About this title: It seems like nothing can save the animals holed up in Redwall Abbey from the siege of the evil one-eyed rat Cluny and his wicked band. Matthias, a young novice at the Abbey, vows to find the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior, founder of the Abbey, and use it against Cluny. On his quest to find the sword, Matthias befriends many animals, and these friendships, along with the sword, help Matthias triumph over the evil Cluny and bring peace to the Abbey.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: 10th Anniversary Edition
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Ace Fantasy, New York, NY
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9780441005482ISBN:0441005489
Description: Covers shelf worn and creased, spine reader creased, lower corner of covers & copy crunched, pages yellowing due to age, good reading copy. Mass Market (Rack) PB, glued binding, 333 pp Tales of Redwall Vol. 1 read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Avon Books
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780380708277ISBN:0380708272
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. VG-spine creasing. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Audience: Children/juvenile; Young adult. read more
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 333 p. Contains: Illustrations. Redwall (Ace Paperback), 1. Audience: Children/juvenile. read more
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Very good condition. Slight wear on cover edges. Unmarked. Tight binding. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 333 p. Contains: Illustrations. Redwall (Ace Paperback), 1. Audience: Children/juvenile. Three books in one: "The Wall"; "The Quest"; and "The Warrior" read more
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Some edge and corner wear. Cover creases. No marks. Tight binding. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 333 p. Contains: Illustrations. Redwall (Ace Paperback), 1. Audience: Children/juvenile. read more
Description: Good. Spine is well creased. Covers show wear at the edges and corners. Good Grade C average reading copy. Binding is Mass Market Paperback. Pages tanning. Used books may have price stickers. Most orders ship on the next business day. read more
Description: Good. Spine is well creased. Covers show wear at the edges and corners. Good Grade C average reading copy. Binding is Mass Market Paperback. Ex library. Used books may have price stickers. Most orders ship on the next business day. read more
Description: Near Fine. Trade Paperback. Philomel, 2000. Near Fine Book. Lightly handled, with minimal wear to book. Overall, a clean and tight copy. Media Mail packed in protective bubble lined shipping bags, Priority in a Flat Rate Envelope. Shipped quickly. Prompt response to questions. read more
Description: Very Good. 0380708272 Very good condition, minor wear. No major marks or damage. Pages slightly yellowed from age. 100% satisfaction guaranteed. Great customer service and a no problem, EZ return policy. Real people, real service, since 1981. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Avon Books
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780380708277ISBN:0380708272
Description: Very good. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Intended for a young adult/teenage audience. Intended for a juvenile audience. read more
Description: Very Good. 0380708272 This mass market paperback book is in between very good & good condition! ! ! MARCH, 1990--AVON BOOKS. A solid, intact copy with some creasing of spine & wear on covers/edges! SMOKE FREE HOME! Do not settle for worn, torn, throwaways. Pay a few pennies more for a nice copy. read more
Description: Good. 0380708272 Good condition paperback book, some creases to spine, some edge/corner rubs, may have corner crease, small edge tear or spine slant, a good book for reading. Shop & Save With US. read more
"i had real high hopes for this one, but, sad to say, it let me down. but before i say what i disliked, let me say a few likes: it was very imaginative, it was also very british which added to the exotic fantasy elements, it wasnt kiddie and was approachable be a large audience.
okay, here are my dislikes: it's very boring. after 50 pages i had to put 'er down and stop reading. and this took like a week to read 50 pages--not because of my reading speed or because of dense verbiage (it wasnt dense), but because i just had no desire to read it. i thought about forcing myself to finish it, but i couldnt stomach it. also, the story is very cliche. but the biggest dislike i had was that none of the world was explained before the conflicts began. i didnt know if this was a mouse reality without humans ever existing or if humans do live around somewhere in a land of giants. i also didnt understand the scale of things. i mean, they're all rodents and the like, and they make weapons and armor from things to scale (kind of), but they catch fish (which seems hard for a mouse to do), and they...ride horses...(?). i've seen some small horses, but never rodent-sized ones.
overall, i wish Jacques wouldve been better at explaining things and writing better. well. i guess you could say that about every so-so book out there, huh?"
"One group of beings defend their territory against a hostile, invading force. One of these defenders strives to attain his folk hero's legendary status. And on the other end of the spectrum, a heartless ruler brings the "fairy tales" of his cruelty to light once again...
An epic story, resplendent with gothic architecture, visions from beyond the grave, war and death, and a multitude of tribal variations...
...from the point of view of a mouse?
Redwall presents an alternate world, in which the roles of history's greatest heroes and villains are portrayed by field mice and sewer rats, pacifist squirrels and warlord ferrets. To eliminate the stigma associated with such animals as being "cute' or children's fare, witness the multiple killings, the nefarious violence, the devious schemes put into action by characters, both ostensibly good and evil, (and those somewhere in between, although never "neutral").
