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3rd out of 26 books
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26 voters
Salamandastron (Redwall #5)
The inhabitants of Redwall relax in the haze of summer-but as they do, the neighboring stronghold of Salamandastron lies besieged by the evil weasel army of Ferhago the Assassin. Worse still, Mara, beloved daughter of Urthstripe, Badger Lord of the Fire Mountain, is in terrible danger. Then a lightning bolt uncovers the sword of Martin the Warrior, and young Samkin embarks...more
Paperback, 400 pages
Published
September 15th 2003
by Firebird
(first published January 1st 1992)
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Okay, so there was the badger, I think, and he had some bloodlust, being a badger, and maybe his family died? And he set off on a great quest to defeat all the vermin overlords of the north? And then some hares showed up and were funny and ate everything and said "Wot" a lot (hares being the generally insatiable comic relief in these novels. Yes, they also speak in cockney), and there was probably a description of a feast that made me hungry and sad that I didn't live in the UK where it is commo...more
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I'm giving all these books a 4, because they basically GOT me hooked on fantasy I think. I read all of these in elementary school, and still have fond memories floating around, even if the books are shit. Here's a review from my 10 year old mind. The rad legendary weapons, (with the channels etched in for blood flow, which i found super hardcore). The foods, the booze, honey mead and apple wine or whatever. Come to think of it, these books might also be a little responsible for my alcoholism, to...more
May 21, 2013
Haley
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-that-are-great,
books-with-great-endings
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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In the prologue to this fifth novel of Redwall, Ferahgo the Assassin, a weasel, has killed the badger lord Urthound and his wife Urthrun, leaving their two babies, one striped and the other white, to die of starvation. But do they die? Chapter one opens after many long seasons. Ferahgo and his Corpsemakers have slowly moved northward and are determined to capture Salamandastron, ruled by the badger lord Urthstripe and protected by the hares of the Long Patrol. However, Urthstripe’s daughter Mar...more
After venturing further into the fantasy genre, I picked up this book which had been in a box of books for many years. I remember reading part of it to my son about 10-yrs ago but we never finished it. Since I'm loathe to throw any books out without at least giving them a chance, I began a refresher of Salamandastron.
The book was first published in the UK and was written with a YA audience in mind but it was an entertaining read for me as well. It's part of the large Red Wall series of books, an...more
The book was first published in the UK and was written with a YA audience in mind but it was an entertaining read for me as well. It's part of the large Red Wall series of books, an...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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The book Salamandastron may be long but its the name of the mountain fortress run by a badger lord named Urthstripe. The daughter of Urthstripe is Mara who goes out on a journey to escape the fort for a while while Ferhago the assassin and his son Klitch goes out to capture the fortress to get the badger's treasure. Meanwhile at Redwall a famous abbey for housing Martin the Warrior has a crazy little mischevious Samkin which found the sword which fell off the abbey being struck by lightning. He...more
This was my first foray into the Redwall series, the armored badger on the cover look so awesome to 5th grade me that I picked it up without actually knowing what the premise was. I wasn't disappointed. For the rest of my schooling I'd pick up Jacques' books for what I'd know would be a fun read. His ability to give each 'race' such varied characterization and dialects tickled my worldbuilding fancy, and I've strove to write in a similar way when I work on my fantasy project. The books follow th...more
5 stars from the 10ish year old me reading her first ever fantasy novel. It got me hooked, I devoured the whole series, then went searching for more like it. Present day me gives it 3.5 stars. Jacques is an excellent writer; I really do love the way he blends multiple story lines throughout the books only to tie them up together in one neat little package at the end. The characters and the world are just lovely. What I wouldn't give to live at Redwall Abbey! However adult me recognizes that each...more
Thrugg and Dungle won my heart.
I didn't notice the main plotflow of the story for the most part (I have a habit of zoning out on books from time to time), but when I heard about the disease, Dryditch fever, my little ten-year-old mind went into a panic. I've always had a great fear about getting some kind of horrible incurable infectious disease, and Dryditch is just the kind of thing that got my little heart racing (I'm more worried about Ebola these days). Then of course Thrugg comes along; o...more
I didn't notice the main plotflow of the story for the most part (I have a habit of zoning out on books from time to time), but when I heard about the disease, Dryditch fever, my little ten-year-old mind went into a panic. I've always had a great fear about getting some kind of horrible incurable infectious disease, and Dryditch is just the kind of thing that got my little heart racing (I'm more worried about Ebola these days). Then of course Thrugg comes along; o...more
It was an absolute privilege to be taken along for the ride once again as Brian Jacques unwound one of his most memorable and moving tales yet, Salamandastron.
