Read this one with the boys at night. They seem to enjoy these. I know I loved Mossflower when I was about ten years old, but as I am older now the racial profiling and the myth of redemptive violence sure stick out like sore thumbs (once they were pointed out.) The writing is overly wordy, enough so that I edit as I go in what I read out loud. There have been several that read aloud better than this one and the boys like to hear them, so on we go with Loamhedge and hope that it's a good one.

Another solid Redwall book. Muriel is a delightful spunky heroine, but the side characters and villains inevitably steal the show in all Jaques work.

This book will always be special to me. It was the first book I read in the fantasy genre and it opened up a new world of literature for me. I will be forever grateful for Mariel of Redwall for introducing me to the wonderful world of heroes and magic.

I've discovered that I tend to go to Brian Jacques books after I read something that I find really dumb (*cough* Divergent series *cough*). Brian Jacques was just an incredibly masterful story teller and his characters are always interesting and you can't help but care about them. I particularly liked the relationship between Dandin and Mariel how they are partners in crime without being romantically linked. I do also admire the fact that Jacques always manages to make the point that violence is not something to be relished and shows that showing mercy does mean weakness. He has a variety of interesting characters in a variety of ages, species and genders and a pleasant combination of old and new. This was another fun swashbuckling tale and once again I can't praise this audiobook series enough for Brian Jacques' narration and a full cast.

Mariel, Mariel, Mariel. You badass, you excellent hero you. She is great, isn't she? I read this under the desk in middle school and I adored every minute of it.

And she didn't fall in love with Dandin. They were friends, really good friends, best friends who were so close and didn't fall in love. Stories where that happens, I can count on one hand. It was such a delight for my non-romantic can-we-just-get-the-inevitable-kissing-bits-over-with self to have a girl hero being tough and awesome and having all these cool adventures. Leading the adventures, because this was her revenge quest, okay.

Also, this was (I believe) the book where Jaques lovingly paints a scene in which "blood swirled in the water from Lord Rawnblade's Bloodwrath." It's lines like that which let you know this book is for children.

We've been reading through the Redwall series as a family and this has been our fourth in a row. It's a fine book and was enjoyable to read, but I also didn't think it was the best even when compared to the Redwall books that came before it. In part I think this is just simply Redwall fatigue on my part, but also because of some issues in the story itself.

The idea of Redwall fatigue is just the idea that, at least with these first four books, the Redwall books kind of have a rhythm and formula to them that every book adheres to. Some of the main characters have to go on some sort of quest (to find a sword, find a badger lord, chase after slavers, or go after a pirate king) while the others have to defend their home which is usually Redwall Abbey, but not always. Reading four books like this back to back as a family maybe gets a bit stale. They're still good books with enjoyable characters, it might just be nice to break up the books a bit more than we have.

There are also some issues with the story itself in this one. The biggest is that there is really a lack of a menacing villain. The big villain, Gabool, starts unraveling before the half-way point in the book and just doesn't really come off as much of a threat at all in the book and while Greypatch fares a bit better, he never really even gets that close to conquering Redwall. This is particularly disappointing when Mattimeo had some pretty amazing villains and a lot of tension and some real loss along the way.

Some of the decisions of some of the characters didn't make a whole lot of sense either. The largest of these in my mind is the choice made by the three hares of the Long Patrol who come to the aid of Redwall. The actions they take near the end of the book seem like they were unnecessary and a better solution could have been reached. Their actions may have been noble and gallant, but it seemed that there could have been a better solution to me.

As I've said, I enjoyed Mariel of Redwall it's a good book in its own right. I would just say that I think it is maybe the weakest of the four so far. It also stays pretty close to the formula of the Redwall books so far, maybe they'll begin to deviate a bit more in the future, but this book doesn't. This is both a positive and a negative. The Redwall books are very good, but they can get a little samey. This is why we're taking a little break from reading them as a family to mix it up a little, but we'll probably get back to them again after a break.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Redwall Abbey is always a wonderfully cozy place to revisit, no matter the plight facing its inhabitants. However, I have to confess that those plights are beginning to blur together in my mind, because each book is so formulaic. Almost without fail, the Abbey will be under some sort of siege by unsavory characters looking to enslave those within its walls and steal their home and resources. As this occurs, those most warrior-like from the Abbey are off on a quest far from home to defeat someone or win back an item that in some way correlates to the happenings back home in Mossflower forest and Redwall. And this tends to be under the guidance of the spirit of Martin the Warrior. Do I have any problem with this plot line? Not at all. But I have to admit that it’s becoming a tad redundant this many volumes into the series.

One thing I did really appreciate about this book as compared to those preceding it was the fact that the titular hero was a female. Mariel is brave and fierce and feisty and determined and terrifically skilled with a weapon for one untrained. I found her journey an interesting and intense one to witness. But there were a couple of things about this installment in particular that bugged me. First of all, I found the central villain fairly unbelievable. His level of obsession with this bell, to the point of no longer sleeping and then falling prey to madness, made no sense to me. He went from sly to completely mental over the course of a scant few chapters, and it simply didn’t feel believable to me. Even in a story about anthropomorphic animals running an Abbey and waging wars, this bell-induced insanity was where my skepticism couldn’t be kept at bay. There’s also a place near the end of the book where a couple of creatures fight over who has the right to kill another character. This is such a stupid discussion to me, whenever I happen to see it in media. Who cares who can claim the kill, as long as the beast in question is put down in the end? It’s utterly nonsensical and baffles me any time I come across it.

I might’ve had qualms with this volume, but I still enjoyed the story and the setting. And, of course, the food. Jacques wrote food descriptions like no one else I’ve ever read, and they never fail to make me hungry for things I’m pretty sure would actually be vile in real life. I also love knowing that everything is going to work out all right in the end, which makes this series perfect for children just getting into fantasy and adults looking for something cozy and nostalgic to provide a brief escape from the darker world of most adult fantasy fiction. Even if this wasn’t a perfect book, it was a fun one, and I’ll definitely be continuing on with the series.

