This book was good, but some parts were stupid.

Disclaimer: I read this book out loud for a bedtime story, so that may color my opinion. You could easily cut 1/2 the book, and I wouldn’t miss a thing. The entire crow subplot was tedious and added nothing. It’s doubly frustrating because the kidnapping story is pretty engaging (Slagar js a better villain than Cluny ever was), but it feels like we’re constantly being pulled away from the action to hear about the crows.

Also, I got really tired of doing the crow voices, but that’s a me problem.

A fun read with enough violence to keep it entertaining. It's comforting to know that everything will turn out ok and have a happy ending. But I have to ask, what kind of a name is Mangiz?

"Mattimeo grew up unrealistically fast, there were too many unnecessary character deaths, and the story just wasn't that good. I did like the Little Folkses, but the riddle stuff wasn't on par with Redwall standards. Kind of felt like a lame attempt at repeating Redwall."

Great novel: "Mattimeo" tells the story of the son of Matthias the Warrior, who happens to be named Mattimeo. The plot is compelling and whimsical, great especially for younger readers, and I enjoyed it even more than "Redwall". There were only a couple of minor things that kept me from giving it the full five stars.

First of all, there are the numerous (that may well be an understatement) descriptions of Slagar's mask. Believe me, if you don't know what material that mask is made of by the end of the book then you have some serious attention problems. Quotes such as "Slagar grinned from behind the silken mask" and "The silk mask sucked into a hideous grin" are okay when used in moderation, but when we are bombarded endlessly with these nearly identical descriptions, it detracts from rather than adds to the story. I'm sorry, *what* was the mask made from again?

The other thing that bothered me was the apparent lack of attention to proportion. For example, at one point, Slagar gets angry at an impudent Mattimeo and starts beating the young mouse with a cane. And yet, according to Brian Jacques, Mattimeo does not feel the blows at all. Am I the only one who thinks this is simply absurd? A fox beating a mouse with a cane would be like King Kong beating a human with an uprooted tree - that's how big foxes are compared to mice. Forget feeling the blows, Mattimeo should be crushed by them!

But despite these things, I really enjoyed the story of Mattimeo, and I would recommend it to anyone who has read other books in the series or who just loves animal fantasy. I also recommend the fantastic "Guardians of Ga'Hoole" series by Kathryn Lasky and the "Warriors" books by Erin Hunter.

Mattimeo is another highly enjoyable read and solid entry in the Redwall series. I felt this one really took things up a notch in various departments, but also felt a bit predictable in how it went about things. That said, I'm still having a delightful time in this world and wish I had read them as a kid too.

My official first read of 2025! I loved the animated series of this book and while I enjoyed it more, this book was excellent! I cannot wait to read more of the series!!

Mattimeo to trzeci tom cyklu Redwall Braina Jacquesa, który opowiada o przygodach leśnych stworzeń. Książka została pięknie wydana przez wydawnictwo Nowa Baśń.

W tej części powracamy do opactwa Rudy Mur oraz do bohaterów z książki otwierającej cykl. Po tomowej przerwie z ogromną przyjemnością powitałam starych bohaterów, a pojawienie się każdego z nich wywołało uśmiech na mojej twarzy. Oczywiście pojawiły się też nowe postacie z młodego pokolenia, co nadało całości nutę świeżości.

Ta część jest zdecydowanie bardziej mroczna niż poprzednie. Powraca poboczny antagonista z pierwszego tomu, ale w nowej odsłonie. Chytry lis przekształca się w łowcę niewolników i napędza fabułę przez porwanie młodych z Rudego Muru.

Autor zdecydowanie nie szczędzi nerwów czytelników. Chociaż wyraźne są dwie nicie głównej fabuły, gra nimi po mistrzowsku. W każdej coś się dzieje, każda trzyma w napięciu, ale mają nieco inny wydźwięk. Wątek porwania i pogonii za lisem jest zdecydowanie bardziej brutalny i przerażający, chociaż nie da się zaprzeczyć, że czuć od niego nadzieją. Za to wątek ataku na opactwo przez wrony, choć zaczyna się brutalnie, prędko nabiera pewnej dozy komizmu.

Bardzo wyraźnie widać przemiany, jakie zachodzą w głównych bohaterach. Tytułowa postać, Mattimeo, to młody myszek, który trochę zachłysnął się sławą ojca wojownika i nabrał nadmiernej pewności siebie. Na kartach powieści jednak zmienia się jego podejście do roli ojca, jego samego i innych stworzeń. Matti, podobnie jak i inne porwane młodziki, dojrzewają i rozwijają się w paskudnych warunkach, ale mimo to zachowują w sobie dobroć i miłość do najbliższych.

