Doomwyte

Bisky, like all of the Redwall Dibbuns, was raised on the stories of his elders. But when his retelling of a story about the ancient mousethief Gonff stole and hid four pigeon's-egg-sized rubies sparks off a search for the truth and gems themselves, things get more real than he ever expected. Soon the descendants of the original owners--an evil band of birds and lizards--are looking to get the precious items back and the Redwallers once again find themselves entrenched in more adventures than they were ready for.

Okay, we're all quite aware that I absolutely love the Redwall series, but some of the books have slipped below my level of love. True, they all have the same feel--youthful characters thrust into dangerous situations in which show more they must rescue loved ones, solve riddles, have visions of Martin the Warrior...well, that last one works in the books where Martin isn't actually around. When he is, well, he's the main character and it would just be weird to have visions of himself. Seriously.

Now, it's either space and distance from reading Redwall that allows me to read and enjoy the rather predictable plots of the new and as of yet unread stories in the series, or this specific book has reclaimed some of the original glory. I am honestly inclined to say that it is actually the latter--Jaques has regained some of my faith. There was no massive face-off of the bad guy vs the hero or heroes of the story--in fact, several of the heroes are completely unaware of the final battle anyway. Also, to mix it up, there are a couple of standard goodbeasts [aka the creatures and species that are regularly associated with the protagonist/goodguy side] that do the two-timing two-step. The plot still relies upon some mystical visions, riddles and crazy accents, but I think Doomwyte settles well into the series. show less

This latest installment of the Redwall series strikes a wonderful balance between classic Redwall adventures and something new, which is essential for part of a long-running series. Like most of the recent books, Doomwyte is set an unspecified number of seasons after the events in Redwall, but as near as I can tell before the books and records were moved from the Gatehouse into the library in High Rhulain.

The story itself stays pretty tightly focused on the Abbey and its surroundings, which is a change from many of the other books in the series which range from the northlands to far-flung islands and the great mountain Salamandastron on the shores of the sea. I enjoy both types of stories, and I am very happy to see that Brian Jacques show more can tell both equally well.

Doomwyte also draws more heavily on spooky and supernatural elements than most of the other Redwall novels, and I quite enjoyed that difference. show less

This latest installment of the Redwall series strikes a wonderful balance between classic Redwall adventures and something new, which is essential for part of a long-running series. Like most of the recent books, Doomwyte is set an unspecified number of seasons after the events in Redwall, but as near as I can tell before the books and records were moved from the Gatehouse into the library in High Rhulain.

The story itself stays pretty tightly focused on the Abbey and its surroundings, which is a change from many of the other books in the series which range from the northlands to far-flung islands and the great mountain Salamandastron on the shores of the sea. I enjoy both types of stories, and I am very happy to see that Brian Jacques show more can tell both equally well.

Doomwyte also draws more heavily on spooky and supernatural elements than most of the other Redwall novels, and I quite enjoyed that difference. show less

I love the Redwall series. It's always fun to dip into the Mossflower Woods and spend some time with the mice, shrews, hares and otters of the Redwall Abbey, and to read some exciting battle scenes with the "vermin" characters of rats, snakes, ravens, and so forth. I listened to this full cast audio recording and boy was it entertaining. The author narrates, in his loovly Liverpudlian accent, and the actors who play all the parts all have the right accents for the moles and other animals. Plus there are songs sung, which really adds to the character. In this volume, Redwall mouse Bisky and squirrel Dwink get caught up in a quest for rubies and emeralds (the stolen eyes of the Doomwyte statue), while the evil Korvus Skurr, raven leader show more of the Wytes gang, also seeks the gems--and he's got a giant nasty serpent to help him! (shiver) show less

I first read the Redwall books years ago and I still enjoy them when I recently re-read them. I love the world building and the creativity with which these animals were anthropomorphized. The level of description is really well done and very detailed. So adventurous and so very entertaining.

As always, another wonderful novel by Jacques. I'll be slow to read the final two... I don't want them to end :( I do wonder how Martin and Gnoff and them had any time to do anything that wasn't writing riddles and hiding clues. haha

One of the best of Brian Jacques Redwall books, the Redwall heroes deal with multiple villains: evil tree rats, a crazed old hedgehog, wicked ravens, and gigantic poisonous serpent. Along the way, they solve multiple mysteries concerning the four jewels stolen ages ago by the master thief Gonfellin. To aid in these multiple quests, they make friends of thieves and mysterious dark stranger.