Salamandastron

Redwall #5

by Brian Jacques, Gary Chalk (Illustrations)

The Redwall series is soon to be a Netflix original movie!

The beloved Redwall saga continues in Salamandastron .

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 on an adventure that leads him to Mara. Can the good creatures triumph over the villainous Assassin?

Perfect for fans of T. A. Barron’s Merlin saga, John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series, and J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Animals, Adventure, Middle Grade

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

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. John's foreshadowed his future career as an author; given an assignment to write a story about animals, he wrote a short story about a bird who cleaned a crocodile's teeth. Brian's teacher could not, and would not believe that a ten year old could write so well. When young Brian refused to falsely say that he had copied the story, he was caned as "a liar". He had always loved to write, but it was only then that he realized he had a talent for it.
He wrote Redwall for the children at the Royal Wavertree School for the Blind in Liverpool, where as a truck driver, he delivered milk. Because of the nature of his first audience, he made his style of writing as descriptive as possible, painting pictures with words so that the schoolchildren could see them in their imaginations. He remained a patron of the school until his death.

Brian lived in Liverpool, where his two grown sons, Marc, a carpenter and bricklayer, and David, a professor of Art and a muralist, still reside. David Jacques' work can be seen in Children's hospitals, soccer stadiums, and trade union offices as far away as Germany, Mexico, and Chile (not to mention Brian's photo featured in most of his books).

Brian also ran a weekly radio show on BBC Radio Merseyside, until October 2006, where he shared his comedy and wit, and played his favourites from the world of opera - he was a veritable expert on The Three Tenors.

When he was wasn't writing, Brian enjoyed walking his dog 'Teddy', a white West Highland Terrier, and completing crossword puzzles. When he found time he read the works of Mario Puzo, Damon Runyon, Richard Condon, Larry McMurty, and P.G. Wodehouse. He was also known to cook an impressive version of his favourite dish, spaghetti and meatballs.

Sadly, Brian passed away on the 5th February 2011.

Reviews

[Joseph Leskey · Rating 5 out of 5]

If this was not enjoyable, then neither is a concoction of cocoa. And that is all I have to say on the matter.

[Jane Jago · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say is five stars.

I can't properly review Redwall titles because when I read one I'm seven years old again. And I don't think anyone wants to read the inane burblings of my seven-year-old self. I'm bad enough at sixty-mumble.

Just read 'em...

[Cheyenne Langevelde · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was in many ways different from the other Redwall books I've read so far, but in a good way. This centered more around the badgers' mountain and other peoples and places than just Redwall Abbey, but I enjoyed it all the same. My favorite parts were definitely the falcons and the eagles because they had such lovely Scottish highland accents. Those were so much fun to read!

[TS Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable woodlands romp that was filled with the most delicious descriptions of pies, puddings, creams, nuts, fruits, and it goes on and on.

I was surprised with the amount of deaths in this instalment, though, and on the side of the good guys, too. Possibly one of the sadder endings so far, but it was still a satisfying one.

[Christian Schultheiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m beyond thrilled to finally be stepping back into this mystical animal run world of moss flower, and while I always adore tales of redwall itself, I loved the different aspect that was mostly following the badger people under the mount of Salamandastron, which just made the whole tale more of a war saga than anything else. That and the creative threat and problem actually facing the redwallers this time around not necessarily being evil rodent but something far more deadly… disease. 4.25/5

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, despite the fact that I usually don’t like the random, usually unrelated to the main plot Redwall Abbey stories, this one wasn’t too bad. While the fever was random and Thrugg and Dumble’s quest added even more viewpoints to the already viewpoint-heavy book (seriously, there’s six different major viewpoints in this book: Salamandastron, Ferahgo/Klitch, Mara, Samkim, Thrugg, and Redwall), the side plot was a welcome relief from the five other viewpoints going on. The Salamandastron viewpoint was probably the best, especially since it introduced a place that hasn’t really been visited for a very long amount of time before. Plus, Salamandastron is where the hares are, and I love me the hares.

