Synopsis
Barradum! Barradum! Barrabubbitybubbityboom! Tamello De Fformelo Tussock wants more than anything to join the Long Patrol, those staunch and stalwart hare warriors who make their home at the top of Salamandastron Mountain. But Tammo, as he is called, is too young and inexperienced. Or is he? Guided by the nomad squirrel Russa, Tammo makes his way to Redwall, where the Long Patrol has gathered to protect their beloved Abbey from the great rat Rapscallions. And as the mighty rats rear their ugly heads and ancient Redwall warriors fall, young Tammo learns what life, death and honor really mean as a new generation of Redwall heroes comes to the fore to save their home from evil.
Reviews
Grade 6-8?In this latest "Redwall" entry, Tammo, a young hare, becomes a member of a contingent of fighting forest folk who seek to defend the imperiled Redwall Abbey, led by the badger Lady Cregga Rose Eyes. Tammo and his comrades do battle against the Rapscallion foe, whose leader is the evil greatrat, Damug Warfang. Eventually the forces of good meet and clash with their evil enemies in a battle of legendary proportions. Good triumphs, of course, but not before several noble warriors have met their deaths. There is a tremendous amount of violence in this book. The characters maintain some of their animal characteristics, but it is their human qualities that make them either appealing or repugnant. The bad Rapscallions are thoroughly dishonest, traitorous, and cruel. The badgers, mice, hedgehogs, moles, and other assorted creatures that represent goodness may have foibles but they are unremittingly kind and generous. Pen-and-ink thumbnail sketches appear at the head of each chapter and strongly communicate the sense of drama. Some of the creatures, most notably the laboring class of moles, speak in an impossible, jaw-breaking dialect that may slow some readers down a bit; nevertheless, this is a worthy addition to a series that has found a definite niche among fantasy lovers. It breaks no new ground, but it is a satisfying adventure with a comforting, predictable conclusion. Its closing lines pave the way for yet another sequel.?Bruce Anne Shook, Mendenhall Middle School, Greensboro, NC
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
A hastily assembled band of shrews, hedgehogs, and squirrels, led by a detachment of hares from the Long Patrol, marches out to defend Redwall Abbey from a horde of vicious rats in Jacques's latest installment (The Pearls of Lutra, p. 59, etc.). Under a new Firstblade, Damug Warfang, the thousand Rapscallions left after a failed assault on Long Patrol headquarters at Salamandastron set their sights on Redwall Abbey when they learn its southern wall is in desperate need of repair. Fortunately for the abbey's peaceful residents and many younglings, a platoon of the Long Patrol, including frisky new recruit Tamello De Fformelo Tussock, arrives to coordinate defense, and so does a relief column from Salamandastron. Jacques uses the winning formula developed in his earlier books, pitting treacherous, stupid, bloodthirsty woodland predators against heroic, commonsensical--and mostly vegetarian--good guys; opening with skirmishes, ballads, and feasts described in loving detail; breaking off, though never for long, for more meals and songs; building up to a climactic, seesaw battle; then finishing with a wedding, more feasting and verse, and a long-delayed homecoming. Fans will find characters and connections from previous books, the familiar thick dialect, delicious language, dashing action, and the comforting happy ending they've learned to expect. (Fiction. 11-13) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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