Like many, I grew up adoring the Redwall series, so it pains me to give this two stars now.

This past summer I found my collection of Redwall books — I have the first dozen — and chose to reread this one because it was, in my opinion at the time, the best of them.

And frankly, it isn't all that great.

The writing itself is depressingly mediocre, the plot (like all of them) meandering and predictable. The colloquial quirks of the different animal species (molespeech, the shrews, etc.) and the painstakingly detailed descriptions of Redwall feasts, which seemed so fun and colorful to my 11-year-old self, are now irritating and slow to muddle through. But the worst of it is the contrast between villains and good guys.

The heroes and their friends throughout the whole series are fond of making jokes, hurling insults, and pulling pranks at the expense of the current Big Bad and his or her minions. As a kid, this made the good guys seem clever and fun-loving, but as an adult all I can think is that the villains are so incredibly dim-witted (to the point of possibly diagnosable cognitive impairment) that the insults and pranks come off as cruel and bullying, an interminable barrage of low-risk cheap shots. Yes, this is even in light of the villains' participation in slavery/siege/acts of war.

Frankly, Martin is a temperamental little turd. I simply could not bring myself to root for him and his crew.

I'd still recommend these books to kids, if for no other reason than the positive, lasting impact it seems to have had on myself and others who were fortunate enough to read these at a young age. But if you're an adult who grew up traveling to Salamandastron and Mossflower and hold those memories dear, I'd suggest you do what I did not: let the memories sit unspoiled, and do not reread the books.

I'm finding that I love these Redwall books. The story of Martin was heartbreaking, engrossing and wonderful.

This book in the series gave you a background on why all the mice and moles really do believe in Martin the Warrior

I hadn’t thought of rereading these seriously until I realised that reading a childhood book was on the list for a reading challenge, and then my sister returned all my copies to make room on her shelves for her own books. Then I thought, well, why not? I remember that I found the books getting a bit repetitive as the series went on (and on, and on) but Martin the Warrior was the first I read, and it’s obvious why it hooked me as a kid. It’s a little bit deterministic — rats are evil, mice are good, shrews are quarrelsome, etc — but I know that’s tackled a little in later books with characters like Veil. I’m not sure it’s ever really dealt with, though.

One of the awesome things is the way it talks about food; all kinds of food that animals would actually eat, yet cooked in human ways. It’s a weird combination, or sounds it, until you read the book and then it just sounds tasty. I’m sure I’d like Grumm or Polleekin’s cooking…

Martin the Warrior ends on a sour, sad note. I think ultimately the sympathies lie with the peace of Noonvale, even while there’s understanding of the need for revenge that drives Felldoh and, to a lesser extent, Martin. It doesn’t bring any good to the characters, even though they’ve removed a threat from the world.

Definitely a good nostalgia read, despite the sadness, and perhaps a bit more nuanced than I remembered.

Originally posted here.

This was an amazing book! A lot of action and i like how everything fit together in the end. I didn't know how it would end like i can figure out others but this one had the suspence and action i like!

I have fond memories of my first introduction to this story 20 years ago. I didn't enjoy it as much on the re-read, but the premise is clever and the characters have heart. This is my kind of epic fantasy.

My first introduction to Brian Jacques, and from then on, I was a fan. I have to say, somehow this being the first of these books I read, has forever engraved it in my memory as something very fond. You fall in love with the animals.

This was one of my least favorite Redwall books, if I recall correctly, mostly because it's such a tragedy. Coming back to it, well, it's still not my favorite. But I did enjoy it much more than I used to — now I appreciate the message and impact of the tragedy far more than I used to.

All the Redwall books fairly well exemplify the "I do not love the spear for its sharpness" quote. When they glorify the heroes and the warriors, they do it because of how those heroes defend others. And this book, in particular, shows an astonishingly mature look at how that defense, how that life of a warrior, how a desire to fight, can break someone. Those who are able not to fight and who can choose not to fight are envied, not mocked — without losing respect for those who choose to fight in defense of others. And that tragedy of war and battle is shown, unflinchingly but sorrowfully, in a way that's mature yet appropriate even for the middle-grade audience.

This is not an amazing book in and of itself. But, like most of the Redwall books, it's still well worth reading.

I haven't read this since I was a kid, and I remembered the biggest details but had forgotten all sorts of bits from the middle. I did recall going in why it wasn't one of my favorites, which still held true on a reread, but it is an interesting story and I don't regret picking it up again. I don't think I'll come back to it again though.

I want to re-visit the Redwall universe in chronological order and this was the first chronological book available on Libro.fm.

I was really looking forward to the peaceful wholesomeness of the original Redwall book, but Martin the Warrior is pretty focused on the numerous and violent obstacles Martin encounters instead. I still enjoyed the enthusiastic descriptions of food and the friendships the develop in the story. I'm looking forward to reading Redwall at some point.

"Significantly better than the last book, Salamandastron, but I think the ending was forced and it never really felt like there were any significant stakes. It was still enjoyable and I liked the pirates."

Martin's story before Mossflower was more beautiful and tragic than I expected.