captain Snow to Sela and Chickenhound and even to Killconey, that aren't quite as simple to classify.

The story is simple. Cluny is an evil bad guy. He wants to take over the peaceful Redwall Abbey because he is evil. The residents of Redwall and the nearby forest creatures defend. Our main character Matthias goes on a quest to get the sword of Martin the Warrior to defeat Cluny. Upon completion of the quest, there is a big confrontation and Matthias defeats Cluny. Every step of the adventure is clearly laid as you approach. There's some unsubtle foreshadowing with Asmodeus wandering around in the early stages.

When it comes to introductory novels for children, keeping it simple is good. They have less literary background than a novel reading adult. There is a skill to following the basic structure of story, and it has to be learned. Redwall delivers simplicity and a solid story at the same time. Don't give kids slop just because they don't know any better.

That said, there are some silly aspects. Why does it take some crazy adventure to access the abbey attic? Why would anyone design a building that requires scaling walls to reach the attic? As Martin's sword is not magic or anything, why would it matter if they can get it our not? Ultimately, it was the power of friendship that brought GUOSSIM, the Sparrows, Squire Julian, and Captain Snow to the aid of Redwall that truly won the battle. It's not like the adventure to get the sword was useless.

But the question of magic is a weird one. The adventures that get the friendship happen because Martin foresaw what would occur. Everything was setup to address things exactly as they occurred. It would require foreknowledge. If everything didn't play out in a very particular way, none of it would have mattered.

-- Review Score --
73 / 100

7 / 10 - Characters
7 / 10 - Plot
5 / 10 - Setting
7 / 10 - Theme
9 / 10 - Narration
7 / 10 - Conflict
7 / 10 - Style
6 / 10 - Pacing
8 / 10 - Auxiliary
10 / 10 - Personal Enjoyment

Score explanations in later sections.

-- Tag Score --
7 / 10

The Tag Score is the review score half rounded down, otherwise up.
I use it for tagging my collection with a searchable review score.

-- Star Score --
5 / 5

The Star Score is based on Personal Enjoyment, not the whole Review Score.

0 Stars - Have not read the book.
1 Star - Hated the book, put it down after reading at least 1/3 of the book.
2 Stars - Disliked the book, put it down after reading at least 2/3 of the book.
3 Stars - Acceptable book, finished the book.
4 Stars - Enjoyed the book, finished the book.
5 Stars - Loved the book, finished the book.

-- Edition(s) --
US First Edition
US 10th Anniversary Illustrated Edition
US Penguin Young Readers Group Kindle Edition

-- Short Excerpt --

"The high, warm sun shone down on Cluny the Scourge.
Cluny was coming!
He was big, and tough; an evil rat with ragged fur and curved, jagged teeth. He wore a black eyepatch; his eye had been torn out in battle with a pike.
Cluny had lost an eye.
The pike had lost its life!"
- Jacques, Brian. Redwall. Page 17. Penguin Young Readers Group. Kindle Edition.

-- Summary --

Cluny the Scourge, a formidable Sea Rat with a Horde of vermin, has his remaining eye set on conquering Redwall Abbey, the historied red stone fortress of Mossflower Country, and home to the peace loving abbey dwellers known as Redwallers who vow to help the hungry, sick and injured. Although the Redwallers are peace loving, they refuse to bend the knee to Cluny and his Horde. The normally peaceable Redwallers have a problem though, they know little of warfare and most have not seen war inside their lifetime.

This is when Matthias, a young abbey mouse, finds he has a talent for defensible warfare. Thanks to his friend Methuselah, the wise old recorder at Redwall, he begins to realize that there might be more to his hidden talent than it at first seems.

Redwall Abbey is not only a fortress and a place of prosperity for the Redwallers and surrounding woodlanders, but it is long historied. It's founding in part due to the courageous efforts of Martin the Warrior, a heroic mouse with a Legendary Sword who is said to watch over the abbey even in death.

Matthias begins to believe that he must find Martin's Legendary Sword, that fearsome slayer of many vermin, to strike fear in Cluny and his Horde and turn the tides of battle in the Redwaller's favor.

This is the novel that made a name out of Brian Jacques. He turned this first novel into a long running and successful Middle Aged Reader book series with many prequels and sequels.

-- Why am I doing this review? --

Redwall was a book I first read when I was around ten years old; having fond memories of it, I wanted to read it again (the whole series in fact this time). I've grown a rather strong fondness for Animal Fiction because of this and a few other books such as "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH", "Poppy (& Rye)", and a little while later "Watership Down".

