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The Redwall Novels of Brian Jacques |
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The SF Site Reader's Guide to Fantasy, Part I
Click on any of the covers below for a larger image.
"Yeah, we'd love to do something on the Redwall books," I tell Bettina nostalgically.
"David Soyka did a feature on The Great Redwall Feast last month and our readers
loved it. We could do survey piece on the hardcover reprints, maybe, or a look at the
latest novels. How many is he up to now?"
"Eleven," says Bettina. "And the next one, Marlfox, is due in February."
"Eleven?" Clearly I haven't been keeping up. That's a lot of activity for
a bunch of mice. Time to backtrack. "Well, yeah, that'd bury any single reviewer. We'll
focus on the ones still in print. Tell you what -- send us just what's in print, and
we'll work on some coverage on those, okay?"
Right about now my finely tuned publisher senses are tingling, and I'm picturing the Brian
Jacques shelf I saw last week at Borders. Handsome thick hardcovers, all lined in an
impressive row. A lot of hardcovers. "Uh, Bettina, how many are still in print?"
"All of them."
"All of them?"
"Yes. What was your address again?"
Now, maybe this doesn't mean a lot to you. But perhaps you're not an established
science fiction author who just watched your Hugo Award-winning novel from the early nineties
go out of print. Or a mid-list author finishing a three-volume series, already getting letters
from frustrated readers who can't find the first two volumes. Unless your name is Stephen
King or Robert Jordan, you get used to having your work go out of print. And no matter who
you are, you don't get used to having your small print-run paperbacks returned to
print in hardcover by a major publisher, ten years after they first appeared.
About a week after my conversation with Bettina an extremely heavy box is delivered
to my office by a cursing UPS officer. Carefully packed inside are eleven Philomel hardcovers
bearing the name Brian Jacques, decorated with mice, hares, evil-looking rats, and furry
creatures of all persuasions. Almost 4000 pages of heroic rodentry. Yowzah.
The Tale of Redwall Abbey
Redwall (368 pages, 1986), the first volume in the tale, is really the story of the
young mouse Matthias, who as
the book opens is eagerly preparing for a great feast at the Abbey with his friend, Brother Alf.
As Matthias helps escort the abbey's guests home he witnesses the passing of a wagon
pulled by a terrorized black horse -- and catches a glimpse of a giant one-eyed rat, far
larger than any he's even seen.
When the danger finally becomes clear to all the immediate reaction is to flee,
abandoning Redwall to the attackers. But Matthias has other plans. With the
help of his compatriots he convinces the Abbey to mount a defense... while he himself
tries desperately to decode the many ancient inscriptions on walls and behind paintings
believed to be written by the great Martin the Warrior. The
inscriptions are part of a puzzle, which legend says will lead
to the hiding place of the sword of Martin himself -- a weapon that could well mean the
difference between death and survival for the desperate defenders of Redwall.
The version we have is the 10th anniversary edition, with attractive new art (including six
full-color plates and a new cover) by Troy Howell, the cover artist for all of Philomel's U.S.
hardcover editions. Howell's artwork has displaced rather than supplemented the fine line
drawings of Gary Chalk, whose interior art is scattered throughout the other books, but is
still a fine addition.
Of Mice and Men
My immediate reaction on starting Redwall perhaps was typical: why mice?
In fact, why the urge to anthropomorphize these fine stories at all? They're exciting
tales with nicely developed characters in a simple but colorful setting, one that might
just as easily been England, circa 1450. Yes, there's a fine tradition of adventure tales
featuring furry heroes, from The Wind in the Willows to 101 Dalmatians to
the classic Watership Down, and Jacques clearly has designs
on the same audience. But none of those tales displaced humans with the effectiveness of
a Neutron bomb -- leaving buildings, roads, and swords intact. Mice with sandals
are one thing, but rats traversing the country in a horse-driven wagon? C'mon.
But it doesn't take much to see that the Critter Cast of Redwall serves a broader
purpose. Their nature clearly signals the tone of the story -- that of an epic fable of
good vs. evil -- far more succinctly than, say, an advertising campaign could.
The novel's furry inhabitants also provide the author an economy of storytelling, as Jacques
draws liberally on established stereotypes to quickly set the stage: evil rats, peaceful
mice, cunning foxes, and et cetera. And stereotypical or not,
Jacques' characters and storylines are surprisingly compelling, and the rapid pace of these
tales is one of their key strengths.
Jacques also adds something new to the mix: a fascination with food.
The traditional charm of the furry-animal setting is surprisingly enhanced by a
pageantry of berries, nuts, and oddly appealing forest concoctions -- which seems a very
natural element in any epic involving creatures who spend most of their
lives burying food and then trying to remember where they put it. There's also a
touch of class struggle in these tales, heightening the tension with classical themes
of the downtrodden hero, and plenty of British humor and dialect. All in all, Jacques
has mined his far share of themes from traditional and Young Adult literature, and
repackaged them in fine form for a modern audience.
The Sequels
When the inhabitants awake the next morning, however, they make a horrifying discovery.
The Woodland children are missing, including brave Mattimeo, and no tracks give a clue to
their whereabouts. The masked fox was none other than Slager the Cruel, the almost
legendary enemy of Redwall, and now it's up to
Mattimeo and his companions to somehow stop Slagar and his band of marauders.
Badger heroes stole the limelight in Mariel of Redwall, but they step to center stage in
the fifth volume in the series, Salamandastron (Philomel Books, 393 pages, 1992).
