My favorite in the series so far other than Mariel (or Mossflower).

Like all other Redwall books so far its a bit formulaic. But still fun nonetheless. The shifting perspectives between Samkim/Arula, Mara and Pikkle and the shrews, Thrugg/Dumble, Redwall, and Salamandastron kept a much-needed amount of levity in the story.

Even though I started this series for escapism and nostalgia, it was also a bit interesting to see how the Redwallers handled an outbreak.

Salamandastron is the mountain of the badgers. it will come under attack in this story. A young rebel will learn a painful lesson. Redwall Abbey is hit with a deadly illness, which leads to a search party being sent to find a specific flower needed for the cure. The birds of prey are introduced in this novel. There are moments of humor. There is a story of good and evil, life and death contained in these pages.

I ought to make a separate bookshelf at this point for talking animal books.

Salamandastron is the second book I've read of the Redwall series, after Redwall, and the fifth book in the series overall. The books were not released in chronological order according to the series' timeline, and hundreds of years (or at least multiple generations) seem to pass between each book, so reading them in chronological order is not particularly important.

This book follows multiple different storylines that focus primarily on the titular badger stronghold of Salamandastron (which is pronounced Sal-a-MAN-das-tron, not SAL-a-man-DAS-tron, as a few different Redwall fans elucidated for me) as it is attacked by a horde of unpleasant animals led by the Assassin Ferahgo. The secondary storyline takes place within Redwall Abbey itself, where first the sword of the legendary Martin the Warrior is discovered and immediately stolen, and then, as soon as our heroes leave to recover it, a horrible fever overtakes the abbey. The world of Redwall is intricate and diverse, with encounters throughout the book that include the likes of toads, shrews, falcons, an eagle, and some kind of sea monster as well. Jacques can definitely come up with an interesting, interwoven plot and a well-developed world.

My gripe with Brian Jacques, at least in this book, is in his characterization - both of the Redwall books I've read so far have featured cartoonish, evil-for-its-own-sake villains that don't ultimately make for a particularly compelling villain other than the obvious thread they pose to Mossflower. Ferahgo sounds like a character I would have come up with at age 13 - a BADASS ASSASSIN with THROWING KNIVES who's like, ALWAYS SMILING. As an adult, it's kind of eye-rolling. Then again, maybe I'm just not his primary target audience. Almost every character is either very obviously good or very obviously bad, to the reader if not to the characters. The other thing, and this is just a personal thing - I'm sure there are people out there who love this about his work - is that it feels like 80% of the characters speak in some kind of accent, and the accents are written out in a very exaggerated, phonetic way that often leads to entire conversations that are a nuisance to read. It doesn't help that the dialogue itself isn't that great - I'd say at least 75-80% of all conversations in this book were either someone picking a fight with someone or people talking about food (or, in one instance, a challenge to see who can eat the most, so I guess both).

It also seems just a little strange to me now how the tone of these books shifts pretty drastically from 'idyllic, Wind in the Willows-esque paradise where all woodland creatures live in harmony' to battle scenes where characters are killed in fairly explicit detail (although never quite so explicit as, say, A Song of Ice and Fire, naturally), but I guess this is kind of a 'young adult' book in that sense, or maybe a book for like, middle schoolers or high schoolers, rather than the little kids I had initially thought of. Watership Down handled those grisly battles well, although Watership Down also didn't have the storybook setting quite like Redwall Abbey.

Those complaints aside, it was a fun and interesting story with multiple narratives woven amongst each other, and overall I liked it.

This was another great addition to the Redwall collection and added some much needed depth to parts of the world that we had only really glimpsed at in the past. I really enjoy the way that Jacques jumps back and forth through the timeline of this world from book to book. It allows the reader to constantly have new characters and situations while all the while making the other stories gain weight and meaning with newly added details.
Something about this book really drew me in. I have always loved the badgers and seem to be drawn to the passages that have them taking center stage. They are already the obvious powerhouses of the series in terms of strength but the added mystique that seems to encompass them adds a different element to the story.
This book while grasping at some familiar notes from the past books adds a bit of darkness to the world with the amount of war and treachery that seems to take place. I hope this is a trend that continues because it certainly made me more compelled to continue through as it seemed like no character was safe. The portions about weapons and how there is no such thing as a good or bad weapon is intriguing as well as we see that any weapon can be used for evil, it always depends on the user.
Overall, I loved this addition to the series and am ready for the next one!

