Mouse Guard, Volume 2: Winter 1152 (2008)

The saga of the Guardmice continues in this second installment of David Petersen's anthropomorphic murine fantasy - like the first, Mouse Guard: Fall 1152, it is composed of six chapters that were originally separate comic book issues, as well as some additional material - as Saxon, Kenzie, Lieam, Sadie, and Celanawe (revealed to be the legendary Black Axe in the previous book) struggle to make their way back to Lockhaven, the Guard Mouse stronghold. Dispatched by Mouse Guard Matriarch, Gwendolyn, on a mission to the outlying southern mice settlements, to gather much-needed supplies (depleted by their Fall 1152 conflict with the mouse traitor, Midnight) and to invite their leaders to a territory-wide conference at Lockhaven, the companions become separated on their homeward journey, and must proceed on their divergent paths. Saxon, Kenzie and Sadie, having fallen into the abandoned underground weasel tunnels of Darkheather, must confront the hostile bat residents, and search for a way out, while Celanawe and Lieam push on through a terrible ice-storm, and battle an injured owl, intent on vengeance. Meanwhile, all is not well back at Lockhaven...

I enjoyed my first foray into the Mouse Territories, but Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 has greatly increased my appreciation for this tiny world. It's a cross between Redwall and The Lord of the Rings, with something all its own, as well. Peterson gives his characters a little more depth here, I think - or is it just that I already known them, going into this one? - and his world-building continues apace. I liked that the developing romances between Kenzie and Sadie, and Saxon and Gwendolyn are mentioned mostly in passing - they're there, but they're not the focus - and am eager to know how Lieam's new identity, as the new Black Axe following the death of Celanawe, will develop. I finished the first volumes with a desire to read more, but no strong feeling about owning these books - now I want copies of my own. I also want more, right now! Unfortunately, it looks like the next installment of the saga will be a long while in the coming. Oh well, I guess I can enjoy Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard - a Mouse Guard anthology, with many different artists' take on Peterson's world - in the meantime... ( )

Just as good as the first. A friend called this volume "adorably badass" and I can't think of a better description of it. ( )

the exciting sequel to Mouse Guard: Fall 1152! Find out who the next axe wielder will be- ( )

Summary: Mice are small, and although they are safe in their cities and settlements, the lands between are wide and perilous with predators. Luckily, a mouse's courage, steadfastness, and sense of duty is not proportional to their size, and the Mouse Guard stand ready to protect travelers, defend the borders, safeguard the paths, and the defend the interests of mice.

In Winter 1152, the Guard is still recovering from the events of the fall. Supplies of food and medicine are low, and the weather has turned bitter. The heroes of the last book, along with a Guardmouse named Sadie, and a greyfur named Celanawe who claims to be the Black Axe of legend - set out on a vital mission to gather medicine and summon the leaders of the towns to a diplomatic meeting. But things go badly wrong, with hungry predators and a dangerous detour through the abandoned tunnels of some of the Guard's greatest enemies.

Review: Well, consider me thoroughly charmed. (Charmed enough even to forget how fast and loose Petersen played with the biology. Seriously, every time the characters were all "Well, it's getting dark, we'd better make camp" I'd cringe a little. Mice are nocturnal!) These books are (unsurprisingly) very cute, but they've also got a dark streak to them. Nothing that would make them inappropriate for YA audiences (although I think the somewhat formal, archaic language would make them inaccessible to younger kids), but sufficiently darker than a lot of the more juvenile animal stories I've come across. They've got very real danger, they've got excitement and action and honor and loyalty and sense of duty and all of that good stuff.

I had a much easier time telling the characters apart - and thus thought the characterizations were better - in this volume. I particularly thought Celanawe's story was very affecting, and had some interesting (if not amazingly novel) things to say about what it means to be a hero. I also thought the second volume had some excellently creepy scenes and panels. Apart from a lot of the mice looking pretty similar, the artwork is absolutely beautiful, detailed and evocative of the wider world of the mice and their culture and civilization. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: It's got a kind of medieval, Robin Hood-esque feel to it, but honestly, I think even people who aren't fans of that sort of thing will be charmed by this series. ( )

I read Mouse Guard: Fall of 1152 with my 5 year old son and we both loved it. For his birthday he begged for Mouse Guard: Winter of 1152 and we immediately had to sit down and start reading it. This was another wonderful Mouse Guard book. These books are such wonderful classic fantasy adventures; a cross between Lord of the Rings and the Secret of Nhym.

The winter has proved a hard one for the Mouse Guard. A party of Mouse Guards are sent out to gather much needed medicine. On the way they stumble into a lot of trouble. The party is separated and two of the mice must battle for their lives against an evil owl. The other half of the party ends up in Darkheather, an old weasle kingdom, and struggles through the tunnels trying to find their way out. Meanwhile back home there is a traitor that threatens all of the mice.

This was another wonderful book. The artwork thoughout the book is absolutely beautiful, detailed, and stunning. It just sucks you right into the story. The coloring is subdued and has a very classic fantasy flavor to it. Just love the artwork in here; it adds so much to the story and is easy to follow.

The story was also very well done. All of our favorite mice are back in the story including The Black Ax. I felt like the story in this book was tighter then in the first book. Each chapter follows three storylines: what's happening back home, what's happening in Darkheather, and what's happening with the great owl fight. It was easy to keep track of what was going on and to follow who was who.

I really love that me and my 5 year old son can enjoy this story together. There aren't a ton of graphic novels out there that are this well done and appeal to such a broad age group.

Overall just a superb addition to the Mouse Guard series. Beautiful illustrations and a well done plot that is complex, but not hard to follow. This book has appeal for a wide range of ages and is highly recommended to fantasy fans. ( )