Redwall

Redwall is a series of fantasy novels by Brian Jacques, the first of which was released in 1986. The books are primarily aimed at children, but have fans of all ages. There is an animated TV series based on the books, the first season of which was released in 1999. It was later followed by two more seasons, based on the books "Mattimeo" and "Martin the Warrior". Production for that series is assumed to be finished, but if there is a fourth season, it will likely be based on "Mossflower".

The book series does not chronicle any one particular timeframe. Rather, it's set in many different periods in the history of Redwall Abbey. Some of the books focus on characters who in other volumes are historical figures (e.g., Martin the Warrior's father, Luke, in The Legend of Luke). Typically, those books are set before the founding of Redwall Abbey. Brian Jacques doesn't worry about writing prequels -- he's done many books out of chronological order. The newest Redwall novel, the High Rhulain, is due to come out in September 2005.

Contents

1 General description 2 Books of the Redwall series 3 Other Redwall-Related Books 4 External links

General description

The characters in the books are all non-human animals of some sort, most of which are capable of speech which is rendered into various dialects of English. With a few rare exceptions such as the monitor lizards from 'Pearls of Lutra' the animals in the Redwall books are native to Brian Jacques' home nation of Britain.

Despite the fact that it's a fantasy series, it contains no elements of magic, although, in some books, certain creatures are called "seers" and possess to varying degrees of reality (some are wholly or partially frauds) the ability to predict future events. It does contain several "monsters" but these are not mythical creatures, rather being some type of ferocious predator. These have included huge snakes (from Redwall and Triss), giant carnivorous fish (from Marlfox), and the "Deepcoiler", which could, potentially, be a giant eel (from Salamandastron). Also present a is a super-strong sword, often believed by vermin to be magical. This sword is forged from a meteorite's metal, and possesses qualities similar to that of mithril in other fantasy series.

A typical book in the Redwall series details a particular period in the history of Redwall Abbey. In all but a few cases, the book is about the inhabitants of Redwall and Mossflower Woods. Usually, there are at least two different stories going on -- for example, a typical book may contain a small expedition somewhere, and a large group of Redwallers at home fending off a vermin horde. Because of the widely spaced storylines (chronologically speaking), very few creatures are mentioned in more than one or two books except in a passing historical sense; one notable exception is Martin the Warrior, who appears in all books that take place after Martin the Warrior (including The Legend of Luke), even if only in spirit form or a more notable historical mention than with other characters. Also, Martin's sword (the aforementioned super-strong sword) appears in all of the books except Lord Brocktree.

Other recurring elements and characters in the Redwall series, include a Badger Lord or Badger Mother, a monsterous creature which is slain by the main hero, Dibbuns (baby woodlanders), the Skipper of Otters, and a Logalog (leader of the Guosim shrews).

Books of the Redwall series

There have been seventeen books published as of November, 2004, listed here in chronological order by publication. Book number 18, High Rhulain , is due Fall 2005.

• Redwall (1986)
• Mossflower (1988)
• Mattimeo (1989)
• Mariel of Redwall (1991)
• Salamandastron (1992)
• Martin the Warrior (1993)
• The Bellmaker (1994)
• Outcast of Redwall (1995)
• The Pearls of Lutra (1996)
• The Long Patrol (1997)
• Marlfox (1998)
• The Legend of Luke (1999)
• Lord Brocktree (2000)
• The Taggerung (2001)
• Triss (2002)
• Loamhedge (2003)
• Rakkety Tam (2004)
• High Rhulain (2005)

The books were not written in the order that the stories take place in the Redwall universe. Within the fictional world of Redwall, the stories take place in the following order:

• Lord Brocktree
• The Legend of Luke (Book II)
• Martin The Warrior
• Mossflower
• The Legend of Luke (Books I, III)
• Outcast of Redwall
• Mariel of Redwall
• The Bellmaker
• Salamandastron
• Redwall
• Mattimeo
• The Pearls of Lutra
• The Long Patrol
• Marlfox
• Taggerung
• Triss
• Loamhedge
• Rakkety Tam

The first four books take place before the construction of Redwall Abbey, while the fifth takes place during the construction. Some of the books also include sub-stories that take place at other times.

Other Redwall-Related Books

• The Great Redwall Feast 1996 (picture book)
• Redwall Map & Riddler 1998
• A Redwall Winter's Tale 2001 (picture book)
• Tribes of Redwall Badgers 2002
• Tribes of Redwall Otters 2002
• Tribes of Redwall Mice 2003

External links

• The official Redwall site (http://www.redwall.org/)
• The Redwall Encyclopedia (http://www.sullivanet.com/redwall/) reference of Redwall names
• Terrouge: A Redwall E-zine (http://www.terrouge.com/) includes monthly issues, and a forum
• The Long Patrol forums (http://forums.longpatrolclub.com/index.php) an internet fan forum for readers of the Redwall series