Ferahgo was a decent villain, probably one of Redwall’s best in terms of cleverness/presence/power over others/sanity, although I grew tired of the antagonism between him and his son. For once I’d like to see a villain who actually loves his family; I’m not sure if Jacques has that in future books, but considering his archetype for villains, probably not. When I saw the movie Epic, I was so excited that the villain loved his son. It’s not something I see or read often, although maybe I’m just not reading the right books.

Is it just me, or are all the heroes (well, Samkim, Arula, Mara, and Pikkle) incredibly boring? I mean, Samkim and Arula are pretty much useless; all Samkim does is kill the Deepcoiler and that could easily have been done a different way. Samkim is worse than Dandin of Mariel of Redwall in terms of hero material. Mara’s the true hero of the four; she’s the one that does all the work and gets the most—scratch that, gets any–development. Her awful rebellious stage is annoying and cheesy, but at least she gets better.

Really, Redwall Abbey could have been completely cut out of the entire book and it would have been a better book. More focused, better characters, better development.

I absolutely hated how Samkim and Arula were never punished for their arrow-firing stunts. The elders were all, “They should probably be punished, but…they’re really quite good, we’re being too hard on them, we’re going to let them off and reward them instead.” When I did archery back in the day, I got in trouble just for bending down and picking up an arrow that had fallen close to another shooter. But in the discipline-less Redwall Abbey, rather than punish Samkim and Arula, Hollyberry lies, the elders say, “Oh, no, that punishment was too harsh! How terrible!” and Samkim and Arula say, “Suckers!” I think this is why I disliked Samkim all throughout the book, really.

As much I love this series, I have to admit that Jacques does a ton of retconning throughout. I’m pretty sure he just forgets characters and so either a.) gives the wrong name b.) changes their backstory or c.) completely changes their character. In this book, he calls Rufe Brush “Rufe Brushtail.”

[Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fifth installment in the Redwall series takes things up a notch, in my opinion. We have half a dozen different plot lines, which are all interesting and all fairly fast-paced. I found myself easily invested in all of the different stories, as well as all of the many main characters. And when these stories began to finally all tie together, I found it immensely satisfying. There’s a lot of action here, and some major character death, so young readers should be prepared going in. I still love this series. It makes me think of classic fantasy like Wheel of Time or similar series, but for children and featuring anthropomorphic animals. While not perfect, it’s a wonderful series that is holding up well to rereading as an adult. And, as always, the food descriptions were absolutely incredible. Don’t read these books while hungry!

[Katja Labonté · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. I might start sounding like a broken record by now—but yes, this was awesome and yes, it adds delightfully to the series. (Like, it’s awesome how in one or the other of the books they mention why the hares are so off-hand and still great warriors…)

Anyways, with a title like Salamandastron, you’d expect this to be about the badgers and hares, right? Well, it is—but not the usual way, aka not like Lord Brocktree or Mossflower or the other books. Instead, we open up with our badger friends in Mossflower murdered by a blue-eyed, soft-spoken ferret captain that I absolutely loathed because of how sweetly murderous he was. Skipping to Salamandastron, we get Urthstripe the Strong struggling with the care of his adopted daughter Mara and her friend Pickle. And then we wander all over the face of the Redwall world by foot and by ship and by wing… oh, and yes, Redwall Abbey is the second main setting, of course.

Urthstripe! I couldn’t help loving the poor old chap in spite of how annoyed I got with him for letting Mara drag him around by the nose. I also started out by hating Mara. But she straightened out in the end (reminded me of Mariel) and so did Pickle (delightful sidekick, he was). Ferahgo the Assassin, as aforementioned, was terrible and so was his son. (I enjoyed the unusual dynamics of that relationship though). Loambudd and particularly Urthwyte were unexpected but super cool additions. Dingeye and Thura, on the other hand, were horrid additions to Redwall. Tubgutt & Logalog reminded me of the Mattimeo angle on the Guossim but it ended up quite different and I liked it. The hares were all fun and varied and I loved Oxeye and Sapwood was so fun. Farran was worse than Shadow from Redwall, by the way. Everyone at Redwall was really nice, of course, and I loved meeting all the new folk and the hermit. Also Thrugg was amazingggg. And Samkin was a delightful hero and so was Arula. And I was so, so excited with the addition of the northland (aka Highland) birds!!!! I wish they were present in other books because they were THE BOMB.

