This is the second book in the Redwall series, but it is actually a prequel to Redwall. It is the story of how Martin the Warrior, a legendary hero, came to Mossflower Woods. Tsarmina, an evil wildcat, is ruling the land with an iron fist. There is no Redwall Abbey here. Instead there is a rundown fortress called Kotir where the bad guys (mostly rats and weasels) live. It's a story about how the good and honest creatures of the woods set out to free themselves from the tyrannical rule of Tsarmina.

By the end of the novel, you forget that mice can't talk and that badgers don't wield swords. I highly recommend this fun, magical series... even to adults who just want to escape to an age of innocent adventure.

While the episodic nature of this sequel leaves you having to get behind a new set of characters, the story is still so fun and meaningful. It has a mythic quality while remaining simple and approachable.

Mossflower is a prequel story to Redwall, the first published book in the series, and it was a worthy one indeed. It told the story of Martin the Warrior and how he became the legendary hero of Redwall. This book started on a stronger note and I think I liked it even more than the first. There's a good balance of tension and cosiness, and of humour and sad moments. The characters were even more delightful, with Gonff the Prince of Mousethief taking the crown as most memorable.

I learnt that Jacques first wrote Redwall for children of the Royal Wavertree School for the Blind which explained the writing style. However, the best part was that these descriptions are by no means tedious or long-winded. These were beautifully vivid, and made me long to head back into nature, as well as into the kitchen to bake scones and pies. One note of warning, do not read Redwall books when you're hungry.

This is probably the fourth or fifth time I’ve read this book. I grew up on these stories and look forward to introducing my sons to them. Some of the best books I’ve ever written. I’m very excited for the show coming to Netflix and I hope they stay true to the books and capture the magic in these pages!

4.5 stars. It’s an excellent story, but it feels a little jumbled due to keeping both storylines constantly going. Jacques did better in other books where he devotes a whole chapter to the questers before spending the next chapter on the ones left behind.

Audio

Audiobook 4/5 ⭐️

This is a fun and easy listen, and I love the full cast production of the series.

5+ stars (7/10 hearts). Okay, I love this series. This book is all about the Redwall’s land/forest before Redwall existed, and how Martin the Warrior and his friends freed Mosswood and Redwall was built. <3 I was worried I wouldn’t love this much as I loved n  Redwall,n but that proved a groundless fear. The setting was similar to Redwall (how surprising!) but it focussed mostly on the forest, with the Mossflower folk in hiding, and the fortress of Kotir, with the enemy horde, so it was a totally different angle from Redwall. However, it had the similar feel and aesthetic, and I was enchanted. (Also, Brian Jacques makes me so hungry with his food descriptions, even if I am crazy about fruits, vegetables, and plants, and definitely not a fan of nuts or mushrooms.)

Although the writing style was simplistic, perhaps a little more so than Redwall, I loved the book so much I did. not. care. (That takes a really good book). The characters were epicness. I love that they were similar to book one! Martin was like Matthias, yet totally different—such a brave, bold, kindhearted warrior, a true leader. Wother, Trubbs, Ffring, & Co. were like Basil, though not half as enjoyable and clever. And Bella did remind me of Constance, while Columbine reminded me of Cornflower. But the wise Abbess, Gonff the lighthearted singer, sweet and sturdy Dinny, strong old Boar, passionate + kindhearted Skipper, poor noble Gingivere [QUERY: is Gingievere an ancestor of Squire Julian in Redwall??], Mask the hero, fighting Lady Amber, pompous Chubb, shipshape Log-a-Log, dear Ben & Goody, and their host of adorable little hedgehogs—they were all so darling, so alive! I loved them all so much. As for Bane & Tsarmina, they were terrifyingly wicked and clever, just as much as Cluny, but wholly different. Their soldiers were stupid and evil (or pathetic), yet balanced enough between being stupid and smart that I could never be quite sure they’d mess up nor that they’d succeed… and sometimes I even felt sorry for them.

The plot was very enjoyable. A series of narrow escapes, rising and falling action, and a neat split between several different POVs scattered through Mossflower, Kotir, and Salamandastron lead to a steady rising climax, followed by a very satisfying ending. I cannot say much for spoilers, but I loved how realistic the whole thing was. The journey, the captivities, the hunting, the battling—it was all so exciting! I love the humour that was so present, and the excellent dialects, and the theme of justice and kindness to enemies. This is an excellent follow-up to n  Redwalln and I look forwards to the next book.

Content: Sizeable amount of violence, but I don’t recall anything graphic; perhaps some mild language. There was a slight “prophetic” feel in the Salamandastron part where things were written on the wall that were foretold (someone’s coming + a death) but the characters didn’t make it out to be magic, just didn’t try to explain it. Since they’re animals and this is a made-up world, though, it didn’t bother me too much. A few mentions of dying & “going to the Dark Forest” and being admitted/explaining why they should be admitted. 2 mentions of someone’s sprit hanging around/being present.

* quotes to come *

Plot summary: A warrior mouse named Martin arrives in the woods of Mossflower, only to be captured by the evil wildcat queen, Tsarmina. Upon being rescued by the Mossflower resistance, he embarks on a quest to the badger mountain of Salamandastron in search of Lord Boar, and salvation for Mossflower's inhabitants.

Thoughts: I loved the SHIT out of the Redwall series as a kid. Completely obsessed with them. Read the words off every page. But I hadn't reread any of them in about 15 years. So when I was given a uni assignment that required rereading a book we had strong memories of as a child, I figured it was about time I gave these a go again.

Yeah, 29 year old me didn't adore this. It was a good story, and I definitely enjoyed it. BUT I had a bunch of niggling questions that lodged themselves in the back of my brain, which prevented me from adoring it like I did when I was 10:
- How can mice fight cats/foxes/ferrets? Or train with badgers?? How can these species even fit inside a building together?
- Maybe it's a human sized building?
- Maybe all the different species are more on a par in terms of size? i.e. mice are more the size of squirrels??
- There were a lot of Lord of the Rings parallels - a warrior with a great destiny and a broken sword, a group of three on a quest to find missing friends, a mysterious cave-dwelling beastie.
- Is there actually a religion involved in the various abbeys that crop up in the story? Because if there are robe wearing Brother/Sister mice and an Abbot/Abbess, you'd think there'd be a religion. But nowhere in the book does it mention anything. Similarly, in drawing up her plans for Redwall, the Abbess includes a belltower, but no chapel/church/cathedral.

Etcetera. Basically, if I'd been able to shut off my brain, I think I would have found it much more enjoyable!!

Read this one in a day and a half. The first to this series still ranks higher, but has important backstory (prequel) to the characters! Wish the author would have put a line on the page anytime they switched to a different storyline (there were three at once) and it took me a bit to recognize who and where they were at in the story.

Great story of suspense and action. The character development worked great as well as the action scenarios made sense. I look forward to reading more in the series.

So, I reread this one too. In fact, I almost started the reread with this one. It's always been a favourite. I just feel like this is the origin story of so much of the series, and it's such a fun mix of a quest sub-plot, and the underdogs fighting a tyrant.

5 stars, because it's always been a favourite. And because these books seem to be helping me out of a reading slump (though I may skip Mattimeo if I keep going, because it was never a favourite.)