This one is now one of my favorites in the series.

To put this simply, I don't have much to say about "The Long Patrol" because I had a difficult time getting excited about it. At about a fifth of the way through things seemed to start breaking off, once again taking away from any one particular storyline. I was looking forward to watching Tammo go on this adventure to try to make his way onto the Long Patrol, but his storyline seemed to just peter out before he even got to Redwall Abbey. Instead of staying with him, we're treated to lengthy asides about the crumbling south wall of Redwall Abbey and Lady Cregga at Salamandastron, both of which, for the most part, did not offer much in the way of character or plot development in my opinion. Damug Warfang, the big bad, also did not strike me as a particularly deep character. Overall, it was hard for me to get through "The Long Patrol" primarily due to a lack of focus and character development. However, "The Long Patrol" does get 3 stars instead of 2 because the title actually refers to a central aspect of the novel.

Thrilling story where Redwall is mortal danger. Tremendous acts of bravery and selflessness. Rabbits are heroes. Lots of death and destruction, which is true in all wars. Shows the terrible impact of evil leaders, particularly on a non-moral society.

I think the main issue is it didn’t really seem to have much of a cohesive plot.

Any readers of Redwall have been curious about the famed hares of the Long Patrol from early on. This next chapter in the series follows the adventures of Tammo, a young hare that longs to be a member of the Long Patrol hares of Salamandastron, just like his mother and father. A fiesty youngster, seemingly always in trouble, Tammo runs away to join the Long Patrol with the help of his mother, and her old friend, a nomadic squirrel, Russa Nodrey. Along the way, Russa teaches Tammo invaluable lessons. By chance, they encounter a small group of Long Patrol hares, who are scouting the land for vermin. Back at Redwall, a group of youngsters we met in "The Pearls of Lutra"--Tansy, Cracklyn and Arven--have grown into the elders of the Abbey. Abbess Tansy and her friends must figure out how to repair the south wall of the Abbey and discover the mysteries that lead to its collapse. Meanwhile, the evil Rapscallion leader, Damug Warfang and his army of merciless vermin, are wandering the countryside, on their way to Redwall Abbey to conquer it. The Redwall elders accept the help of Tammo and the Long Patrol hares to defend their beloved home. Thankfully, Lady Cregga Rose Eyes, the badger leader of Salamandastron and the remaining Long Patrol hares are also in pursuit of the Rapscallion army...I thought "The Pearls of Lutra" was one of the more sad adventures in this series, but "The Long Patrol" definitely had a more somber tone as well. But as always, Jacques talent of creating a spellbinding tale of friendship, bravery, adventure and growth did not disappoint.

Enjoyed this one, I've noticed that the stories with badgers and hares in it tend to be my favourites. The vermin were once again pretty generic but I enjoyed lady cregga Rose eyes (cool name) and Tammo. I liked that Tammo dreamed of joining the long patrol but discovered the price of war and glory along the way, he didn't take any joy in killing and that was refreshing for a hare. It was nice to see how the Abbey had progressed under tansy and interesting that the mantle of Abbey warrior had passed on to a squirrel, the pain the arse dibbun Arven from The pearls of lutra. All in all a great read, Marlfox next!

This is one of the sadder Redwall books, IMO, but still very, very good. I do like getting to see the full Long Patrol in action and some different challenges than usual. Also, reoccurring characters are a delightful thing.

So as a Middle Schooler this was easily in my top 3 Redwall books, but rereading it now as an adult I don't find it nearly as interesting, even compared to the other Redwall books that I've re-read. There are two entire plotlines which are essentially irrelevant (the owls + the exploration of the caverns under the wall) and then the Long Patrol spends the entire book talking about the battle to come, which then only lasts about 10 pages. I had fond memories of this book as being an action-packed Redwall novel filled with thrilling battles and I'm a bit disappointed to have discovered on my reread that my memory was completely off. I still love the world and Jacques' writing style, but I wish I wouldn't have gone back to this specific entry.

Quite good, I'm sure. There isn't much else to say about it, I'm afraid, for, seeing as all the Redwall books end up being more or less the same, I've already said everything by reviewing other books in the series.

I liked the hares from Salamandastron, so I gave this one a shot because it's mostly about them hares.

It was one of the weaker Redwall books I've read. I'm starting to realize that Redwall is one of those things where each installment can only be as good as its villain. And the Rapscallion Army wasn't all that interesting. First, they had already lost a major battle before the events of the book. Second, the leader kept on executing his own troops and sending off scouting parties to get killed by shrews. So I never felt that the bad guys were really much of a threat. Plus, the main character doesn't have a whole lot to do.

On the other hand, some things are also done really well! The audiobook was great. Scouser Supreme Brian Jacques himself serves as the narrator, and a full cast do all the voices. As always, there are some wonderful supporting characters (including a wandering squirrel maid and a rabbit warrior who has taken too many blows to the head and can only make drum noises).

My favorite entry of the series since early on, probably because it adjusts the formula juuuust enough to hit familiar but not identical notes. Genuine character stakes despite knowing that good will triumph over evil, and the best version yet of the cavalry showing up in the darkest hour. S'death on the wind.

( RIP Rockjaw Grang - we will never forget his sacrifice, a truly perilous hare

Definitely a solid read in the Redwall series, with Brian Jacques's usual attention to detail when it comes to food and fighting. You'll like this if you're a Hare fan. I will say that a few parts did drag on, but it's still overall a pretty great book especially if you're a fan of the series.