-- Explanation of the Review Score ---

-- Characters --
7 / 10

Brian Jacques introduces many characters in this novel, which can be a double edged sword in some cases. However, he is good at mentioning who is participating in each dialogue and who isn't, mostly with clever use of language. For example, each species introduced has their own manner of speaking, and each creature within that species - further still - has their mannerisms, which come out in the author's choice of words.

I remember when I was ten, I was not prepared to understand the clever use of language in the dialogue and found myself leaning more heavily into the descriptions to understand what was happening instead. I remember mole speech was particularly difficult. For this, I am knocking some more points off because the _target audience is Middle Grade and I am sure I wasn't the only one I'll prepared for that challenge, especially with the impatience of a Middle Grader on top of that. However, as an adult, this was no trouble at all, in fact, highly welcomed and downright good fun. Mole speech is one of my absolute favorites now, second to hare speech.

The main protagonist is Mattias and the main antagonist is Cluny the Scourge. But there is a healthy cast of deuteragonist who share the main antagonist or their own unique antagonist. Methuselah is a strong confidant in this novel but Cornflower is a weak love interest in my opinion. I'll knock off a point for Cornflower in this one, as she could have been a much more interesting character than how she was written.

-- Plot --
7 / 10

It's a war novel and a adventure novel packed into one. The Redwallers are trying to fend off Cluny the Scourge's army. Matthias and Methuselah included, but at the same time, they are searching for the Legendary Sword of Martin the Warrior, which they believe will help turn the tide of the war in the Redwaller's favor.

The war plot is believable in this novel. Cluny the Scourge is looking for more power and sees it in the walls of the formidable fortress that is Redwall Abbey. Although believable, the plot is thin, his only motive for wanting Redwall Abbey is for more power than he already has with his Horde.

The adventure plot is also believable in this novel. It is framed in a quest like manner with riddles that hint towards the location of Martin the Warrior's Legendary Sword. There are plenty of little nuggets of crafted history that further support this, making this plot of the novel more fulfilling than the war plot.

Docking some points for the thin war plot and the overused quest for the saving item. All the while keeping in mind that, this kind of Middle Grader book might be the first introduction to these kinds of plots, the war plot at least.

-- Setting --
5 / 10

You can tell this is Brian Jacques first novel with his attempt at world building. It is hard to tell if places and things in Mossflower Country are human scale or mouse scale.

Although the second chapter is a fantastic and colorful introduction of the main antagonist Cluny the Scourge and his Horde, it is also the chapter with some of the most confusing setting information in the entire book. For example, a horse that is horse sized pulling a human sized cart with Cluny's entire army and mentions of human territories such as Portugal.

Another example; the Redwallers and Woodlanders eat things typical of their species; but then eat things regularly that these kinds of creatures would otherwise not have access to, like milk.

Size and scale are off offhandedly mentioned, at times, the mind's eye thinks the characters are human sized and at other times, mouse sized. For example, the Redwallers can barely see the top of their abbey, usually only on a clear day, yet their ancestors apparently built the place? There are also no easy ways to get to the top of the Abbey.

One of the abbey dwellers is a badger (a very cool character I might add), but it begs the question as to why a badger is deemed a good creature, but a rat is never seen as a good character not once in the novel.

I have to give this category a few solid good points for creating a rich enough environment to warrant twenty one follow up novels.

-- Theme --
7 / 10

Redwall is a your classic good versus evil, coming of age, war story.

The themes of good versus evil are strong. It is clear from the onset that Cluny and his Horde are very bad creatures. Likewise, the Redwallers are only protecting what rightfully belongs to them by defending their home. If this novel does dip its toes into the grey territory of this theme, it is on the handful of occasions that the Redwaller's go on the offensive.

The coming of age theme is a bit weak, but it exists with Mattias as he discovers his natural ability in understanding the nuances of defensible warfare. The transition is not very smooth here, so it loses a couple of points for this category.

The theme of war is very strong in this novel. There are whole chapters about how war plans are formulated and carried out. Personally, this is written in a very satisfying way. Brian Jacques is a bit of a skewed writer when it comes to this theme. The Redwaller's always seem to have a bit more luck too early on, making what would otherwise be some nail biting chapters into a bit of a lark.

-- Narration --
9 / 10

The novel is Third Person Omniscient and this is where Brian Jacques really shines.

