Loved the book!

My love of this book stems from the fact that I have always had a special place in my heart for the otters of redwall, and Bragoon was just especially badass. I've reread this book many times over the year, and found that each time it's still as exciting as the last.

Like "Outcast of Redwall" this book has a lot of potential but fails to deliver. A baby otter, Taggerung, is kidnapped and raised by a gang of murderous vermin thieves. Then he grows up and is inherently good simply because he is an otter, and he refuses to participate in his gang's evil doings. He deserts the gang and embarks on a quest to find his true identity.

I was hoping that the theme of morality would be explored, and Taggerung would mimic the behavior of his gang because that is what he was brought up to do, but he would be conflicted about it because of his genetics, and he would struggle to choose between the life of evil he knows or an honest life. Or something like that. Like "Outcast" this book could have explored the nature v. nurture idea but failed. I don't think its plausible that this otter spends his entire life in an environment of violence and crime but he never does anything even remotely wrong. Because of genetics he is noble and honest, despite his upbringing. At least in "Outcast" there was some ambiguity as to how evil the outcast was. Taggerung is indisputably 100% good.

I thought the relationship between the otter and his adopted father was interesting. The ferret loves his adopted son, but the otter doesn't love his adopted father; he only respects the ferret's leadership skills. This relationship should have been further explored. Another missed opportunity.

Also, the ending was disappointing. When it seemed like the story was over and it should have been wrapped up with a final chapter or two, it keeps going for about seven more chapters. It seems like the author finished the story but decided it wasn't long enough and added more things near the end. I thought these things were anti-climactic and contributed nothing to the story (I can't elaborate without spoiling the end, but if you've read it you know what I mean).

Despite its flaws, this book has some good plot twists and story elements. I give it two stars.

5+ stars (6/10 hearts). Imma have to reread all the Redwall books next year and rerate them because I am just now realizing HOW MUCH I love them. <3 They’re such a comfort to me!! And this book in particular I really loved.

To start off, it’s the opposite of “Outcast of Redwall,” with a Redwall babe being brought up by vermin. I was furious by the death of Tagg/Deyna’s father—HE WAS AMAZING.

These books are great starter fantasy for younger readers but can be enjoyed by just about anyone. The descriptions of food are mouthwatering. There are some genuinely funny moments as well and even some riddles. These aren't incredibly complex books, they deal with classic themes and don't often stray away from those and some people might consider that a big minus but for me and many others, these books give a sense of warmth and familiarity that is comforting. I think it is a good way to introduce someone to fantasy before they crack open something like LoTR or even Harry Potter, you can read these pretty quickly and the language is relatively easy although some of the dialects might take some getting used to. There are some dark moments and characters die. But it never goes too far with these things for a young kid I think you could probably read these at around 8 or 9. There are a lot of Redwall books and they do start to feel a bit too similar to each other but there are a few highlight books in the series and this is probably my personal favorite.

King of the story tellers is Brian Jacques. I love the animals, the songs, and vivid food descriptions wrapped around story plots. One of my favorite Authors.

Another great read! The world is created masterfully with brilliant depth, you really engage with each and every single character.

I had high hopes for this one, having been told by a couple of my Redwall-loving friends that this book was their favorite. And, having finished it, I see why. This one was a beautiful tale (honestly, what I had hoped Outcast of Redwall to be), and definitely one I look forward to reading again in future. Also, Taggerung is a total bean. I love him.

Review originally published on my blog, n  Nine Pagesn.

I was introduced to the world of Redwall long ago and grew up with my mouth watering for candied chestnuts and deeper ‘n ever pie and strawberry cordial. Brian Jacques (RIP) has a flare for description that I have always admired and continue to admire. No one writes a feast like Jacques, and he paints such beautiful pictures of the country in which his novels take place, pausing with his creatures beside a river to describe the flora and fauna, the flight of a dragonfly and the drape of wild strawberries down the sharp embankment into which the river cuts to create a sheltered ledge (I’m inventing my own landscape now rather than quoting or describing any of his, but you get the idea).

I’ve read and remember reading fewer of the Redwall novels than I would have thought. There are apparently 22, and I am now certain that I’ve read 5 of them, though I think I’ve read more that I’ve forgotten.

Jacques’ view of the creatures of Redwall and the surrounding country is starkly divided into good and evil. Badgers, hares, mice, otters, moles, squirrels, hedgehogs are good—just inherently, irrevocably good, as this tale proves. Rats, stoats, ferrets, weasels, foxes are irrevocably, inherently bad—cruel and viscous, the Orcs of Mossflower Country, though they are given far more personality and character than Tolkien ever gave the Orcs. I tend not to enjoy such stark divisions of good and evil (“the world isn’t split into good people and Death Eaters”), but I admit that rarely it is nice to escape into a world where a creature’s nature and alignment is possible to determine from a glance, to be given the excuse to think less, emphasize less, and still be able to be on the side of right.

In this novel, the otterbabe Deyna is kidnapped by the leader of a vermin clan and his father killed because Deyna is prophesied to be the Taggerung, an unmatched and unmatchable warrior, the most feared throughout all of the vermin clans known collectively as the Juska. Deyna is rechristened Taggerung and is raised as the clan chief’s son, but though he grows into an impressively strong and skilled fighter, Tagg refuses to kill. (Because of this I think too little is made of his first kill of an anthropomorphized creature later in the novel, admittedly a weasel who attacked Redwall, was hunting him with intent to kill, and hurt his own clansmen, including his chief, but early in the novel, Tagg refuses to kill one of the vermin members of the clan that raised him, beginning his banishment and his adventures, so one would think that this weasel’s death would still weigh on his conscience. Before even that he does kill an eel that is terrorizing a shrew clan, but the eel is more animalistic than humanized.)

This novel rambles more than some of the others in this series, perhaps because it has multiple protagonists in different parts of Mossflower Country as well as the regular competing plot that follows the villain. The book follows the life of Deyna, though it focues on the time after his banishment from the Juska, his long and roving return to Redwall Abbey. Having been banished from the Juska clans as a fifteen-seasons-old otter, he is hunted by his clansmen, meets a plethora of amusing families of voles and shrews and hedgehogs and one ebullient mouse named Nimbalo the Slayer, who becomes his travel companion and best friend. Meanwhile at Redwall, Deyna’s sister Mhera is trying to unravel a riddle that will determine the next abbot or abbess of Redwall. Honestly, there are several times I thought that the story ought to have come to an end (though if I’d thought about the series’ formula, I ought to have known that I would have to wait for an epilogue by the Abbey Recorder). Deyna’s story wrapped up quite well by the time that he was healed and back at the Abbey, Gruven’s story had not, and Jacques decided to end both plots and end the Juskarath before closing the novel.

The cast of this audiobook, though, sells the story, singing whenever necessary, with unique voices and accents appropriate to the character and species of each beast—and I was willing to follow them through whatever escapades Jacques had concocted. The “full cast” is not given nearly enough credit for their work—in fact, I can’t find their names anywhere on the case for this CD set—and I want to know their names. Jacques himself does the narration, which I always appreciate because you know then that you’re hearing this story as the author intended, each line precisely nuanced and inflected as he would have wanted and each word pronounced correctly.

The audio recording itself is probably a full 5 stars, but the story itself is merely a three.

I extra loved this one!

One of Jacques better stories, but it's hampered by a meandering, strange, impossible-to-solve treasure hunt that gets abandoned, and a second ending that focuses on an enemy that never really fit into the book to begin with. I really enjoyed Tagg's journey through this, but feel it could have been way better had the story been solely focused on him.

these are fun imaginative books