*coughs* oh yeah, plot. The whole Mara-Klitch thing was veryyy interesting, even if it didn’t last super long. Mara & Pickle’s journey started out similar to other books (I’m getting really tired of the frogs, y’all) but soon became unique with the Log-a-Log addition + journey. Sam & Arula’s journey started a whole new storyline and I looooved seeing them chase Martin’s sword! I just wish it had been a little longer and honestly it would have been fun if Martin’s sword had made it back to Ferahgo or something—it would have been so cool. Anyways, the 3 plot lines here were pretty much all journeys because then Thrugg and Dumble (the cutest thing) start off on their own journey to find the flowers because Redwall is afflicted with a deadly plague (super cool plot twist there!). Thrugg + Dumble were the most adorable pair and I absolutely loved their chapters. Especially when Rocangus shows up. Everything is wrapped up satisfactorily at Salamandastron—if it is very sad… and except the fact that I would have really loved to see where Mara was from—and eventually at Redwall too. <3 (T & T were a super cute brother-sister relationship, by the way).

In short, this is another great addition to the series—bear with me, guys, I’m trying to find another way to say that—and I loved it. The end.

*quotes & content list to come upon reread*

[Junsei · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to read this book because I wanted to understand the whole series of Redwall. This book was about a moutain called Salamandastron being attacked by a never-ending band of Ferahgo the Assassin's Corpsemakers. This really shows the writing skills of Brain Jacques. When reading this book, I thought of me being in Japan. I went to a mountain full of cave system, rooms, kitchens , staircase and I just thought that Salamandastron mountain in the book was just the same. I felt that I was Lord Urthstripe the Strong, wearing my heavy bag (which I thought it was the heavy amour he wore) and water bottle (which I thought it was the weapon he held). This book is a little different from the other books because the intro was the start of a dibbuns bed time story and there was no attacks on Redwall (I guess because this book was called Salamandastron). I feel proud for Brain Jacques because he was the author of the book I read which got me into reading. Before, I can only read about 10 min but now I read for more than 2 hours if I had the time and I get engaged easily.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listen. I read a bunch of these as a kid and I LOVED them and I have very fond memories and with COVID and other life things reading has been really difficult for a very long time. So I've been reading this series and it's delightful and kind of like meeting an old friend as I slowly remember the stories. 12/10 would recommend rereading stuff you like if you're hating books like me right now.

[Terry Rudge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved exploring outside of redwall and this is once again an absolute classic. I didnt own this one growing up so this was a first time read.

You just can't beat the world building and the imagination of these stories. The graphic audios with the singing, ditties and crazy noises , can't help but make me smile

[Eon Windrunner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another great Redwall story and might just be the pick of the bunch so far.

Salamandastron definitely has more plot lines going than any of it's predecessors, but managed them all with aplomb; I never felt that I wanted to skip any of them and was keen to see them all tie in with one another. It even featured quite a few darker moments, not shying away from character deaths, but balanced this nicely with some beautiful and emotional scenes. Lastly, as with every story in this series it features a veritable buffet of fine dining and I would never recommend to read this on an empty stomach as most of it sounded delicious.

[Kate Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

My library books hadn't come in, so instead I read this random kid's book a friend gave me. I vaguely remembered the series from my childhood. I thought it would annoy me to read a book for babies. And then before long I'm gasping with surprise and weeping over the deaths of valiant rodents.

How are babies supposed to keep all these characters straight? How are babies supposed to care this much about the details of cakes and pastries? How are babies supposed to emotionally handle this much violence and death? This book rocks.

[Andree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing to reread these. This one was fine? Mostly I thought there were too many new characters and too many plotlines. There are four major plotlines interweaving through this, and I think one should have been cut. And I think that one should have been Dryditch fever at Redwall, given it's entire lack of connection to the other three plotlines (which at least converged at the end). Also, because the narrative jumped around so much, I don't know that you spend enough time with any one group of characters to get that invested, particularly in the case of a plotline centred around the outbreak of a deadly illness. I mean, sure there's some tension, but it's hard to get too worked up about how ill ny given character is if you've only spent half a dozen pages with them (at most), none of them particuarly significant.

