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juushikaTitle: Martin the Warrior
Author: Brian Jacques
Published: New York: Ace Books, 1995 (1993)
Page Count: 376
Total Page Count: 30,953
Text Number: 89
Read For: my own enjoyment, from my personal library
Short review: The sixth Redwall novel, Martin the Warrior is the story of young Martin's imprisonment by, escape from, and war against the Badrang the Tyrant, ruler of Marshank. Martin is a young mouse, the son of Luke the Warrior. He is captured and enslaved by Badrang, and one night, after violent insurrection, tied up to suffer through a raging storm. It is then he meets Rose, a maiden mouse from the peaceful sanctuary of Noonvale whose brother Brome has also been captured by Badrang. Martin, Rose, and Brome arrange from an escape from Marshank, promising the other slaves that they will one day come back to free them all and to destroy Badrang and his fortress forever. With the help of a roving band of circus performers and a mass of willful slaves, and across a journey through the coastal lands, Brome and Martin each struggle to stay alive, build an army, and return to destroy Badrang. This is a throughly enjoyable installment of the Redwall series, Martin the Warrior provides anxiously-awaited background to Martin's character as he discovers and refines his fighting spirit, experiences peace in Noonvale, and forms a deep friendship with Rose. The book is exciting, the characters (particularly those of Martin, the warrior Felldoh, and the peaceful Brome) are realistic and inspiring, and the book tackles some of the ethical and personal problems of war and the warrior's life that the other Redwall books overlook. It is a great read, a logical lead up to later Redwall books and to the building of Redwall itself, and one of the better books in this series.
Fans of Redwall will of course recognize Martin as the mouse that freed the woodlanders in Mossflower and passed on his sword in Redwall. The chance to read about Martin's life before coming to Mossflower should interest all fans of the series. The center of this book is Martin's coming of age as he changes from youth to an experienced warrior. He also sees his first glimpse of peace when he visits Noonvale with Rose, and it is that journey that will later inspire him to hang up his sword for good in Redwall. This prequel gives insight into Martin's character, his history, and what events created the freedom-loving, peace-desiring Warrior that plays such an important part in other books and remains at the heart of the entire Redwall series.
Martin the Warrior does a spectacular job dealing with war, peace, and factors that drive an individual towards one or the other. Character like Martin, Brome, and Felldoh run a full gamit from peaceful healer to righteous fighter to vengeful warrior, and the book forthrightly deals with issues such as war, death, and peace. Many of the other Redwall books take issues such as these for granted, and no where else in the series are they explored in such depth. These topics give the book great meaning, encourage thought about morals and justice, and create complex and meaningful characters and storylines, especially in the case of Martin.
Beyond these new aspects, the usual parts of a Redwall book are all present: unique and amusing character, good food, exciting journeys, evil enemies, large battles, cleverness, and a mixture of humor and fierce determination. Between two and three storylines run concurrently throughout the text, keeping the action moving along; Badrang and the secondary bad guy Clogg make for a challenging, ruthless enemy that the reader will love to hate. Above all, Martin is realistic, powerful character that is easy to love and to root for. Martin the Warrior is an enjoyable text to read and to reread, and one of the best of the Redwall novels. I highly recommend it.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
Author: Brian Jacques
Published: New York: Ace Books, 1995 (1993)
Page Count: 376
Total Page Count: 30,953
Text Number: 89
Read For: my own enjoyment, from my personal library
Short review: The sixth Redwall novel, Martin the Warrior is the story of young Martin's imprisonment by, escape from, and war against the Badrang the Tyrant, ruler of Marshank. Martin is a young mouse, the son of Luke the Warrior. He is captured and enslaved by Badrang, and one night, after violent insurrection, tied up to suffer through a raging storm. It is then he meets Rose, a maiden mouse from the peaceful sanctuary of Noonvale whose brother Brome has also been captured by Badrang. Martin, Rose, and Brome arrange from an escape from Marshank, promising the other slaves that they will one day come back to free them all and to destroy Badrang and his fortress forever. With the help of a roving band of circus performers and a mass of willful slaves, and across a journey through the coastal lands, Brome and Martin each struggle to stay alive, build an army, and return to destroy Badrang. This is a throughly enjoyable installment of the Redwall series, Martin the Warrior provides anxiously-awaited background to Martin's character as he discovers and refines his fighting spirit, experiences peace in Noonvale, and forms a deep friendship with Rose. The book is exciting, the characters (particularly those of Martin, the warrior Felldoh, and the peaceful Brome) are realistic and inspiring, and the book tackles some of the ethical and personal problems of war and the warrior's life that the other Redwall books overlook. It is a great read, a logical lead up to later Redwall books and to the building of Redwall itself, and one of the better books in this series.
Fans of Redwall will of course recognize Martin as the mouse that freed the woodlanders in Mossflower and passed on his sword in Redwall. The chance to read about Martin's life before coming to Mossflower should interest all fans of the series. The center of this book is Martin's coming of age as he changes from youth to an experienced warrior. He also sees his first glimpse of peace when he visits Noonvale with Rose, and it is that journey that will later inspire him to hang up his sword for good in Redwall. This prequel gives insight into Martin's character, his history, and what events created the freedom-loving, peace-desiring Warrior that plays such an important part in other books and remains at the heart of the entire Redwall series.
Martin the Warrior does a spectacular job dealing with war, peace, and factors that drive an individual towards one or the other. Character like Martin, Brome, and Felldoh run a full gamit from peaceful healer to righteous fighter to vengeful warrior, and the book forthrightly deals with issues such as war, death, and peace. Many of the other Redwall books take issues such as these for granted, and no where else in the series are they explored in such depth. These topics give the book great meaning, encourage thought about morals and justice, and create complex and meaningful characters and storylines, especially in the case of Martin.
Beyond these new aspects, the usual parts of a Redwall book are all present: unique and amusing character, good food, exciting journeys, evil enemies, large battles, cleverness, and a mixture of humor and fierce determination. Between two and three storylines run concurrently throughout the text, keeping the action moving along; Badrang and the secondary bad guy Clogg make for a challenging, ruthless enemy that the reader will love to hate. Above all, Martin is realistic, powerful character that is easy to love and to root for. Martin the Warrior is an enjoyable text to read and to reread, and one of the best of the Redwall novels. I highly recommend it.
Review posted here at Amazon.com.
