The peaceful abbey of Redwall comes under threat from the fearsome Cluny the Scourge. Redwall's only hope may be young Matthias, a brave but inexperienced novice.
My thoughts
I had high hopes for this book because my brother devoured the series when we were kids. (Incidentally, this is the only way he reads—he rarely reads, but when he finds something he likes he doesn't come up for air until he's done.)
But. I just couldn't get into it. First, I'm not sold on the woodland creatures and their human-like civilization. Second, I couldn't connect with Matthias and his friends.
It probably didn't help that I dove into this book immediately after finishing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which highlighted Redwall's shortcomings. Redwall's plot seemed too simplistic. Matthias had a mission—to find the sword of Martin, the great warrior mouse—but there was never any suspense. I knew Matthias would encounter obstacles, but I knew he'd get past them. Matthias was meant to triumph because Matthias represented Good. The divide between Good and Evil in Redwall is comically cartoonish—the bad guys are pure evil and the good guys are righteous. Because of that, there was no character growth, no redemption, nothing that would make the storyline surprising or entertaining.
Finally, one minor quibble: old-fashioned gender stereotypes are in full force here. Matthias goes off on his quest while his underdeveloped potential love interest Cornflower packs some snacks for him and helps out in the kitchen. There is a brave female squirrel, a formidable female badger, and a sparrow queen who unites her clan—but none of them captures the heart of the hero. I guess that's what bothered me—the pervasive fiction that you get the guy by being pretty and demure (although I suppose being the same species helps somewhat in this world).
Bottom line
I won't be moving on to Mossflower or any of the other books in the series.
Fine print
Redwall, by Brian Jacques
Genre: Young adult fantasy/adventure
Photo from Goodreads
I bought this book at a local library book sale
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