The author's character switching feels very natural, and with wonderful timing in a lot of cases. For example, he will switch into a character for a good long passage or even a full chapter and you instantly get a feel for who they are, even if it is the first time. Each time he does, it feels relevant to the story and the readers understanding of how it all fits together. And if his character switching is not going for that desired effect, it is for a brief moment, just long enough to make you laugh, make you frown, or make you feel some sort of quick emotion to set yourself up for the next section of text.

His descriptions of places and things are not too lengthy but always present and appreciated, providing you a constant reel of visual, sound, smell, taste, and touch. His descriptions of food, while sometimes repetitive, always seems to make you hungry or appreciative to have had a nice hot meal before picking up the book.

-- Conflict --
7 / 10

The protagonist Matthias faces two conflicts; Cluny the Scourge trying to take Redwall Abbey, his home and where every good creature he knows lives. That and his quest to find the Legendary Sword of Martin the Warrior.

The Matthias and the Redwallers react realistically to the first conflict by rising up to defend their home. The quest to find the sword is less realistic in the conflict department. Brian Jacques makes it clear that this sword is important to the Redwallers. That and Martin the Warrior is an important figure in their belief system, but it is somewhat unrealistic how this sword is supposed to help fix their problem with Cluny and his Horde, except for striking fear.

-- Style --
7 / 10

Brian Jacques is very consistent with his style of writing and tone throughout. With the Matthias and the Redwallers, he writes with a jovial tone overall. They are optimistic, and sometimes humorous when the situation calls for it. Still, they are written with a serious tone when the subject is on death and war. All of this is accomplished through the writing without aid of Illustration.

In contrast, Brian Jacques gives the Cluny and his Horde a more Serious tone overall and throughout. You understand they live by fear in the writing, both inwardly and outwardly. The are sometimes written in a very motivating tone, if for the wrong reasons, they all seek to gather power for themselves. They are written with a humorous tone on occasion, though at the expense of another creature every time.

-- Pacing --
6 / 10

The pacing in this novel is a little rough. At times it felt like things were moving slowly, and other times too quickly. Strange given how good I felt Brian Jacques did with the narration. I chalk this up to the Author getting used to pacing a novel.

The novel is broken up into three books. The novel is rather long for the _target Middle Grader audience, so I guess this is milestone attempt at keeping younger readers engaged.

Particularly towards the end of the story in book three, the text feels like a race to the finish. This is a huge missed opportunity in my opinion, especially when there are parts in book one and two that could easily be shortened to accommodate or the book simple extended since it was broken up into three books anyway.

In addition, Mattias's pacing was awkward, especially his introduction to what he is just a few chapters later, you get a short bout of whiplash. Considering his introduction is the first chapter of Brian Jacques hit first novel, I am giving him some credit. However, the editor should have looked at the big picture and seen that Mattias's character doesn't really get introduced appropriately until a few chapters in.

-- Auxiliary --
8 / 10

The Illustrations by Gary Chalk do not add much to each chapter in my opinion, but their presence is still much appreciated. After all, very small Illustrations at the start of each chapter is preferable to no illustrations at all. That and his art is still very decent, especially for a Middle Grader book.

Later editions of the book, included full page Illustrations that do much more than the small "start of chapter" illustrations at inspiring the reader, so some points are recovered in this way.

In fact, the Cover Art by Troy Howell in the US Edition (and the illustrator in later special editions), not only makes up for it, but help this category score extra points. They say never judge a book by its cover, but honestly that is total hogwash. A book cover can make or break my initial interested in starting a book or at the very least, prompting me to pick it up so I can read the summary to see if I will enjoy the book or not. Therefore, while the book cover is not the entire worth of a book, a books cover and illustrations are super important. They shine brilliantly here.

In addition, I don't know whose idea it was to pick "that particular scene" for the frontispiece Illustration in the 10th Anniversary edition. But whomever it was, is brilliant. Easily one of the more jaw dropping and iconic moments in the story and it was rendered by Troy Howell with equal grace and magnitude. It really gets you in the mood to read and find out how it happened.

-- Personal Enjoyment --
10 / 10

It is hard to dislike a book you enjoyed from your childhood, even with its faults. I personally enjoyed reading every word of this book; from cover to cover. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is old enough to understand the text, Middle Grader and up. ( )

I see some reports of language like hell’s teeth, hell and damn. Some violence.

Recommended for grades 5 and up.

Here is a link from Focus On The Family https://www.pluggedin.com/book-reviews/redwall/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0eApU...

