Another Redwall read aloud with the boys.

In the book Mattimeo it connects to another of Brian Jacques books where Mattimeo is captured by Slagar the cruel as slaves. Mattimeo and his other young friends from Redwall tries to escape a terrible fate. His father Matthias would go off with his friends to get the young kids of Redwall. Meanwhile bakc at Redwall the remaning citzens have to protect themselves aganist whatever was out there to get them.

I can connect to the world how a parent would do anything to get their child. In the book it's Matthias trying to get his son Mattimeo and Jess trying to get her son Sam. In the real world parents would do the same. They would give huge amounts to find their children and to find out who is responsible for it.

I give this book a five out of five because it shows the orgin of Redwall where the first Warrior came, the first leader, where they came from and much more. It also explained a lot of questions how things come into a cycle. Martin gives his sword down to Matthias, then Matthias gives it to Mattimeo and then maybe Mattimeo will give it to his son Martin. That shows that things might come to a full circle from Martin to Matthias to Mattimeo to Martin and then over again.

The formula for many of Jacques books may be the same, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy them! There's some puzzle solving, some flat bad guys, some flat good guys, an adventure, 30 different times where a meal is described in depth, and perhaps 50 pages of "fluff" that extends a tale longer than necessary. Will I eat that formula up every time? You bet I will. The stories are still fun reads and even though the characters aren't too deep I still enjoy reading about them, especially those he chooses to have span multiple books. Thumbs up Brian, looks like I've only got another 19 of these novels to go.

Jacques' endings, y'all. They feel like a foretaste of eternity.

I didn't used to like this one because it disturbed me for personal reasons (watching the animated show as a little kid didn't help), but reading it again, wow, it's fabulous.

There's the importance of community and sacrifice, of bravery and love. And, as all of the Redwall books, there's darkness and the fight against it, but joy and goodness has the same weight. I feel like many writers who want to write darkness don't place enough emphasis on light as well, and a lot can be learned from Jacques on the compelling balance. Granted, it's an idealized darkness instead of a gritty one, but it's still darkness, and showing the goodness and the harmony of the creates gives a purpose to the fight against evil, instead of the fighting being for its own sake.

Anyway. Characters are all fantastic; wonderful, diverse personalities, even if some of the leading characters were a bit flat. Ends tie together beautifully. My new favorite Redwall book.

This was one of the few books in the series that I DNFed. My 12-year-old self didn't like that Matthias wasn't the main character and that I had to move on and support Mattimeo.

As an adult, I really enjoyed this! If anything, my complaint is that Mattimeo's hero arc is severely undercut by Matthias being the rescuer. While I definitely see some growth in him, he never had a moment where he stood out as being the new warrior. If one was to compare this with the first book (Redwall) Matthias was coming up with strategies, collaborating with Methuselah, rescuing the churchmice, befriending creatures, escaping tough situations, and eventually earned the respect and skills necessary to defeat Cluny.

In this story, Matthias once again uses his old friendships in order to track Slagar, defeat villains twice his size, keep the spirits up in his group, and rescue his son. Mattimeo, meanwhile, changes from being a rebellious brat who thinks he's above kitchen work, to caring about his companions and occasionally helping them escape (temporarily). I wish that Mattimeo had managed to be the one to start the revolt among the slaves, rather than Matthias cutting their chains and leading the charge. He never struck me as being as clever as Matthias or Martin, so I didn't see why he earned the title of Redwall Warrior.

It's possible that future books will prove me wrong. As for the rating, if I was only looking at Matthias, Constance, and the amaaaaazing descriptions of food, I'd put this as 4 stars. Looking at the coming-of-age moments for Mattimeo and comparing this one to other books in the series, it falls squarely in the 3-star category in my mind.

Once again I found myself in real danger of over indulging with all that talk of rich meals. With the first two books those moments only felt like a danger to my wallet and waist line, however considering the events taking place this time around I started to find myself growing angry with the characters. Several of them had their children taken from them and yet they find the time to stop, on more than one occasion to make better meals than I do on maximum effort days and play around or just take in the scenery. I'm not a parent but I imagine if I did have a child who was taken from me I would eat what took the least effort so that I might put more into getting my child back.
I also couldn't help but be bothered by all the childish humor. When you boil it down this series is ASoIaF for kids. Jacques isn't as dark as Martin but he doesn't shy away from violence and death either. I know that Redwall's target audience is children so I'm willing to accept some campy, lighthearted moments but none of them felt right this time around.
My final complaint was the handling of a few character's deaths. I won't go into detail to avoid spoilers. I will say that several of them not only felt unnecessary, they also felt rushed over. I'd grown fawned of one of these character so seeing them written out so quickly really upset me.
What did save this book for me, enough so to give it 3 stars anyway was the final battles. The one that takes place at the Abbey left me smiling long enough to get through the epilogue.
I still intend on finishing this series as I do enjoy the world Jacques crafted but I think I'll be giving myself a longer brake before I pick up Mariel.

Classic Redwall in the best way.
Straight up, a good, adventurous time. It felt like a breath of fresh air, returning to something familiar and fun.
This one, in particular, was filled with a lot of heart and, as always, plenty of wonderful food descriptions, which I am always here for.

Loved it!

A fantastic read for adults as well as children. With both major plots within the story standing strong on their own, it was not at all a problem that the author kept on switching back and forth between the two major stories. They intertwined really well and the characters, old and new, were wonderful.

Another lovely, heartwarming and hunger-inducing read. Three books in and I can see that there's a pretty standard formula to these Redwall books, but that do not make it any less enjoyable to read. I do love the riddle-solving and quest-type adventures that seemed to take place in each book so far. I think so long as I space out my reading of this series, it will work perfectly as delightful palate cleansers.

Always loved this series as a kid.

So fun to relive this story! I've decided to listen to the whole series on audiobooks! They're narrated by Brian Jacques and others, and it's really a wonderful world. <3

When I first read this as a child, I thought it wasn’t as good as its predecessor; on reread as an adult, I’m pretty sure it’s the best of the series. There are a lot of dark themes in this book which you would think shouldn’t be in a children’s book—slavery, cannibalism, cultism, and the death of friends. But Jacques skillfully contrasts them with fortitude amidst adversity, not giving up even when all hope is lost, helping each other survive, fighting to protect your own, and the determination to see evil destroyed and justice done. While not all the Redwall books are of the same quality, there are some that I’ve started thinking should be required reading for kids and this is one of them. Seeing that the “monster under the bed” can be defeated (albeit not without great effort) is crucial for children who will someday have to face the monsters of real life.
I had forgotten that Ironbeak is one of the side plots; I love how creative the characters had to get in order to defeat him.