Mattimeo przestaje być książką typowo dla dzieci. Chociaż dalej ma w sobie pewne jasne oraz wyraźne morały czy nauki, poprzez zawierający w sobie mrok i pewnien terror, staje się lekturą dla nieco starszych. Nie zmienia to jednak tego, że to doskonała książka, a jej wydarzenia są dokładnie przemyślane oraz mistrzowsko opisane.

Why does it always surprise me when animals can be so awesome? Any badger walks out and I'm falling on the ground with how cool they are. The writing is so good. The story was always interesting. It kept the real story happening. Loved it.

I cried a little. Very good

Wow! This book was good. What a breath of fresh air after Mossflower! I honestly had my expectations lowered so much by Mossflower, but that was a really good thing, because it made the strengths of this book stand out all the more.
For starters, I'd like to comment on the strengths of Mossflower: the atmosphere and the homely and comfortable feeling of it. These books, all of the Redwall books, have a LOT of heart to them. There is so much heart here: these books are just comfortable to read. They have that cozy feeling to them that a lot of Agatha Christie books do: not a lot of real danger, but the stories are comfortable enough that you can really, really enjoy them. Mattimeo had this feeling, and the contrast between the homely atmosphere of Redwall and the rest of the story as the slaves travel is like night and day, and I thought it was done really well. I will never ever tire of the way the hares talk, or the extremely creative dishes of food that Jacques explores throughout these novels.
The plot was also much better than Mossflower, and did not, as I feared when I read the back of the cover, go over the same old tired tropes from Mossflower and Martin the Warrior. This is creative, intricate, and well thought out. There were moments of genuine tension and conflict where I was genuinely afraid for the characters. This is good: it meant I cared enough about them to care whether they died or not. Matthius and Orlando and that crew was probably my favorite storyline to follow, since I think they showed the most ingenuity and also the most amount of character as a whole. It was a pleasure to see these adults conquer challenges to save their young children, and when they're finally united with them again it was an amazing moment.
As a whole I liked the raven plot. Nevertheless, it felt like it materialized out of nowhere to give the creatures of Redwall something to do, and the seer crow was a little weird and unexplained, as well as the banner of Martin the Warrior. Is it magic? Is there genuine magic in this world? Every single instance of it seems to be some sort of trick. But then there's little things like the dreams and the seer that are strange. All in all, though, I really liked it because it gave some much needed character to these people who are waiting their young's return. It also, I felt, did very good justice to the missing people who died that day. Young Rollo especially was a joy to follow. This child who will eventually grow up to realize his mother is gone for good, and the joy that he still has, and how much people care about him: all it was special. I didn't like the ex machina bird at the end. I felt that it undercut, really, how much bravery the woodlanders could've showed. However, the bird definitely also called attention to how gentle these creatures can be to anyone who wishes to call Redwall home, and it contrasts very well with the way they were tricked at the beginning by a fox they had treated in like manner.
Mattimeo is interesting enough for a protagonist. I like his reaction to seeing Slagar's face, and I like his growth throughout the story. I felt it was very earned.
Slagar as an antagonist was something very different from what I've seen before from Redwall. He acts like the others in that he is cold and ruthless, but I like that Jacques took him very seriously. Slagar is incredibly cunning, and never actually messes up. His demise is met because of his cruelty of his actions, not because of some stupid mistake. He is quite alarming, and also a foe to be reckoned with. Even to the very end he almost wins multiple times. And I like how Jacques takes him and increasingly makes him scarier and scarier, to the point where we can't really think of a just end for this horrid fox. I really liked that.
Additionally, Malkariss was the best part of this book. There were genuine moments of fear I felt from that lair and the cult that are his followers. His whole atmosphere and the way he controls and is worshipped was really cool, and I legitimately thought Jacques had actually gone full magic a couple of moments. The eeriness of his rats and the horrid quiet when they pick up the prisoners all lead to a genuinely fearful atmosphere: this is a place of terror, and the terror is only broken up by the bravery of the light, the warriors of Redwall.
This book was really good. The plots weave well together, and every time a character died it didn't feel like some red shirt just going to his doom: there was a purpose to it, and genuine emotion every time a character died. The characters are lovable and well-written, and I really appreciated Jacque's work with atmosphere.

I must say, this book was of a brilliant radiance that rivals the sun. That is, I would have to say that if I was planning to exaggerate a wee bit. But, seeing as the mood to exaggerate has not taken me, I shall instead say that this book was very well written and quite funny. I would have been sad to put it aside, except that I spurned it at the exact second that I finished in order to read n  Wrath of the Stormn, but that is not relevant, so I suppose I'll usurp my power and stop writing this review to avoid any more irrelevance. <---(EXCUSE)