Basically, entertaining enough, but I think the balance is off in this one.

[Guguk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beberapa tahun lalu, waktu sedang main di 'rumah' Gusfina, Camo-sama cerita-cerita soal komik Redwall yang waktu itu ndak jadi dibuat filmnya. Pas itu aku tertarik tapi sadar kalo blom sanggup beli komik impor. Ndilalah kok ya pas browsing marketplace nemu novelnya (╯✧▽✧)╯!!
"Hah?! Ini Redwall? Redwall yang dibilang Camo??"
Langsung nyari info di gudrit ini, ternyata novelnya berseri (✧ω✧) Dengan semangat bonek membara, sikat aja novel yang (harganya) terjangkau. Dapat beberapa, nomer seri ndak urut, tapi percuma jadi bonek kalo gentar karenanya~

Yang pertama dibaca ya judul ini (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ♡
~dan langsung jatuh hati (⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄<⁄ ⁄)❤

Ada rasa, "Ke mana aja aku selama ini? Kok baru tau buku seseru inii?!!" Karena novel ini berisi semua yang aku pengenin: Tokoh2nya hewan semua, dan nyeritain pertempuran, pengkhianatan, kesetiaan, pengorbanan, keberanian, dan petualangan (✧ω✧)☆ Ada monster juga! Kurang lengkap apa, coba~ σ(≧ε≦σ) ♡

Dan biarpun full-action, tapi ada banyak sisipan komedi dan acara makan-makan ( ^ ﹃ ^ ) sukaa~~ Sisipan ini ngga bikin keseruan terhenti, tapi malah jadi hiburan biar ga terlalu gersang.

Jadi ini nyeritain soal benteng Salamandastron yang dipimpin seekor badger...

...yang kuat berwibawa, tapi ndak sanggup mengendalikan anak angkatnya, Mara, yang memilih keluar dari benteng. Sementara itu, ada sekelompok bandit yang diketuai seekor weasel...

...yang lihai dan licik, yang mengincar harta di Salamandastron.
(*ini kok foto weasel-nya imut banget //mimisan XD)

Selain itu, ada biara Redwall yang penghuninya riang gembira, yang tiba-tiba panik karena pedang pusaka yang disucikan di biara itu dicuri! Jalinan kisah perjuangan tentara benteng, petualangan tupai dan mole anggota biara yang mencari pedang, dan perjalanan Mara di tempat-tempat yang berbahaya, semuanya diceritakan saling-silang tanpa bikin bingung. Aksi bertubi-tubi! (☆ω☆)
Dan ketika jalinannya saling terkait, rasanya makin w(°ｏ°)w puas!

Pas baca beberapa ulasan, ada yang menyebutkan kalau novel-novel di seri Redwall ini vibes-nya sama. Aku rasa, aku ngga keberatan (≧◡≦) Toh tokoh-tokohnya beda, dan petualangannya pun bakal beda~

Di Salamandastron ini, tokoh favoritku adalah si Arula, the mole-maid \^o^/ yang ngedampingin si Samkin Tupai dalam petualangan mencari pedang; soalnya Arula bukan cuma berani tapi juga kocak 💙 Udah gitu, di sini kaum tikus tanah punya aksen sendiri, yang bikin kadang-kadang omongannya sulit dipahami pembaca makhluk lain, jadi sering dianggap remeh. Tapi Arula tak gentarr~ (❤▽❤)

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another quest (or two), trouble at home, some bad guys to kill, and happy ending
New characters in similar stories, but still enjoyable. Will I make it through all 22 books?

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 scream. Seriously, 25% of the book is menu and eating. AUGH!
3- Which makes other parts of the book anachronistic because they are all about woodland creatures killing each other, poisoning, stabbing lances through hearts, slicing throats, I mean seriously gory, violent stuff.
4- The accents are now pissing me off. The moles speak this kind of cockney that is so annoying and difficult to read I skim over all of it. The otters speak this pirate-type baloney, also skimmable. And the rabbits speak like I don't know what -- crazed British/Australian goofballs.