This book represents Brian Jacques' first novel, although is considered to be the "middle" portion of a trilogy (which has since been expanded into nearly ten volumes). Jacques understand the vitality of strong characters - even those in minor supporting roles (or even those destined to remain alive for a mere few pages). None of the creatures are thrown away by the writer, not even the most cruel or the least active.
In this way, Jacques keeps the reader guessing as to what will transpire between chapter to chapter. Predictability cannot be assumed, as each character has been crafted as fully as possible, thus nullifying the all-too-common trick of assuming a non-entity will be removed from the story in an unnatural manner. Many of the attackers are killed, even murdered in cold blood. But then, so are many of those on the protagonist's side.
And the methods of Easiest Way Out are kept to a minimum: no glut of over-the-top action to fill up pages; no series of brisk coincidence to ease into a happy ending, benefiting the heroes; no hollow stereotype left unchallenged as the story progresses (although, admittedly, there are plenty of characters who seem to start out as such, like the venomous adder Asmodeus who fits the role of "slithering serpent" perfectly)...
The weaknesses of the novel are inherent to the series itself. For instance, there is the basic question of scale - as in, how big must the sanctuary of Redwall Abbey be in order to comfortably accommodate not only the resident mice, but also visiting rats, ferrets, squirrels, and foxes? Too, the very nature of what is known of such animals is brought into question. In case of point, are the animals purely biped, or are there defined differences between the "personified" and other genus of their species?
There is no magic within the novel, frequently used as a crutch to mask poorly conceived conflict or to manufacture a stilted resolution. However, the "magic" involved in bringing forest creatures into a progressed form of humanity is magic enough.
The question remains as to why Jacques placed animals into all-too-humanistic roles. The most obvious answer is that it proved necessary to make the reading more palatable - not only for the youngsters (for whom the series was ostensibly intended), but for the readership as a whole. Reading about the sudden, violent disembowelment of an unfortunate fox is harrowing enough, but would be absolutely nightmarish to depict such actions against human beings.
An exceptionally strong first novel, with a vocabulary which both challenges and stimulates, without becoming overwrought. It is the characters alone who drive the story - and what a story is granted to the reader!"
"Brian Jacques is not particularly remarkable in his narrative tone or the plot or concepts involved in this series. Indeed, I gave this first entry three stars simply because I WANT to read something unique that takes little forest creatures and gives them wonderfully human 19th-century traits.
WHAT THIS LACKS: The story does not invoke the intimate immersion of atmosphere that you find in Richard Adams' descriptions of a summer evening in a field or woods as found in "Watership Down," though most of the story takes place in such an environment. You also don't have the memorable uniqueness of some of the endearing characters found in Robert Lawson's "Rabbit Hill," or E.B. White's "Stuart Little" or "Charlotte's Web," yet here are presented numerous supposedly clever and unique animals that would should stir such memories from your childhood when you read the passages. Also rather weak is the plot. We never learn much about the time frame, the history, the sense of generations and their ages. Unlike some series that work within the framework of a culture and history, this is from the start a fairly stereotypical nondescript "abbey" without a particular religion. Oddly enough, there are even monk-like mice, yet we never understand if they worship Christ or some other figure.
WHAT IS GREAT: The real fun in these novels is not knowing who dies. Jacques freely and bravely kills off characters, sometimes in cruel ways, in these adventures, and there is a surprising amount of real violence in the story as well. Thus, the reader is curious about what may happen next. Also, clearly this author is in love with food and cooking, as that seems to be the one thing he embraces with true enthusiasm within the narrative, describing dishes and meals with an oddly out-of-place tone compared to a lot of other descriptions.
CONCLUSION: This series is fun, but don't take it too seriously because after about three of these, there all the same."
"Redwall, as I was pleased to learn, is just as delightful and entrancing as it was when I first read it back in Jr. High. It's been a long time since I could not put a book down, a children's book no less.
But don't let the genre fool you, like Harry Potter, Redwall is appropriate for any and all ages. The world of Redwall is set in a forest called Mossflower, where forest creatures of all types endeavor together in peace and prosperity at Redwall Abbey. However, when Cluny the Scourge, an evil and infamous sea rat vows to conquer the abbey, it's up to Matthais and the other forest dwellers to defend their home and defeat the invaders.
Matthais concerns himself with most of the book with finding and retrieving the lost armor of Martin the Warrior, the Abbey's legendary hero. The mysteries, adventures and trials involved make up most of the book. The puzzles are especially fun, and a good challenge for readers who want to try to solve the mysteries of Martin along with the character.
I chose to read this book, rather than listen to it, but the audio is just as good as the book. Brian Jacques makes appearances in the audio, and the book is done with a full cast of narrators. Whether in book or audio, children and adults should give Redwall a try. And if you have before, it's always a thrill to return to Redwall Abbey for another reading."
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