This is the first Redwall novel where a typically 'evil' species of ferret is taken in and raised with the good woodland creatures of Redwall Abbey. While a large portion of this story follows the hero Badger Sunflash the Mace, this secondary narrative provides an interesting look into the series. It is a characteristic of these novels that good and evil is rather simplistic in that certain creatures are good and others are evil, the question of Veil the ferret adds a little more depth to the overall Redwall saga.

The storyline of this book is interesting, the main character is unique, and the B-plot is tense. It works great...until you start having to ask some uncomfortable questions. This isn't the only Redwall book to ask the question "Could one of the bad guy species be good?" (Mossflower and The Bellmaker also prominently touch on these subjects.) but the problem arises in how this book explores the subject. It's shallow at best and could raise some much more grave criticism at worst. The storyline around it is still interesting enough, which is why I'm glad that this is about as far as Redwall went into questions of morality and stuck with being good guys and bad guys.

This book, more than any of the seven that precede it in the Redwall series, differs significantly in feel from the type of story that Brian Jacques usually tells.

Though Outcast of Redwall is the third book to contain the name of the famous Mossflower Woods abbey in its title, surprisingly little of the action takes place at Redwall. Even in the fifth Redwall book, Salamandastron, about half of the story happens within the confines of Redwall Abbey, but in this book, curiously, much more of the plot unfolds at the mountain fortress Salamandastron. This change of pace made for an interesting new reading experience.

Overall, Outcast of Redwall reminds me a bit of the type of story found in old western movies or novels. All of the principle parties in this book are seeking revenge for wrongs done to them, or at least perceived wrongs: The warrior badger Sunflash the Mace wants to settle a score with Swartt Sixclaw, the nasty ferret warlord who snared him years ago and had been planning to kill the badger; Swartt wants to kill Sunflash, who with the aid of the hawk Skarlath had escaped from his clutches and in the ensuing struggle permanently damaged Swartt's famed paw that has six claws on it; and Swartt's son Veil—who was accidentally left behind in the wild by his cruel father and found and raised by a kindly Redwall mousemaid named Bryony—carries a desire for revenge against the infamous father that he never knew. The way that the plot develops is notably different from that of the previous stories written by Brian Jacques; even the way that the characters think and act seems to be slightly changed.

In the character of Sunflash the Mace, Brian Jacques has created a stunningly formidable hero, one with enough might to be put in the same conversation as former Redwall legends such as Martin the Warrior, Boar the Fighter, and Mattimeo. Yet Sunflash also has the true inner being of a poet, and he maintains none of the aloofness typical in the badger lords of Salamandastron. Sunflash gets down on the floor with the little ones and plays and laughs with them, shirking the sober regard of a dangerous badger warrior to embrace the little ones and be willing to give enrichment to their lives, while at the same time receiving enrichment in return. Sunflash is, at his true center, a wonderful gift to the young animals who are instinctively drawn to him and love him, and the little animals repair the rends in his soul inflicted by a world that sometimes requires him to use his badger rage in the most frightening of ways.

One of the most important parts of this book is Veil, the ferret babe left behind by Swartt Sixclaw and his horde as they once passed by Redwall. Normally, ferrets are one of the kinds of animal that does not live at Redwall Abbey in peace with the others, but instead scours the woodlands in vicious groups, marauding and killing. Veil, however, being a defenseless ferret baby, was taken into the abbey and raised by the mousemaid Bryony. Veil's time at Redwall is continuously shadowed by the question: Can a ferret, given proper guidance and upbringing, be made into the kind of creature that lives peacefully with others? In Veil's case, at least, the answer appears to be "No". Harboring bitterness in the confines of his heart despite the benevolent childhood that he was afforded, Veil ultimately crosses the line in a major way with an act of vile malice, and is forever excommunicated from Redwall. Even knowing that the ferret she raised as her son had never really shown even a hint of goodness in his time within the abbey walls, Bryony is heartbroken for Veil. Gathering her courage, the tender mousemaid sets off on his trail, determined to find him and prove that he can, after all, be truly reformed.

Much of this book's soul lies in the incredible love of Bryony for her son, that despite all the evidence of Veil's treachery and even his derisive view of Bryony's love for him, she is never willing to quit on her surrogate son. Bryony never gives up on the ferret who is running from her; in her mind he is still the ferret babe that she had grown to love and always will love, and what those around her think of Veil makes no difference. It is all about love.