A book this good, and this full with glowingly wonderful story material, doesn't come along very often, yet it seems to happen each and every time that Brian Jacques endeavors to create a new novel. All of the characters in Salamandastron are beautifully formed and come etched in deep reality down to their very last thoughts and actions,...more
A book this good, and this full with glowingly wonderful story material, doesn't come along very often, yet it seems to happen each and every time that Brian Jacques endeavors to create a new novel. All of the characters in Salamandastron are beautifully formed and come etched in deep reality down to their very last thoughts and actions,...more
I love how Salamandastron abandons the pattern the first four books choose to follow. I think that's why it became one of my favorites right away. The way the story is told as a bedtime story to one of the dibbuns, it's rather clever. The pacing was also a lot more solid and I was always wondering how the good creatures of Salamandastron would protect their precious mountain from Ferahgo and his seemingly endless band of Corpsemakers. Definitely one of the best Redwall books so far, but I'm stil...more
Entertaining and a nice easy read.
I like the stories of Redwall, the plots are pretty good, but a few things about the series are starting to bother me. I'm kind of annoyed that weasels and foxes are ALWAYS the bad guys. Also getting tired of the "quaint mole-speech" and now the highland falcon/eagle speech in this book as it sometimes takes me awhile to translate what they're saying into proper English and it slows down the reading for me. The long drawn-out descriptions of the feasts are getti...more
I like the stories of Redwall, the plots are pretty good, but a few things about the series are starting to bother me. I'm kind of annoyed that weasels and foxes are ALWAYS the bad guys. Also getting tired of the "quaint mole-speech" and now the highland falcon/eagle speech in this book as it sometimes takes me awhile to translate what they're saying into proper English and it slows down the reading for me. The long drawn-out descriptions of the feasts are getti...more
Mara the badger, Martin the Warrior and Samkin the squirrel are the main heros of this story. Mara is strong and fears nothing. Martin the Warrior is a strong mouse who, like Mara, is afraid of not a thing. Unntil Ferhago the Assasin parades in. Once Martin discovers that Ferhago is heading toward Redwall Abbey, he will do nothing but try to get to his beloved homeland before the horride weasel. Will Martin defeat Ferhago? Or will Redwall Abbey be enslaved to Ferhago forever? This novel is great...more
The fifth Redwall novel, Salamandastron is the story of a badger maid, a blue-eyed ferret, and a plague at Redwall. Mara is a young badger maid who escapes her home, Salamandastron, and her overbearing adoptive father. As Mara begins her quest throughout Mossflower country, meeting up with Guosssom shrews and members from Redwall, Salamandastron falls under attack by a disarming, ruthless blue-eyed ferret. Meanwhile, a young squirrel named Samkim leaves Redwall in pursuit of the sword of Martin...more
I have run out of steam for the Redwall series.
1- The characters are new in every book now, and there is very little attention paid to where each book falls in the chronology of Redwall Abbey's development. The reader spends a lot of time wondering who each creature is related to, when this story happened, etc. with no answer.
2- Brian Jacques talks about food too damn much. If I read one more line about Foremole's deep-n-ever beetroot pie, buttercup cream or strawberry cordial, I am going to scr...more
1- The characters are new in every book now, and there is very little attention paid to where each book falls in the chronology of Redwall Abbey's development. The reader spends a lot of time wondering who each creature is related to, when this story happened, etc. with no answer.
2- Brian Jacques talks about food too damn much. If I read one more line about Foremole's deep-n-ever beetroot pie, buttercup cream or strawberry cordial, I am going to scr...more
This was my favorite of the Redwall series, because I'm all about the fighting hares who speak in British accents. And I loved the badgers. Despite the ridiculous factor of these books - just reading the words "Urthstripe, Badger Lord of Fire Mountain" made me laugh - they are awesome. Someday I will probably reread up until The Pearls of Lutra (was there even a series after Pearls of Lutra?).
My first experience with Brain Jacques, and boy, the rumors were true!
Salamandastron offers:
1. A wonderfully detailed and absorbing atmosphere
2. A memorable cast of fun characters
3. Countless descriptions of meals and feasts. Jacques seems to suffer from some strange psychological compulsion that forces him to tell us what each and every character had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the duration of the book.
Salamandastron offers:
1. A wonderfully detailed and absorbing atmosphere
2. A memorable cast of fun characters
3. Countless descriptions of meals and feasts. Jacques seems to suffer from some strange psychological compulsion that forces him to tell us what each and every character had for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the duration of the book.