The plots are very good. There are always disasters to resolve (Dryditch disease) and bad guys to annihilate (Ferahgo the Assassin). And the clever plot twists and cliffhangers kept me curious and reading past the annoying elements.

However, between the food and the accents, I skimmed at least 50% of this book. Time to stop. The first 3 books in the Redwall series are great though.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 books plot is almost exactly the same, and doesn't really like having a moral lesson shoved down my throat at every opportunity.
All the same, I look forward to reading these with my little ones someday. I think they are the perfect stories to instill a love of reading into a child.

[E.J. Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was certainly an interesting book to read during COVID, considering the Dryditch Fever outbreak, but even beyond that there's so much to enjoy in this. Arguably one of the most epic hero/villain confrontations in the series (which spans most of the book in one form or another), Mara and Samkim both getting to be heroic before the end, some genuine humour (it's not credible that a dormouse could frighten a golden eagle, but it's too funny a moment to not appreciate), and a genuinely heartwarming ending.

[Spencer Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in the Redwall series. I have had a particular infatuation with Jacques’ depictions of the badgers since Mossflower, so I was definitely looking forward to this novel, and it didn’t disappoint. Very little of the story takes place at Redwall Abby, that might be a negative for some, but it didn’t detract from the story for me. I really enjoy the characters of the badger lords of Salamandastron; their martial excellence, internal codes of honor, sense of duty, the mystery surrounding their lives, and their strange connection with fate. All of these things, in addition to their near-invincibility, make them larger than life characters in these stories.

Another element of the story that I appreciate is the consistent treatment of Martin the Warrior’s sword. This novel is the first time that the sword is used for evil (unless I’m forgetting something), so the meaning of the sword is stressed, that it isn’t a magical device, it isn’t good or evil, nor does it make the holder into a warrior; but rather it is a tool that must be treated with respect and if the wielder uses it with good intentions, then it is capable of doing great things, as it does so consistently. The stress is placed on the integrity of the wielder, which transcends the series, rather than the sword, which is merely an object within the series.

I also enjoy the development of the world of Redwall that continually takes place in these books. New characters and places are introduced in this book and I hope to see some of them again.

Something that these books do for me, and I believe this is a feature of great art in general, is that they are inspiring in one way or another. These are fun books but they also leave me thinking about the heroes and the kind of individuals that they are. The efforts of heroes like Thrugg the otter are particularly potent to me, his (semi)lone quest to the dangerous and distant north is not a light thing, but he did it because the lives of many others were dependent on it (I don’t really do spoilers in these reviews so I’ll leave it at that). The point is, characters like Thrugg, Urthstripe, and Samkin take great personal risks to do what is right and sometimes it costs them greatly, and this is part of what makes them so inspiring to me, true heroes.

[Tabitha Tomala · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Salamandastron

Ferhago the Assassin has set his eyes on Salamandastron. He is convinced treasure lies within the mountain’s depths. His son tricks Mara and her friend Pikkle into leaving the safety of Salamandastron to use as leverage. But Ferhago will find that the young badger and hare are not so easily kept captive. Meanwhile, across Mossflower Woods, Martin the Warrior’s sword is stolen from Redwall Abbey by members of Ferhago’s crew. Samkin the squirrel and Arula the molemaid set off to retrieve the Abbey sword, inevitably crossing paths with Mara and Pikkle. Together they must find a way to aid Salamandastron.

It was refreshing to see a squirrel wielding the sword of Martin the Warrior. The heroes of Redwall have all been mice up until Salamandastron. As each woodland creature has its own way of approaching situations, having a squirrel's perspective was a welcome change. Samkin is a skilled marksman but does not put his talent to good use. He and Arula are often found shooting arrows as pranks and landing themselves in trouble. But when Martin's sword is stolen, he and Arula do not hesitate to track down the thieves. And in doing so, they will overcome their mischievous ways and find themselves on their paths to becoming heroes.

