This is the first Redwall book I found slightly tedious. The characters -- whether good or evil -- are astonishing one-dimensional, and lack a certain depth to them that we have seen in previous works of the series. Nevertheless, the action moves along at a brisk clip, and Jacques does a masterful job of weaving disparate storylines and narratives into a thrilling (if somewhat predictable) conclusion. At the end of the day, as is the case with Redwall, all's well that ends well.

7/10

5 stars from the 10ish year old me reading her first ever fantasy novel. It got me hooked, I devoured the whole series, then went searching for more like it. Present day me gives it 3.5 stars. Jacques is an excellent writer; I really do love the way he blends multiple story lines throughout the books only to tie them up together in one neat little package at the end. The characters and the world are just lovely. What I wouldn't give to live at Redwall Abbey! However adult me recognizes that each books plot is almost exactly the same, and doesn't really like having a moral lesson shoved down my throat at every opportunity.
All the same, I look forward to reading these with my little ones someday. I think they are the perfect stories to instill a love of reading into a child.

Samkim and Arula set out from Redwall Abbey to save the sword of Martin the Warrior that was stolen from them. On the way they make countless friends, including Mara the badger and Pikkle the hare, who fled Salamandastron in search of adventure and freedom, only to find out that their beloved mountain was under attack from an evil weasel named Ferahgo. Urthstripe, the badger Lord of the mountain and his loyal hares must battle to save their home. Back at Redwall, the Abbey has been hit with a deadly sickness, and 2 unlikely heroes, an old otter named Thrugg and his baby mouse friend Dumble must set out to find the medicine that will save everyone. Again, Jacques weaves an adventurous tale from several perspectives, full of friendship and camaraderie, courage in battle, and finally coming together to help one another despite differences. One of my favorites so far.

Beberapa tahun lalu, waktu sedang main di 'rumah' Gusfina, Camo-sama cerita-cerita soal komik Redwall yang waktu itu ndak jadi dibuat filmnya. Pas itu aku tertarik tapi sadar kalo blom sanggup beli komik impor. Ndilalah kok ya pas browsing marketplace nemu novelnya (╯✧▽✧)╯!!
"Hah?! Ini Redwall? Redwall yang dibilang Camo??"
Langsung nyari info di gudrit ini, ternyata novelnya berseri (✧ω✧) Dengan semangat bonek membara, sikat aja novel yang (harganya) terjangkau. Dapat beberapa, nomer seri ndak urut, tapi percuma jadi bonek kalo gentar karenanya~

Yang pertama dibaca ya judul ini (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ♡
~dan langsung jatuh hati (⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄<⁄ ⁄)❤

Ada rasa, "Ke mana aja aku selama ini? Kok baru tau buku seseru inii?!!" Karena novel ini berisi semua yang aku pengenin: Tokoh2nya hewan semua, dan nyeritain pertempuran, pengkhianatan, kesetiaan, pengorbanan, keberanian, dan petualangan (✧ω✧)☆ Ada monster juga! Kurang lengkap apa, coba~ σ(≧ε≦σ) ♡

Dan biarpun full-action, tapi ada banyak sisipan komedi dan acara makan-makan ( ^ ﹃ ^ ) sukaa~~ Sisipan ini ngga bikin keseruan terhenti, tapi malah jadi hiburan biar ga terlalu gersang.

Jadi ini nyeritain soal benteng Salamandastron yang dipimpin seekor badger...

...yang kuat berwibawa, tapi ndak sanggup mengendalikan anak angkatnya, Mara, yang memilih keluar dari benteng. Sementara itu, ada sekelompok bandit yang diketuai seekor weasel...

...yang lihai dan licik, yang mengincar harta di Salamandastron.
(*ini kok foto weasel-nya imut banget //mimisan XD)

Selain itu, ada biara Redwall yang penghuninya riang gembira, yang tiba-tiba panik karena pedang pusaka yang disucikan di biara itu dicuri! Jalinan kisah perjuangan tentara benteng, petualangan tupai dan mole anggota biara yang mencari pedang, dan perjalanan Mara di tempat-tempat yang berbahaya, semuanya diceritakan saling-silang tanpa bikin bingung. Aksi bertubi-tubi! (☆ω☆)
Dan ketika jalinannya saling terkait, rasanya makin w(°ｏ°)w puas!