A hugely entertaining book of high adventure. About a peaceful abbey fighting back against a rodent hoard, as they gain more allies in their fight, like the amusing basil. It's an highly enjoyable read, that took me no time to finish. ( )

Animal fantasy
Independent reading level grades fourth through seventh

Welcome to Mossflower Wood, where the gentle mice have gathered to celebrate a year of peace and abundance. All is well...until a sinister shadow falls across the ancient stone abbey of Redwall. It is rumored that Cluny is coming--Cluny, the terrible one-eyed rat and his savage horde--Cluny, who has vowed to conquer Redwall Abbey! The only hope for the besieged mice lies in the lost sword of the legendary Martin the Warrior. And so begins the epic quest of a bumbling young apprentice--a courageous mouse who would rise up, fight back...and become a legend himself.

I knew this was about a mouse war, but I honestly did not expect the entire novel to be about war, which just is not my thing. ( )

One of my favorite book series growing up. The Redwall series tells the story of various anthropomorphic woodland critters. These critters have factions and hierarchy, they are exceptionally similar to monarchy and caste systems from 1400s Europe. ( )

This book, and the subsequent others that followed became a stable in our house as my children grew up, or rather as my son grew up; he couldn’t get enough of them. So I was greatly surprised when I came across them in a box the other day, and decided to start my journey through them again at Redwall Abbey.

This is definitely a children’s book and as such it has a simplified cast of characters that younger readers can easily connect to and travel with on their adventures. Through the characters in these books young readers can learn a lot about life and the differences between us, without being overwhelmed and feel as if they are being educated while they read. There are villains which will make you boo and hiss; good guys that will have the reader cheering them on and wishing them well , but all of them are animals and I mean this in the literal sense. For those who have not read any of these books their main characters, and the remainder of the cast of hundreds are mice, foxes, rats (boo hiss) and badgers.

The book is excellently written, its descriptive wording makes the reader savour the sentence, the act or the food. I loved the way in which the food was described, in fact in some places it actually made my stomach growl. Another thing that would keep young readers engrossed is the way in which the Author is able to change settings and points of view without coming over as confused. Through this constant change the reader is able to experience both sides of the conflict laid out in books pages, and gain knowledge of the strategies used in both camps.

This is an excellent read for both the intended age group and any adult who is looking for something simple and interesting to read to while away a few hours.


Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/12/05/review-redwall-redwall-1-brian-jacques/





This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

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I remember all the Redwall series being very popular so I decided I'd give in and read them for myself. First off, these books are really boring. They're very slow moving and leave a lot of questions in the end. Plus, it's an unoriginal idea - talking mice, living human-like lives, saving all the woodland creatures from the (non-present) humans. [b:Watership Down|76620|Watership Down (Watership Down #1)|Richard Adams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1405136931s/76620.jpg|1357456], anyone? ( )

Literally one of the best books I have ever read, an all-time favorite. Jacques is a wizard with words. I love all riddles and puzzles, the action is just right, and along with the superb story of how Mattias and the inhabitants of Redwall Abbey foil the attacks of Cluny the Scourge as he tries to take over Mossflower wood. And just the description of the food alone makes my stomach rumble. I would recommend this book as a must read. ( )

Tried to get interested in it, but it seemed too juvenile. Not at all like "Watership Down" or "Duncton Wood."

Deep in the Mossflower Forest lies Redwall Abbey, populated by a motley cast of mice, squirrels, hedgehogs and other forest creatures. This 22-book series covers a vast span of time in the idyllic world of Redwall; jump in anywhere and join heroes like Martin the Warrior and Triss the squirrelmaid as they battle evil in between lavish abbey feasts of Veggible Molebake and Woodland Summercream Pudding.

Considering it is written for children, I think it is an okay book.
However, it reads as if the plot was determined before much of the characters were finished.
I had read "Mouse Guard" by David Petersen recently and was intrigued by his take on mice fending of evil and protecting their kind. Coming from Petersen's lively mouse world, Redwall just falls flat. The world makes no sense whatsoever. I think this would have been a better book, if it was written using humans instead of animals. Then there would have been the need to at least give some kind of reason for the whole conflict apart from [insert species] being evil.
The story is not very interesting, and I only finished, because I dislike letting books stay unfinished.