Salamandastron is the mountain of fire,
home to the great fortress of the same name ruled by the wise old badger
Lord Urthstripe the Strong. It's a place of legend in song and history for the inhabitants
of Redwall. But when Ferhago the Assassin, an evil weasel, attacks the mountain
stronghold with his corps of vermin, the great badger warriors find themselves in a
desperate struggle to regain their land from evil invaders. Urthstripe leads the animals
of the fortress against the siege as Mara, warrior maiden and Urthstripe's adopted
daughter, finds herself at the heart of the action with Redwall inhabitants Samkim, a young
squirrel, and his molemaid friend, Arula -- who may have discovered and lost the
sword of Martin the Warrior.
The next book in the series travels back to the earliest days of the saga with a grand
tale of Martin the Warrior (Philomel Books, 375 pages, 1993), founder of Redwall.
It's the sixth published book but the first in the sequence, featuring the story of Martin's
Martin's journey from the pit of despair to the eventual leadership of a noble and brave
band of protectors -- a band which confronts Badrang's horde of weasels, ferrets, foxes, and
rats head on, and eventually storms his evil hold in a final, bloody battle --
is vintage Jacques, and a tale fitting of the legend that's been hinted at
for so many volumes. One of the most beloved of the Redwall books, Martin the Warrior
has moments of great tragedy, but also legendary heroism.
For the seventh installment Jacques leaps about in the time line again, this time with a
sequel to Mariel of Redwall which takes place between that book and Salamandastron
(if you're already getting confused with the sequence -- and I certainly was at this point
-- check out the handy
series chronology, below). The Bellmaker (Philomel Books, 336 pages, 1994)
features the feisty Mariel and her father, Joseph the Bellmaker. Joseph has not heard news
of his daughter's fate for several seasons, and is growing concerned. When Martin the Warrior
appears to him in a dream with a warning, he is driven to action. Soon he is sailing south
with a small group of loyal companions to face off against another classic Jacques villain,
the diabolic Foxwolf Nagru, who has not only conquered the kingdom of Southward with his
bloodthirsty rat hordes, but in the process has imprisoned Mariel and her companions.
Once again we follow the separate adventures of a number of brave bands,
heroes who only come together for the final battle, this time between the Squirrel-King Gael
and the vicious Nagru. At this stage in the series it's almost a formula, but still a successful one.
When a horde of vermin attack Redwall, led by none other than Swartt Sixclaw himself, Veil finds himself facing a
very difficult decision. Should he join Swartt's band in their rampage, or side with the only creature to ever
show him kindness, in battle against his true father? Outcast of Redwall asks tough questions on the true
nature of good and evil, and at times Jacques draws on a smaller canvas to tell a tale of heightened poignancy.
The following year saw the publication of the first illustrated Redwall storybook: The Great
Redwall Feast (Philomel Books, 64 pages, 1996; illustrated by Christopher Denise). A gorgeously
illustrated epic poem detailing the events surrounding a surprise feast for the Father Abbot of Redwall,
The Great Redwall Feast introduced the colorful characters of Redwall to an even younger audience, who
found a great deal to enjoy in Jacques' storytelling ability and natural rhythm of language.
The young hedgehog maid Tansy is determined to locate the Tears of All Oceans, six missing rose-colored
pearls said to inspire passion and greed in everyone they encounter. But the pearls have left a cryptic trail
of death and deception in their wake and -- even worse -- their disappearance has attracted the attention of
Ublaz, ruler of a tropical isle beyond where the sun sets. With the help of her friends Tansy sets out from Redwall
to locate the pearls, each hidden separately along with a single clue to guide you to the next. As the search
continues the stakes grow higher for Tansy, as the life of someone she holds very dear soon hangs in the balance.
And all the while the dark brood of monitor lizards and corsairs under the flag of Ublaz grows restless...
The Latest Chapter
At the abbey, a band of small creatures has gathered under the command
of the Long Patrol to defend Redwall from its latest threat. The vicious Damug Warfang has
succeeded his father as Firstblade of all Rapscallions, and has lead the thousand seafaring
Greatrats who survived the failed assault on Salamandastron inland toward Mossflower Woods,
seeking plunder and riches. When they learn the southern wall of the Abbey is in desperate
need of repair, their set their sights on Redwall.
Jacques weaves these three parallel story lines together into a single taunt tale, often building
suspense by switching scenes at the height of the action. As the Abbess and her brave
companions probe the underground, the Long Patrol -- with their frisky new recruit
Tammo -- arrives to coordinates defense with a column from Salamandastron, hatching
a scheme to confront the evil Rapscallions before they reach the vulnerable abbey. And for the
first time Tammo learns what life, death, and honor really mean.
Coming up this February is the twelfth volume in the series, already released in Britain:
Marlfox (Philomel Books, 1999). Details on it are sketchy, but it looks like another
handsome addition to
the rapidly growing legend of Redwall Abbey -- and to the legend of Brian Jacques, who
continues to add to his fan base around the world. The tales of Redwall's heroic
inhabitants have delighted millions of readers in many languages, and that shows no signs
of stopping any time soon. The field of fantasy literature should consider itself lucky
-- there are few writers with such storytelling ability, much less such stamina. If you
haven't sampled the books yourself, I would suggest you correct the situation immediately.
Join us next month for the next installment of The SF Site Reader's Guide.
You know where to find us.
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