While Redwall Abbey is an integral part of Salamandastron, the focus stays rooted in the characters tied to the mountain. Ferhago is a devious foe, willing to play the long game to win. He has many tricks up his sleeve and could care less if he is dishonorable in his victories. The solidarity and determination of the Salamandastron squad will encourage readers to cheer them on and weep alongside those who lose companions. The battle of good versus evil ensues as heroes young and old rise up against their vermin foes.

And while this time around no one is seeking to capture Redwall Abbey, a new unexpected threat lies in wait for the peaceful creatures. A sickness begins to spread, one that Brother Hollyberry has nothing to cure. And while it seems as if another plot would overtax the storyline, it gives readers a respite from the battles taking place at the mountain. Building a new form of tension as creatures succumb to the sickness awaiting the discovery of a cure.

Salamandastron breaks the mold of the previous Redwall books and yet still immerses readers in a wonderful tale filled with heroes, quests, and found family. The fifth book of the Redwall series provides a healthy dose of Redwall lore, wholesome adventure, and great characters. Readers will be sure to enjoy this fast-paced installment of the Redwall series.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 This was the last of the Redwall novels I read when I was younger. I’ve been trying to read one or two of them a year to finally finish reading the series. Salamandastron is the 5th book in the series of 22 total. They’re easy reading and stylistically very similar of each other. I think I enjoyed this one a bit more than the last in part due to the larger cast of characters and better protagonist in Ferahgo the Assassin and his son Glitch. I think Mariel was a much better hero than Samkin who was the hero this time around but the Pirate Lord from Mariel of Redwall was pretty boring villain compared to the the rest. Ferahgo is up there with Cluny the Scourge or Slagar the Slaver.

The series is fun but a bit repetitive but sometimes that’s just what I’m looking for. Not all fantasy tales need to be over deep or convoluted.

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) · Rating 1 out of 5]

(I finished this a month ago and should have reviewed it back then, but I was more interested in diving into my next book than writing a review.)

Salamandastron follows multiple groups of characters whose paths eventually converge. The primary storyline starts at Salamandastron. Ferahgo, a blue-eyed assassin weasel, has set his sights on that place and is convinced that there is great treasure to be found there. He knows it’ll all belong to him if he and his band can manage to defeat Urthstripe, the great badger Lord, and his skilled warrior hares. Urthstripe, meanwhile, is distracted by family problems: Mara, his adopted daughter, has been growing increasingly rebellious and restless.

The secondary storyline starts at Redwall Abbey. Everything there is good food and celebrations, with occasional light punishments for scamps like Samkim the squirrel and his best friend Arula the molemaid, until a couple stoats accidentally do something horrible. Suddenly Samkim finds himself suspected of killing someone. As if that wasn’t bad enough, many of Redwall Abbey’s residents then fall ill with the dreaded Dryditch Fever.

This is the first Redwall book I’ve ever read. I had planned to start with Redwall, the very first book in the series, but my copy was used and fell apart in my hands when I opened it up. After a little searching online, I determined that I should be able to start with Salamandastron, the one other Redwall book I owned, without becoming too confused.

Salamandastron was given to me by a friend back when I was, I think, in middle school. If I had read it back then, I might have liked it more. Despite its copious amounts of (not explicitly described) violence and death, Salamandastron definitely read like it was meant for a younger audience - I’m guessing either the high end of the Middle Grade age range or the low end of the Young Adult.

Then again, who knows? Maybe the various accents in Salamandastron would have annoyed Younger Me too. The moles were definitely the worst, although the falcons and eagle occasionally gave me trouble too. Here’s an example that made me laugh bitterly - a mole saying he had trouble understanding an eagle:

“‘Och, these vittles are braw eatin’, Dumble. Ha’ ye nae mair o’ these wee veggible pasties the guid hedgepig lady made?’