I'm giving all these books a 4, because they basically GOT me hooked on fantasy I think. I read all of these in elementary school, and still have fond memories floating around, even if the books are shit. Here's a review from my 10 year old mind. The rad legendary weapons, (with the channels etched in for blood flow, which i found super hardcore). The foods, the booze, honey mead and apple wine or whatever. Come to think of it, these books might also be a little responsible for my alcoholism, too.

one of the better redwall books this far in the series.

Includes my favorite and least favorite parts of Redwall.

First read back in August 2019, this review is from then.


Quite why I started the Redwall series with Salamandastron I have idea, as it is the fifth book published but the eighth in the chronology. Maybe because it had a badger on, and I have a soft spot for badgers?

Salamandastron follows two main story lines which lead into one another very nicely – I am unsure if this style is in-keeping with the other books. Luckily for me, I found my not having read the other books in the series to not hamper my enjoyment of this book which can sometimes be the case with series.

Aimed primarily at children, Salamandastron is a quaint and enjoyable read. The characters are well written and very typical of ones you would find in any fantasy novel. The book as a whole is incredibly reminiscent of the genre and has lots of nods to typical genre tropes, I always appreciate this in a novel.

The character Ferahgo the Assassin is the prominent villain in this book and I though his exceptionally well written, cunning, cruel and manipulative – exactly as you would expect. That being said, the characters themselves are very black and white and the book is lacking character arcs, but I guess that comes with the territory of having so many characters included in the story, and writing for a younger audience.

The story itself is beautifully written, the depths that Brian Jacques goes into when describing the scene really help not only paint the picture in your mind, but also make you hungry. The Redwall books are known for their descriptions of food, knowing this going into the book I was still in awe of the feasts mentioned and frequently stopped to get a snack. I think I might have gained a few pounds reading Salamandstron.

I enjoyed Salamandastron very much and I do fully intend to read the others in the series – at 22 books long that will take some time. I may have to buy them all then book a week or two off work and just read solidly for it…that actually sounds like a fantastic idea.

–

Favourite quotes and passages from Salamandastron


The Assassin leapt on a nearby rock and twirled his daggers until they flashed like wheels of light in the sun. His blue eyes twinkled like brilliant twin pits of evil as he threw back his head and roared.

Despite the urgency of their mission, neither of the two young ones could help noticing the beauty of Mossflower, draped in summer green and studded with small islands of colour from flowering bush and shrub.

Hazy sunlight pierced a pale=washed dawn, sending streaks of gold lancing to banish the sea mists over Salamandastron.

Dragonflies hummed and once a kingfisher flashed past like a brilliant jewel.

Instantly the surface was restored to a mirrorlike calm.

Dawn in the high mountains was a strange sight. Thrugg shivered as he peered into the whiteness. Clouds had descended upon the peaks, turning the whole place into a land of cotton wool.

“…Autumn is harvest time: the fruits and crops gathered in, October ale is made, chestnuts are candied in honey. We sit up late in Cavern Hole around a great fire, enjoying supper and listening to the stories and songs of bygone days. The mornings are quiet and misty. Leaves rustle in Mossflower Woods, and you can feel the dew on the grass beneath your paws, smell the bread and cakes being baked in the kitchens, lie in the orchard on a sunny afternoon and eat a russet apple or a ripe plum. Oh yes, Redwall is like no other place.”

Another quest (or two), trouble at home, some bad guys to kill, and happy ending
New characters in similar stories, but still enjoyable. Will I make it through all 22 books?

This was in many ways different from the other Redwall books I've read so far, but in a good way. This centered more around the badgers' mountain and other peoples and places than just Redwall Abbey, but I enjoyed it all the same. My favorite parts were definitely the falcons and the eagles because they had such lovely Scottish highland accents. Those were so much fun to read!

My library books hadn't come in, so instead I read this random kid's book a friend gave me. I vaguely remembered the series from my childhood. I thought it would annoy me to read a book for babies. And then before long I'm gasping with surprise and weeping over the deaths of valiant rodents.

How are babies supposed to keep all these characters straight? How are babies supposed to care this much about the details of cakes and pastries? How are babies supposed to emotionally handle this much violence and death? This book rocks.

The Redwall series was my favorite as a kid. I remembered more of this one than I expected to.

There is definitely too much going on and too many characters. The final third of the book was a slog. I felt myself wondering what was the point of this book? Did it have a message or theme? Why was Redwall included at all? The most interesting part was the relationship between the father and son weasels.