Redwall: A Tale from Redwall

Brian Jacques

Sep 2002 · Redwall Book 1 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

Soon to be a Netflix original movie!
One of TIME Magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time
 
The book that inspired a legend—the first novel in the beloved, bestselling Redwall saga.

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.
 
Perfect for fans of T. A. Barron’s Merlin saga, John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series, and J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series.

“The medieval world of Redwall Abbey—where gallant mouse warriors triumph over evil invaders—has truly become the stuff of legend.”
—Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Ratings and reviews

Marin the Warrior fought hard for many years to protect those he cared about. After his last battle, he set his sword aside and sought a place where he and anybody who wished to could live in peace. He built and became legendary in Redwall. Redwall kept up the practice of a peaceful space. They welcomed anybody who wished to come in for food, shelter, and healing. Everything is going great until Cluny the Scourge showed up. He's planning to overtake Redwall and kill anybody who does not surrender to his leadership. I read a book in this series many years ago. It's a book that really stuck with me. I really adored it. I thought that the entire concept was very imaginative and creative. I've been meaning to read the series since then. I'm glad that I'm finally able to get to. This is a beautiful fantasy tale where all the characters are animals of some sort. I believe it's a very popular series. If not, it really should be. It's so imaginative and fun! It's also a very relaxing and light-hearted read. There are some parts of the book that I feel dragged on a bit too long. There are other parts that I felt were rushed. It's not anything that really ruined the book for me. Just left me with a few questions. Eventually, they were answered, but it would have been nice to have them answered as the story was going along rather than after the fact. This is a personal preference. I'm sure. Either way, it really didn't ruin the book at all for me. I can't even think of specific references to bring up if that says anything. This book was narrated by a full cast of people, including Brian Jacques himself. It was also filled with music between chapters and specific parts of the story. It was very imaginative. If I could, I'd probably buy the entire series in audiobook. I might consider doing so one day. Right now, I'm content with just the first book. It's definitely an adventure to listen to. I couldn't imagine how long it took to produce this great work. I don't even want to think about it! This is a book I've been wanting to read for a long time. I'm so thankful that I've finally been able to do so. Eventually, I'd like to own every single book. For now, I'm just happy I was able to find them at my local library. I'd probably buy e-books or audiobooks for them. Possibly both. I always love to have an e-book on hand with audios when possible. I may not read along for the whole book, but I love having the option. Now to talk my fiancé into giving this series a chance!

The writing is fine in 'Redwall' for a very violent kids book (I won't recommend it under Jr. High School), but I hate stories with divine leadership/greatness stories (like Harry Potter) and that's what this basically is. Matthias (the main mouse character) nerds out on the legend Martin the Warrior and yada, yada, yada he's destined to fill Martin's legendary shoes. He's meant to face extremely deadly characters and challenges, but you know he's going to succeed so it ruins the parts that were meant to be suspenseful. Also, I'm not a fan of kids books that have a villain who shows FAR better leadership skills through his learned experience than a "hero" that just believes they're a great leader due to fate; it's a garbage message that creates poor future real life management. FYI, a girl mouse is treated like a prize at the end of this book, so read into that however you like. Anyhow, a fairly easy fictional adventure to read, but not a great overall moral lesson.

Just found a new favorite series. The reason I even read this book was based on a game inspired by it called Ghost of a Tale (amazing game, highly recommend it). A tail of adventure, awesome characters, slight romance, action, and of course death; yes, it's not a child's book. I thought it was a child's book until characters were killed, after reading through the first one the story gripped me and it became a roller coaster of wondering who was next and how. I loved the details of this book, each chapter was something new and it didn't drag on at all like other books do. The adventuring scenes were amazing as well. All in all, awesome book and will read the next one. Spoilers ahead: Something I didn't like; Matthias knowing how to use the sword; I forgive the Asmodeus death due to sheer luck but fighting Cluny, how did he become so skilled without training? Unless it is magic or he's just that in-tune with Martin's spirit I just can't see him wielding the sword effectively.

About the author

"I sometimes think it ironic for an ex-seaman, longshoreman, truck driver, policeman, bus driver, etc., to find success writing children's novels," says Brian Jacques (pronounced "Jakes"). Yet it is all too true. With the publication of his first children's book in 1987, the award-winning Redwall, Jacques' fresh talent has received exceptional praise from reviewers in the United States and England. Newbery Award winner Lloyd Alexander called it "a fine work, literate, witty, filled with the excitement of genuine storytelling. Young people will surely be captivated. I hope they give their elders a chance to share the delights."

A well-known radio personality in his native Liverpool--as well as an actor, stand-up comic, and playwright--Brian Jacques is the host of "Jakestown" on BBC Radio Merseyside. Ever the performer, Jacques is well-known for applying his acting and entertainment background to his lively presentations to legions of young fans at schools across the United States and England.

Brian Jacques was born in Liverpool, England on June 15th, 1939. Along with forty percent of the population of Liverpool, his ancestral roots are in Ireland, County Cork to be exact.

He grew up in the area around the Liverpool docks. His interest in adventure stories began at an early age with reading the books of: Daniel Defoe, Sir Henry Rider Haggard, Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Thomas Malory, Robert Michael Ballantyne, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Kenneth Grahame. He attended St. John's School, an inner city school that had its playground on the roof. On his first day at St. John's, at the age of ten, he had an experience that marked his potential as a writer. When given an assignment of writing a story about animals, he wrote about the bird that cleaned a crocodile's teeth. The teacher could not, and would not, believe that a ten year old could write that well. When young Brian refused to falsely say that he had copied the story, he was caned as "a liar". He had always loved to write, but it was only then, that he realized that he had a talent for writing.

Some teachers at St. John's proved to be good role models. As Mr. Jacques recalls:

"My favourite teacher was Mr. Austin Thomas. He looked like Lee Marvin. Big Man. A Captain in World War II. He came to school on a big bush bike with the haversack on back. He was a man's man. Always fair. I was fourteen at the time when Mr. Thomas introduced the class to poetry and Greek literature. (Because of him, I saved seven shillings and sixpence to buy The Iliad and The Odyssey at this dusty used book shop.)"

This interest in poetry extended to Wordsworth, Tennyson, and Goldsmith.It was also at St. John's that Brian met a teacher, Alan Durband (who also taught two Beatles, Paul McCartney and George Harrison), who, more than thirty years later would bring about a major change in his life.

After Brian finished school at fifteen, he set out to find adventure as a merchant seaman. He travelled to many far away ports, including New York, Valparaiso, San Francisco, and Yokohama. Tiring of the lonely life of a sailor, he returned to Liverpool where he worked as a railway fireman, a longshoreman, a long-distance truck driver, a bus driver, a boxer, a bobby (Police Constable 216D), a postmaster, and a stand-up comic.

Penguin mourns the passing of celebrated children’s book author Brian Jacques