This is one of my favourite redwall books, these books followed the Hobbit with my introduction to fantasy and I can't help but overlook the cons of Brian Jacque writing. This book had a fun story and great characters, this may be one of the best redwall books in the series. Unsurprisingly after reading this book I felt a little confused watching national geographic's badger special and seeing what they were eating...
Another great Redwall story. This book centers around activities outside the abby, for the most part. Although many of the characters originate in Redwall, they end up out and about. Great character development. I liked how the bad guys were a father and son and there was tension created between them.
Oh, and this book uses the hares of the long patrol. Can't get enough of them.
Oh, and this book uses the hares of the long patrol. Can't get enough of them.
"the mice of redwall have some badger muscle on their side"
of all the redwall books i've read, i have the fondest memories of this one in particular. although most of these novels followed a definite formula (intro, redwall abbey, battle, redwall abbey, battle, ...), this one introduced the readers to my favorite character in the redwall universe, the badge king (forgot his name). what i remember most was how jaques was able to describe the mannerisms of each of the different animals particularl...more
of all the redwall books i've read, i have the fondest memories of this one in particular. although most of these novels followed a definite formula (intro, redwall abbey, battle, redwall abbey, battle, ...), this one introduced the readers to my favorite character in the redwall universe, the badge king (forgot his name). what i remember most was how jaques was able to describe the mannerisms of each of the different animals particularl...more
This book was very thrilling and exciting, I can't help but feeling that it would have been better if the characters weren't animals. I think that if all of the character were humans this story would be far more gripping than it was. That is my only complaint thought I found this book very enjoyable and would recommend it to anyone looking for something different.
Mara the badger is tired of her father, Urthstripe the Strong, treats her. She and her friend, Pikkle, leave the castle stronghold and fall into the clutches of Ferahgo the Assassin. While many things happen, Mara eventually finds her father's lost twin brother, Urthwyte, who becomes the Lord of Salamandastron and Mara becomes the mother badger of Redwall.
I decided to relive my childhood and reread this book over my Spring Break. Definitely could see why I loved all of these when I was younger - entertaining characters with an interesting plotline.
I did notice that some of the book seemed to tell you exactly what the character was thinking instead of letting their actions show it. It was kind of annoying at the beginning, but I ignored it towards the end.
Overall, just a good, fun read.
I did notice that some of the book seemed to tell you exactly what the character was thinking instead of letting their actions show it. It was kind of annoying at the beginning, but I ignored it towards the end.
Overall, just a good, fun read.
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I love the badgers; what can I say? I've always had a weakness for the motherly or, in this case, fatherly, types in books. They're almost always my favorite character. The hares and badgers are two of my favorite species in these books, and this book focused on them a lot. I guess that's why I loved it so much.
When I was in elementary school, these books transported me to an absolutely wonderful, and unique, world. I can't recommend these books enough to younger readers. I remember falling in love with these characters and becoming quite invested in the world that Jacques created, one formed with great love and care.
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This book was a great book because there was a lot of action and a lot of different things happening at once. While the siege of Salamandastron is going on, the chase for The Sword of Martin the Warrior is also going on. This book is good because if you get bored of one part, you can go to another part that is more interesting.
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| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| These books were wonderfully written | 6 | 18 | Oct 03, 2012 06:34pm |
Brian Jacques (pronounced 'jakes') was born in Liverpool, England on June 15th, 1939. Along with forty percent of the population of Liverpool, his ancestral roots are in Ireland, County Cork to be exact.
Brian grew up in the area around the Liverpool docks, where he attended St. John's School, an inner city school featuring a playground on its roof. At the age of ten, his very first day at St. Joh...more
More about Brian Jacques...
Brian grew up in the area around the Liverpool docks, where he attended St. John's School, an inner city school featuring a playground on its roof. At the age of ten, his very first day at St. Joh...more
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“An early fly landed on Mara's eyelid.
She shooed it off with a dozy paw as she awakened to peachgold dawn stealing softly over the sleeping dunes.The land lay in a pool of serinity;the sand,now still and cool,awaited sun-warmed day.Somewhere a lark began trilling as it fluttered its morning ascent into the airy heights.”
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She shooed it off with a dozy paw as she awakened to peachgold dawn stealing softly over the sleeping dunes.The land lay in a pool of serinity;the sand,now still and cool,awaited sun-warmed day.Somewhere a lark began trilling as it fluttered its morning ascent into the airy heights.”