Droony squinched his eyes until they nearly disappeared into his small velvety face. ‘Bohurr, you’m heagle do be a-talken funny loik. Oi carn’t unnerstan’ a wurd ‘ee be sayen, Dumble.’” (290)

Oh really. And how do you think I felt every time one of the moles opened their mouths? There were times I just gave up and skimmed certain characters’ dialogue. Why did Samkim’s best friend have to be a mole? ::sob::

I can totally see younger readers being drawn in by the anthropomorphized animals and action scenes. And food descriptions! This book was chock full of delicious-sounding food. Unfortunately, sometimes all that food and eating detracted from the story. For example, at one point Mara’s friend Pikkle took part in an eating contest. This was after he and Mara had nearly been eaten by carnivorous toads. Not to mention, Mara and Pikkle should still have been worried sick about what Ferahgo and his band might be doing to their friends and family back at Salamandastron. But no, figuring out who could eat the most hot spiced apple pudding was suddenly the most important thing.

This was part of the reason why the book read so young: serious stuff happened, but it didn’t seem to have as much emotional impact as it should. Several good characters died! At least one of them senselessly! And one villain’s fate was saved from being gruesome only because most of it happened off-page and none of it was described in detail. If the other Redwall books have body counts similar to this one, I don’t think it’d be too out of line to say that Brian Jacques is the George R.R. Martin of Middle Grade fantasy.

But, again, those deaths didn’t have much emotional impact. Beloved friends and family died, and characters moved on within a page or two and were soon back to happily gorging themselves on delicious festival foods.

Meh. I had hoped to fall in love with this series, but Salamandastron has left me with no desire to try more.

Additional Comments:

I couldn’t figure out how to fit it into the body of my review, but I wanted to mention it anyway: I have never seen so many characters practice such terrible weapons safety in a single book. Samkim liked to shoot arrows wherever, just for fun, and all the adults around him did was ground him and then worry they were being too harsh. And one character, an adult who should have known better, straight up stabbed himself (not fatally, but still) because he’d been playing around with a sword like it was a toy.

Rating Note:

I gave this 1.5 stars on LibraryThing and Booklikes and rounded down to 1 star for Goodreads because it just didn't interest me enough for 2 stars to be appropriate.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Disappointing. For a book called Salamandastron, the wasn't enough about the lore of the place. There wasn't anything. It was also too split up between different characters, more than any other Redwall book. You'd have a cliffhanger and not get back to it for four chapters. Bad job, two stars. Didn't care about any of the characters either because you didn't spend enough time with anyone to get to know them."

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 still looking forward to rereading my absolute favorite, Marlfox. Salamandastron also gives much love to the badger loving people, proving that badgers do not give up the ghost until they kill their target.

Side note: This is probably one of the fastest books I read, even with my cousins staying the weekend.

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the first of these books nearly 30 years ago, at the time I was running out of Fantasy books I could find at our local Bookshop and I tried ‘Redwall’ almost out of desperation.
I remember at the time I was pleasantly surprised, although written with children in mind they were actually a very good read.
I only read the first 4 books partly because the range of ‘adult’ fantasy books had increased rapidly by the mid 1990s, but also because the plots were beginning to get a bit repetitive, the ‘cuteness’ became a bit annoying and the constant use of the ‘country’ accents was unnecessary.

Having found this book in a sale I thought I would give the series another try. Unfortunately those earlier faults are still there and in the end they were just too much for me to keep going with this book.

[Ethan Sexton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sound like a broken record talking about Redwall, but I don't care: this is one of the best in the series (just like all the others). The characters are realized, and the plot is well-structured, but it has distinct moments to it that elevate it. The B-Plot is a rare one to feel just as tense, yet unique and separate from the A-Plot. I think one of the best parts of this book is that I struggle with what else to say for risk of spoilers, which I never want to include in a review. Seriously, there aren't many books in this series I can confidently say have moments you don't want spoiled, but this book's got 'em. So in conclusion: good plot, good characters, good moments, great book. This is a top fiver.

[Alch · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent story full of heroes, villains, adventure, badgers, Long Patrol hares and that lovely idyll of Redwall Abbey. Brian Jacques writing is perfect. As always in a Redwall book there is a fantastic amount of food description which makes you hungry while reading!

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun, nostalgic romp through the pages of my childhood’s favorite series.

[Nate Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, great action, pretty sad at parts but also really fun.