Not my favourite Redwall book, but still fun. Listening to these as an adult after having read them 20-is years ago is a special experience. The voice acting is enthusiastic and varied, which is great with all these characters and dialects. Some actors or characters seemed to do a LOT of yelling, and it was hard to hear Marc Jacques as anyone but Martin or Matthias. This story has a wide scope and sometimes going from one scene to another was a bit jarring due to a lack of any pause or music to break up the narration and indicate to listeners that there been a change.

I remembered this being one of the best Redwall books as a child. Revisiting it as an adult it still remains one of the best. It takes everything great about Redwall and ramps it up to 11. The battles are more glorious and heroic. The villains more brutal, savage and insane. The feasting more delicious and cozy. An absolute masterwork of heroic fiction.

I loved returning to Redwall, and embarking on a journey with Mariel (or Storm Gullwhacker!) to discover Redwall herself since she was a stranger to their world. It is truly amazing how Jacques has invented these endearing and admirable characters and created an entire world, bringing the reader into lives we can actually imagine with their foods, families, trusted friends, and terrifying enemies.

The peace loving mice of Redwall are friends with formidable hares, brave otters, humorous hedgehogs, clever squirrels who are excellent marksmen, occasional feathered friends, and other mice living in Mossflower Woods. They are only saddened when they need to defend Redwall and their friends.

It's a world I hope to return to often until I've read all of these stories! Who doesn't want to rid the world of rats?

Summary: Mariel the warrior mousemaid seeks revenge against Gabool, the pirate king, with a company from Redwall, while Redwall fends off a group of pirate fugitives led by rebel Captain Greypatch.

Mariel the mousemaid awakens on the shore of the coast off of Mossflower Wood. She’d been thrown into the sea by Gabool, King of the searats, pirates headquartered in Bladegirt Fortress on Terramort Isle, in the sea to the northwest of Mossflower. Her father, Joseph the Bellmaker and she had been seized enroute to deliver a bell to Lord Rawnstripe, of Salamandastrom. She had nearly defeated Gabool when he attacked her, stunning him. Held by his underlings, she is thrown to the sea, assumed to have drowned. Knocked on the head, she remembers none of this. All she has is a rope, which she uses to fend off ravenous gulls. She dubs herself Storm Gullwacker and her rope Gullwacker.

Delivered from an attack of toads by the Long Patrol of rabbits, Hon. Rosie, Thyme, and Clary, she’s entrusted to Pakatugg the squirrel to take her to Redwall. She parts ways with the self-serving squirrel and decides to make her own way to, encountering Tarquin L Woodsorrel, an eccentric but courageous hare, who takes her there. Welcomed, bathed against her wishes, clothed, and nourished by the inhabitants, she joins in their Jubilee, during which verses are sung that are a prophesy of her–at which her memory is awakened.

She determines to go back to rescue or avenge her father against Gabool. But the companions she has met while at Redwall will not let her go along. Tarquin joins her along with Durry Quill the hedgehog and Dandin, who is carrying the sword of Martin, given him by Simeon the herbalist, prompted by a dream message from Martin. They are guided on the way by old prophecies–when they remember to pay attention to the signs. They survive many adventures, eventually finding their way to Gabool’s refuge.

Mariel is not the only one seeking revenge against Gabool. Separately, Lord Rawnstripe seeks revenge for badgers killed by Gabools searats. When a ship lands he slaughters them all and takes the ship, sailing for Terramort.

Meanwhile, Redwall faces its own challenges. Captain Greypatch, leading a group of searats who seize the Darkqueen after her previous captain, Saltar, is treacherously killed by Gabool who brooks no rivals. Gabool mobilizes his fleet to find the Darkqueen but she lands on the shore of Mossflower wood, capture Pakatugg, and the company, with their oarslaves, make their way to the outskirts of Redwall, deciding that would make a great fortress if they can displace its warriors. As at other times, bereft of their warriors, the residents of Redwall make up in resourcefulness and courage what they lack in might, confounding their enemies, who are dwindling and discontented. A courageous raid by the Long Patrol, now returned, rescues captive mice and Pakatugg, but at a cost.

Gabool is left alone in his fortress, growing increasingly paranoid, hearing the bell ring, not understanding the cryptic markings on it and dreaming of the coming of a giant badger until dream becomes reality and Lord Rawnstripe arrives, as do all the others who would avenge themselves against Gabool. Will any succeed?

I love the strong female characters, particularly the Hon. Rosie, Mother Mellus, and of course, Mariel. They hold their own with the men, and more! The contrast here, as elsewhere between the camaraderies of the Redwallians versus the discord among the evil searats is striking, and how evil self-destroys and consumes its own. The idea of being guided by the prophecies is one worth remembering for Christ-followers. I deeply appreciate the depictions of a clear line between good and evil and the examples of determination and courage. Jacques does all this moving back and forth between the different plotlines as we move toward climax and resolution.

I also love the joy in the commonplaces of food and drink. It occurred to me to wonder if the dishes described have been collected in a cookbooks with recipes. I discovered they have in the Redwall Cookbook! I wonder if people have Redwall feasts…

I was reading Jacques with enthusiasm in third grade, and I still like him now. Mariel, the spunky mouse-girl who fights pirates with a knotted rope, was kind of my ideal woman when I was eight, and there's still a good deal to be said for her. My daughters think of Mariel as a role model, and they are correct in this.
When you're not feeling good about the world, read the first hundred pages of this, then Tolkien's essay "On Fairy Stories," then the rest. You'll feel better.