Everything told, Outcast of Redwall finds its profound voice in a new way for author Brian Jacques. Though much of the narrative is focused on Veil and Bryony, the most poignant single moment of the novel directly flows from the unforgettable friendship shared by Sunflash the Mace and Skarlath, the hawk who first freed him from his bondage and ends up becoming his closest and most vital ally. The potency of the one single moment I refer to is as powerful as it is because of the deep overlapping layers of the entire story, a real credit to Brian Jacques as a writer. Outcast of Redwall is a very good story, thoughtfully told with no trite conclusions, stretching the minds of those readers who have faithfully read through the previous seven books in the series about this tranquil Mossflower Woods abbey. I would certainly considering bumping my review of this book up to three and a half stars.

Maaaaan! This book was great! I forgot that in the history of Redwall that there’s only been one Outcast. I loved how Jacques showcased the different sides of Sunflash. It was quite unusual for a Badger Lord to connected to children. To go from that to slaying folks and being possessed by the Bloodwrath was something to behold. I’m very sad that one of his dearest friends died, but I am glad he got to see his mother in the end.

I also appreciated how Jacques brought back the bats!!! Bats don’t appear too often in the Redwall series, but it’s a real treat when they do. Another great Redwall tale. I like when he focuses on Salamandastron and it’s lore and somehow ties it in to Redwall Abbey.

I've read other reviews of this book, and it seems as though most of the time readers fall into one of two camps: they either hate it (they disliked the Bryony/Veil storyline), or they love it. Myself, I really liked it. It was interesting reading about the mousemaid, Bryony (who is later rewarded with the distinguished title of Mother Abbess), as she leaves Redwall to find the six-clawed ferret that she raised as an infant. Veil was kicked out of Redwall after almost murdering an Abbeybeast, and Bryony was the only one who really liked him. Veil never seemed grateful of Bryony's love and kindness, but he saved her life by giving up his own. In the end, Bryony admits that "Veil was bad" and wonders "if he would have saved me if he knew his father was really going to throw that javelin," concluding "that the world is a better place without Veil or Swartt bringing death and misery to it." Sometimes you can only love someone from afar because they don't return your love. I'm glad Bryony met some great friends along the way (including Sunflash, the hares of Salamandastron, and other kind and caring creatures) to help her on her quest.
I loved Sunflash - he was a badger like no other, defending his mountain home "like a boss." What I wouldn't give to explore Salamandastron and know all of the secrets of badger lore! I love the way the hares and moles speak! Some people get tired of reading the Redwall books because the storyline is almost always the same ... creatures leave Redwall on a quest ... but myself, I love them and will never get tired of them!

3/5 I appreciated that this (8th) volume of Redwall did try and change things up a bit. However it just didn't resonate with me. Which is too bad as this was one I always looked forward to getting to in the series. You didn't actually meet Veil the Outcast of Redwall until halfway through the story.

The first half is the setup introducing Sunflash the Mace, his hawk partner Skarett, and his evil ferret nemesis Swartt Six Claw. I did however like that the majority of this novel took place away from the titular Redwall Abbey and we didn't have any meandering subplots there which we usually do.

As I mentioned the Outcast of Redwall Veil the Ferret isn't really introduced until halfway through the story and then he's just such a one note character. Redwall takes in and raises a ferret who turns out to be evil. Not a decent bone in him no detail into why he is that way other than he's a ferret so he is evil regardless of upbringing. This is contradictory to the unusually nice see rat Blaggut in The Bellmaker.

Swartt six claw, the villain, was ok but not the best and none of the other characters particularly stood out which is a bit of a shame. All in all it was just an ok book in the series.

I didn't like the fatalist philosophy that once bad, always bad. The author does not ascribe to the idea that "Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future" but rather seems to think we're all destined to be whatever we were called to be. But then a real hero means nothing because there is no free will!

It's been so long since I've read this one, though I do remember enjoying it. I also remember it as one of the sadder Redwall books I have read, in my opinion.
One of the story's main characters is a badger lord called Sunflash the Mace, who is probably among my favorite badger lords (#1 is Lord Brocktree). There's also a plot revolving around a ferret who was adopted by Redwall only to be thrown out later (now being The Outcast of Redwall).
It has been a very long time since I have read this, but if you are looking for another badger lord adventure, this one was certainly enjoyable. The other plot is good, too...though Sunflash was the more memorable of the two for me.

4 Stars. 7.28 Cawpile Rating

Every time I read a book in the Redwall series I have such a good time; I’m happy to say this book is no exception.

