Mouse Guard : Fall 1152

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 imagines a world in which the mice have banded together against a hostile world and a select brave few have formed the Guard, a collection of mice who patrol the wilds between the mouse towns, scout, spy, and deal with threats to mousedom. This first volume in the series mostly follows Leiam, Kenzie, and Saxon, three mice sent out on what seems to be a routine mission on the trail of a wayward grain peddler, but which leads them onto the trail of a threat to the very heart of the Mouse Guard.

In the world of Mouse Guard, mice are essentially tiny people. They talk, read, write, make maps, build castles, wield weapons, and pretty much do everything that one might have expected people to do in the 12th century. They show more live in fortresses like Lockhaven, or towns like Barkstone, or outposts like Calogero, many of which are built into the sides of hills or in hollowed out trees. Oddly, most other animals don't appear to be similarly anthropmorphized, as the snakes, crabs, and bees that appear in the volume seem to be nothing more than ordinary animals. There is a reference in the text to a "weasel warlord", so it seems possible that only mammals are civilized like the mice, but the answer to that question is not found in this volume. Mouse society in the book is basically human society, just with a collection of omnipresent threats that include snakes, hawks, weasels, and foxes.

The story is one of intrigue and betrayal, as Leiam, Kenzie, and Saxon discover that the grain merchant has been killed, but that he was also a traitor selling Lockbridge's secrets to an unknown enemy of the Guard. There is some added excitement in the fact that the grain merchant was killed by a snake that appears to be in the mood for some additional mouse-sized snacks. Eventually, the mice deal with the snake problem, and then head off to try to track down the traitor's contact. The narrative, although told in a fairly simple manner, with relatively limited dialog, serves to convey the character of each of the three mice: Kenzie's impetuous boldness, Saxon's weathered wisdom, and Lieam's youthful bravery and idealism. These traits are conveyed in broad strokes, but are woven into the flow of the story that one almost doesn't notice except in the few cases where character development is handled just a tiny bit less fluidly.

In the meantime, another guard mouse named Sadie is sent to the northern shore to try to find a fellow guard mouse named Conrad who hasn't been heard from in some time. This sequence highlights one of the best features of Mouse Guard by letting the images carry much of the story. Throughout the volume, the dialogue is sparse, and the exposition is mostly confined to short passages at the start of each section, while much of the heavy lifting to set the mood and tone, and even to convey the plot, is done by the lovely artwork of the book. Whereas some graphic novels are essentially simply text stories with a few images attached, Petersen is not afraid to let three or four panels, or even full pages, go by without any dialogue at all, trusting in the strength of the artwork to tell the tale visually. This reliance upon the art as the primary means of communicating with the reader is probably the most distinctive element of Mouse Guard, and is a large part of what makes it such a good series.

The plot moves along at a fairly rapid clip: A treacherous and cruel villain is revealed, noble mice engage in self-sacrifice, an old hero reemerges, and new heroes are forged. Eventually the book climaxes in an all-out assault upon the Mouse Guard stronghold of Lockhaven, giving the reader a ringside seat to its desperate defense. What makes the story interesting is that the villain, dark and brutal as he is, is backed by an army that seems to have at least some halfway-legitimate grievances. The fact that so much of the story is rooted in events that took place prior to the start of the book, almost throwing the reader into the action in media res, makes the world of Mouse Guard feel real and alive, as if one were reading a history rather than a fantasy. Further, despite the fact that much of the plot hinges on events that took place prior to the start of the story - including the legend that is used to rally the traitorous army, and the alleged failings of the Guard that drew the ire of its enemies, the reader never feels like they have missed something.

Overall, Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 is a fundamentally simple story inhabited by simply drawn characters told in a beautiful manner. With compelling images such as Leiam facing down a mouse-eating snake single-handedly, or Conrad fighting a half dozen monstrously huge crabs with nothing but a fishhook, or the apiary keepers of Lockahaven releasing their bees as a last ditch effort to turn back the invading force, or even Midnight and Celanawe dueling over the possession of the Black Axe, the volume presents the story with arresting imagery giving the reader a visual tour through the Mouse Territories. With a story about treachery, bravery, and loyalty, featuring the smallest of the small taking bold action to protect their countrymen, Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 is a spare, gorgeous, and endearing adventure.

This review has also been posted to my blog Dreaming About Other Worlds. show less

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 Fall 1152, three of the Guard's finest - Lieam, Kenzie, and Saxon - are out on a routine patrol when they come across a missing peddler, a terrible beast, and, what's worse, evidence of a conspiracy that threatens the heart of the Mouse Guard's own stronghold.