After a while I also started to resent the protagonist for being such a prick to every new character he met. You should not be able to make friends by collaring them and having the kindness of not outright murdering them...
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Probably would have liked this better as a kid. ( )

I first read the Redwall books years ago and I still enjoy them when I recently re-read them. I love the world building and the creativity with which these animals were anthropomorphized. The level of description is really well done and very detailed. So adventurous and so very entertaining. ( )

I was just underwhelmed by this. I found myself making excuses for feeling that way, trying to justify choices in character and language. In the end I rate things on Goodreads based on the star labels. 2 stars means "it was okay". And that's all I can say. ( )

I read this in Elementary School and instantly became a fan of the Author Brian Jacques. This book helped to solidify my interest in fantasy books and series. ( )

I've lost count of how many times I've read and listened to Redwall over the years since I first discovered the series at about the age of ten. It deserves to be read. It's not just a children's book--in fact, I don't think it was even written to be a children's book. Some of the content certainly bears that theory out. There are horrific deaths, poisonings, war, treachery, rats are boiled to death in hot porridge-- proceed with caution, kiddos, it certainly scared me as a kid. But as I grew older, I got to appreciate the way Brian Jacques writes and executes the accents of all the characters and how I can vividly see the different animals and know their personalities and quirks. (Constance the badger is an all time fave, she's sassy and growly and I, too, would like to be able to huck tables at troublesome rats at times.)

So go and read this book. ( )

Redwall is a wonderful little tale.

It's the tale of an abbey in the woods and the various woodland creatures who inhabit it (in a world seemingly devoid of humans). It's a tale of good and evil. Of peaceful creatures and the times when peace is no longer enough. It's a tale of piracy and plundering, of those with power taking whatever they wish from those without. It's a tale of a prophecied warrior, and the tiny mouse ready to step into much larger shoes to do what's right to protect his friends.

The animals that make up the world are absolutely lovely, and you can really feel each different character. The quick little mice, the flitting sparrows, the evil rats, the terrifying snake, and the badger--larger and stronger than all the rest. Having all manner of creatures means Jacques can exagerate the characteristics needed for any particular scene and still make everything feel 'real'.

I think the main downside is that at some level, it's a book written for a younger audience. There is a feeling of magic in the world (without any explicit sort of spell casting or anything), but if you dig too deep, it's a world that doesn't really hold together. What all animals are sentient? Mammals are. Birds and reptiles. But what about the fish they eat? The horse that rats ride in on? What do other predators do? How can you have species of such radically different sizes living together? Just how big is Redwall (physicall)? How big do you make a hallway that can house mice and badgers?

And then there's the 'chosen one' aspect. It's something that generally annoys me in books, but I feel like a book for younger readers gets away with it? There's never any doubt that the prophecy will be fulfilled, but it's still a cute and at times touching story around all that.

It's a cute story. I remember reading several of these books many years ago and have been wanting to go back. This time, I'm listening to the audiobooks, which really are enchanting. I love how the voices are done.

I look forward to the rest of the stories! And maybe in a few years, to sharing these with my own children.

A few random quotes that are particularly thought provoking or wonderfully written:

The young mouse stood with his paws folded, an expression of disgust upon his features. The old gatekeeper patted his shoulder. ‘I know how you feel, Matthias. I could see you were only putting on a brave face for the benefit of the others. That is good. It shows you are learning to be a wise leader. You hide your true feelings and encourage them not to give up hope.

Teaching the younger generation... and realizing that some things have to be learned on their own.

Closing his eyes momentarily, he thought of Martin the Warrior. Did he ever feel tired? He must have, defending the Abbey with his large heavy sword, wearing all that armour. Whatever happened to the sword? It had to be somewhere. Legendary weapons didn’t rust and wear away to nothing, otherwise they’d never get to be legend.

He's got a point, even if it doesn't really apply in the real world.

“Could it be Asmodeus?’ Matthias inquired innocently.

Basil Stag Hare dropped a half-eaten apple pie on the bedside table. He was suddenly very serious.
‘Asmodeus? Where did you hear that name?”

“A little bird told me,’ Matthias replied.”

Such wonderful quotes. The best part is: it's the sort of world where it really can be a little bird!

Knowledge is a thing that one cannot have enough of. It is the fruit of wisdom, to be eaten carefully and digested fully, unlike that lunch you are bolting down, little friend.

Aginst, the wisdom of elders and the need for the young to learn for themselves.

Standing up to tyrany:

Are you going to go down on your knees and beg for your life, old one?"

Abbot Mortimer stared calmly into Cluny's savage eye. "I will never bend my knee on my own behalf. However, if I thought I could save the life of one of my friends I would gladly fall down on both knees. But I know you, Cluny, better than you know yourself. There is not a scrap of pity or mercy in your heart, only a burning desire for vengeance. Therefore, I will not kneel to one who is consumed by evil.

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