Pas baca beberapa ulasan, ada yang menyebutkan kalau novel-novel di seri Redwall ini vibes-nya sama. Aku rasa, aku ngga keberatan (≧◡≦) Toh tokoh-tokohnya beda, dan petualangannya pun bakal beda~

Di Salamandastron ini, tokoh favoritku adalah si Arula, the mole-maid ^o^/ yang ngedampingin si Samkin Tupai dalam petualangan mencari pedang; soalnya Arula bukan cuma berani tapi juga kocak

Another enjoyable woodlands romp that was filled with the most delicious descriptions of pies, puddings, creams, nuts, fruits, and it goes on and on.

I was surprised with the amount of deaths in this instalment, though, and on the side of the good guys, too. Possibly one of the sadder endings so far, but it was still a satisfying one.

My first experience with Brain Jacques, and boy, the rumors were true!
Salamandastron offers:

1. A wonderfully detailed and absorbing atmosphere

2. A memorable cast of fun characters

3. Countless descriptions of meals and feasts. Jacques seems to suffer from some strange psychological compulsion that forces him to tell us what each and every character had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the duration of the book.

so intensely sad but courageous and thrilling with charcters to change us one with humor two with vengance and tgwo with loss and love but also one witgh courage and strength to fight for change a nd the past

When I started Salamandastron, I was in love with the cozy atmosphere and the sweet animal characters. But that was over two months ago. And I just finished it today...
I could only read this book in small doses, because it was simply too boring for me as an older teen to get into the story. If I had read it several years ago, I probably would have enjoyed it more.
I also had trouble getting all the characters straight. There isn't really a main character at all. The story follows a TON of different characters, the good guys and the villains, which made it hard to connect with any of them. And I was getting confused about who lived in which setting. On top of that, several characters had strange accents, which were written out the way they were supposed to sound, making it look like another language. I don't enjoy deciphering dialogue while I'm trying to read.
But it was a classic tale of good triumphing over evil, and totally clean. Worth trying out if you're a younger reader!

As I’ve finished the first 5 books of a Redwall I am starting to notice the lovely rhythms within each book. The Badger Lords, the young Redwall warriors, the evil vermin, the kind Abbey elders… and all the feasting! I love it. It’s repetitive in the best way. With a Redwall book you know good will always triumph! And a comfortable old feast in the orchard will always follow. Redwall! Logalog! Eulalia!

I didn't like Mattimeo, but I think this was the one where I decided I was really done with the series. It had ceased to have any meaning to me, and I felt like Jacques was just writing the same thing over and over and over.

This was another great Redwall story and might just be the pick of the bunch so far.

Salamandastron definitely has more plot lines going than any of it's predecessors, but managed them all with aplomb; I never felt that I wanted to skip any of them and was keen to see them all tie in with one another. It even featured quite a few darker moments, not shying away from character deaths, but balanced this nicely with some beautiful and emotional scenes. Lastly, as with every story in this series it features a veritable buffet of fine dining and I would never recommend to read this on an empty stomach as most of it sounded delicious.

Because of how I break up my series I’m probably late to the party on this, but starting to see some very solid lines Jacques follows when he writes these books.

All five Redwall books so far have started off with a feast, followed by some characters setting off on a quest and the villain usually laying siege either to the Abbey or somewhere else, or kidnapping someone. The villain’s always dangerous but surrounded by three stooges-esque goons, and many of their plans are foiled by the good guys. There’s always a prophecy involved around Martin or what’ll happen to the MCs, and many times large armies like the shrews join the final battle and save the day. There’s a hermit (or two) that’s there to ex machina some unsolvable problems, etc etc the list can go on.

But does that ruin the fun? Not at all. Salamandastron was a great time to read. If half stars were allowed this would be a 3.5.

For how repetitive some parts of the books seem, it’s impressive how much Jacques does to make every story different. In a small degree they’re like Lord of the Rings, where a lot of focus is placed on the journey; the characters along the way, challenges that come up, and the different environments they explore. I say explore because it really feels like that. We’re always following main characters that find themselves far from home in places they’ve never been, and Jacques is descriptive and entertaining in his writing.

There’s a lot of storylines in Salamandastron, I want to say more than in all the previous books. It’s almost too much but not quite, things stay engaging and everything converges neatly at the end. I had a couple of small gripes like everyone at Redwall being ok with Samkin and Arula (two kids) taking off after armed warriors, or everyone acting like Samkin almost killing a Redwaller with his bow was just him being a little scamp, but none of this ended up ruining the story.

There’s at least 22 books in this series so I’m excited to see how Jacques is gonna keep reinventing the wheel. Check this series out, it’s always a fun, relaxing read!