Review: Well, consider me thoroughly charmed. (Charmed enough even to forget how fast and loose Petersen played show more 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 was initially not very impressed with the depth of the characterization. However, I think that was because I had a hard time telling the characters apart in the first volume, especially in situations with low lighting, or when I couldn't see the colors of their cloaks. I had a much easier time telling the characters apart - and thus thought the characterizations were better - as the series went on. 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. show less

Beautifully rendered warrior mice kicking butt! What's not to like?

The art in this is just gorgeous. The story is simple enough that my 7 year old daughter and six-year-old nephew could follow it (I had to read it aloud to my nephew), and yet not so simple that my husband and I couldn't enjoy it as well. I brought it on vacation, and the kids spent HOURS just looking at the pictures and reading it over and over in the evenings. We all loved it, and are looking forward to the next volume.

All the comparisons of this series to Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH or Bone? Completely justified. Adventure, traitors, political machinations, and a villainous leader whose ideals really aren't out of line. He doesn't seem crazy--he honestly believes that this is the best course of action, and it's really only his ends-justify-the-means siege that I find fault with. And that's as a character, I find fault with it, not as a quibble with the plot. But then, he's the villain. I'm not supposed to think he's doing the right thing. I am, however, very impressed with how sympathetic a villain he is.

And the art is just gorgeous. Linger over the full-spread illustrations between chapters, because they are so very worth it.

Small creatures in a large and threatening world, the mice of the Territories must constantly guard against danger, both from within and without. Having emerged victorious from the winter war of 1149, in which they repelled a weasel warlord intent on seizing their land, the Mouse Guard - an elite band of warriors sworn to protect their fellow mice, whether as soldiers, escorts and pathfinders between the far-flung and often isolated settlements of the Territories, weather watchers and scouts, or as bodyguards - confront a new threat, in the form of a traitor from within their own ranks. As guards Lieam, Kenzie and Saxon search for a missing grain merchant, and then make their way to the city of Barkstone, Sadie - assigned to watch the show more shoreline of the territories - must make contact with a missing guard named Conrad. All four discover treachery, and race, in their different ways, to warn Gwendolyn, the heard of the Mouse Guard, and to protect the stronghold of Lockhaven.

I enjoyed this first foray into David Peterson's murine world, both for the storytelling - which reminded me strongly of Brian Jacques' Redwall series, with its warrior mice - and for the artwork. The world depicted here is convincing - one gets the sense, when reading, of more of it, left unexplored at the margins of the story - and I liked the characters, although I think I would have liked to get to "know" them a bit more. Peterson avoids the cuteness sometimes to be found in tales of mice and other small creatures, instead capturing a true sense of menace. The artwork really helped here, with its dark tones. All in all, a worthy first volume - this hardcover edition apparently contains six individual "issues," which were originally published separately - and enough to convince me to pick up the second. Recommended to young fantasy fans, particularly those who enjoyed Redwall or the Warriors series. show less

Mouse Guard is, like all graphic novels that focus on the art, a quick read. However, there is so much detail to the artwork that once you finish it, you’ll want to go back and read it over again just to catch the nuances to the pictures.

This is truly a lovely book, and it has a nicely-developed plot to go along with it. I had expected, based on the cover (and the fact that it is about mice) for it to be kid-oriented. Not so. This is a book that will appeal to many ages, but the storyline itself is better for teens or adults than kids, due to the treachery within the mouse ranks. I’ll not go into more detail than that, because the story is worth discovering for yourself. There are battles, though, and some of the mice get gravely show more injured. As my sister said, the mice are drawn really cute, and we didn’t want to see even the “bad mice” get hurt.

This is the first volume, and if all the others are as well illustrated as this one, they’ll be worth picking up as a group. This is the type of graphic novel that makes me wish I could draw something more than stick figures and cartoon frogs. Alas, drawing is not in my skill-set, so I’ll just have to continue enjoying the work of those who can draw. David Petersen is definitely among them. show less

Short enough to be read in a 30-minute sitting, this hardcover graphic novel is an enjoyable read. The story is really nothing new: anthropomorphic mice, armed with swords, defend their realm from a betrayal within. However, the real reason to get this book are the detailed, full-color illustrations. I can't describe it really as "cute," but they are darling in a dark, appealing way. I've always enjoyed stories like this - I adored Graham Oakley's Church Mouse books when I was little, and Redwall when I was about 12 - and this feels like part of that legacy. Fierce little swordsmice defending their realm from evil! If you want to see the artwork, examples can be found on the official site.