As usual, I loved most things about this book. There is one major drawback that really kept my enjoyment down though. The synopsis of this installment describes a redemption arc storyline for Veil so I was expecting a large portion of the story to focus on him. Instead, the first half of the book focused on the backstory between Swartt, Veil’s father who abandoned him, and Swartt’s lifelong enemies Skarlath and Sunflash. Luckily, I loved their characters and this storyline. Since too little time was dedicated to Veil I never really felt any connection or sympathy for him. I instantly disliked him and never rooted for him. I hated that Bryony risked so much to help him. I think if more time had been dedicated to building a connection between the reader and Veil this would have been another 5 star Redwall book.

I’m already reading the next book in the series and I have the 10th book also checked out from the library. I’ve been really enjoting these lately. It’s just comforting to have a consistent, solid read. I plan to finish up to book 11 this year so I will officially be halfway through the series!

-- WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD! --

At the start itself, let me state that 'Outcast of Redwall' is the most conflicting book I've read so far in the Redwall series. It has some fantastic memorable characters such as Sunflash and Skarlath; however, my enjoyment of the tale is marred by the moral absolutism showcased in the life and actions of the titular Outcast, Veil Sixclaw.

Veil, an abandoned ferretbabe, is raised by the good-natured inhabitants of Redwall, but is seemingly unable to overcome his 'evil nature' despite being surrounded by figures who do their best to see the good in him. Even in his actions against his father Swarth Sixclaw, Veil's actions reflect his inherently twisted nature that drives him to put his selfish needs before everything else, even though his adoptive mother Bryony tries her very best to impart the ideals of goodness and honesty and selflessness to him.

And therein lies the rub. Jacques' world is filled with races who are either inherently good or inherently evil (or occasionally in between, like foxes, although even those tend to be evil more often than not). Stoats, ferrets, rats and their ilk are shown as being summarily evil while woodland creatures like mice, hedgehogs, voles and the like are shown as being summarily good (or at least congenial). Much like the Orcs of Tolkien's Middle-Earth, one may be tempted to wonder if the races' nature are a result of their upbringing, or something that is inherent to them. Veil's actions would indicate that it is the latter. Personally, this knowledge leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

By robbing entire races of his world of the chance of redemption, Jacques oversimplifies the world into good and bad, us and them. While the argument can be made that since these books are intended for younger readers, simplification is useful, I'd make the argument that it's important to tell children even in their early years that the world and its denizens are not painted in black or white, but in varying shades of gray.

Ultimately, the Outcast of Redwall does have a brief moment of redemption at the end, but like his adoptive mother notes, it is unclear if this is a true moment of selfless good, or simply a selfish move gone awry. Nevertheless, the book ends on a positive note, as all Redwall books do, with friends celebrating the return of peace and happiness. 'Outcast of Redwall' may not be the best book in the series, or even among the better works, but it has its highs and lows, enough to keep a reader engaged through to the very end.

Rating: 7/10

DNF. I used to love the Redwall books as a kid, and I still like most of them now despite the somewhat interchangeable cast of characters. You can always trust a Redwall book to have adventures, rich descriptions of food and landscapes, and occasional plot twists. This one, however, was very much not my cup of tea. I'm not so much disappointed as infuriated by the author's treatment and presentation of Veil. Didn't Jacques have a sea rat that reformed in one of the books? In my opinion, the main drawback of the series is that you can usually tell if the character is good or bad by its species, and it's always predictable. Here, Jacques had a great opportunity to show that a vermin could mend his ways if raised by good, loving people, as opposed to other vermin, who are clearly incapable of feeling anything that's not anger or greed (that's another qualm of mine). But no, Veil isn't just a delinquent; he's plain evil no matter how the Redwallers treat him. Even though he was picked up by them as a baby and couldn't have known how other ferrets usually acted, he still manages to act like the worst of them for no reason whatsoever, just because his genes apparently tell him to. I saw the spoilers so I know how his story ends, and that makes no sense to me either: why would Bryony, who was so blind to his faults before, give him up after he'd finally done something good?
On top of all, it's not even Veil's story contrary to what the synopsis makes you believe. It's the story of Sunflash, who kind of bores me, and at some point I began losing track of all the other characters.

To the adventurous pretties,

The end of this Redwall book was particularly sad to me. While previous books have had really happy atmospheres. Que reading slump. The end was left neutral, and felt precarious.

That's all for today.
Ta-ta,
shizuku