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| Wowee. It's been 8 books already. Oh well, 4 more to go! PEARLS OF LUTRA might be a little confusing, but it is one of the best books in my opinion. Ulbaz Mad Eyes is a pine marten with hypnotic eyes, like the snakes in Mossflower. He's also similar in that they're both terribly deadly if you enter their lair. Ulbaz's island, Sampetra, used to be a virtual paradise until he arrived and it became the center of his web of deceit and lies. He controls all of the corsairs and searats on the seas, demanding tribute or death. The natives of the tropical island- fierce cannibal Monitor Lizards- perform their main function, monitoring, under his hypnotic commands. On one of his raids, he sends specific orders to find the Tears of All Oceans- six rosy pearls- which belong to the tribe of Lutra. All of Lutra's tribe is slain, all of his relatives and friends, father, mother, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons... and to no avail, since the pearls are stolen by two deserting vermin. When another party is sent out to bring back the deserters, they stumble across (no, not Redwall) Redwall's Father Abbot and a young volemaid out in the woods picking berries and herbs and take them back to Sampetra, demanding the pearls as ransom from the Redwallers, who they are sure have them. Desperate to find information that can get their Father Abbot back, Tansy the hedgehog searches the Abbey from top to bottom with old Rollo the Recorder, Craklyn and Pimkin the singing duet, and annoying little Arven the squirrelbabe as her aides. They discover a few cryptic clues left by a seclusive late Abbey elder who abided in the attics, who indeed did apparently have the Tears. As they go on their frantic search, Martin gives help to his namesake: Martin II, son of Mattimeo. Will they be able to find the pearls in time to save the Abbot? (Well, yeah, of course, but there's other plots too that are much less predictable. Such as: ROMSCA! THE BEST CORSAIR EVER!) *ahem* Anyways...THE LONG PATROL was the next tale in the collection. It's the story of the runaway hare Tammelo De Fformelo Tussock, of a very respectable family, as he seeks his heart's desire: to fight evil in the Long Patrol of Salamandastron. Leaving his family for a lone roamer squirrel, Russa Nodrey, Tamm learns quickly and soon meets the legendary fighters for himself. But after his first dose of action he's overcome with sickness and despair. Could he ever really be a killer like his lighthearted friends? Meanwhile, a tradition-laden mob of sea and land pirates are moving inland. Damug Warfang never wants to see the mountain of Salamandastron, where so many were killed, almost an entire fleet ruined, and the Rapscallions shamed. All by one badger and her hares (yeah, her hares). Lady Cregga Rose Eyes is a wild fighter, never freed from the Bloodwrath even through sleep, her eyes a permanent bloody tinge. Instead, he moves inland, where he looks for a tempting land target. At Redwall, shocking news is discovered- the south wall is sinking! It seems to have been built over one of the walls of Kotir, and the running water underneath it is weakening the founations. When the entire thing is suddenly dismantled during a storm, the Redwallers are sure glad there aren't any vermin around... because if they did come, Redwall would be without its most solid defense and open to invasion. Yep, it's pretty good there aren't any around... MARLFOX! Plundering murdering vulpine thieves, that blend with stone and meld with leaves. MARLFOX! Nobeast living can hide from thee, o thou who treads invisibly! MARLFOX! The falling dynasty of Queen Silth the Marlfox is held together simply by its evilness. Her restless brood hopes to outsmart and kill her for the crown, but she's hard to kill. Surrounding herself with things of beauty, made by an army of slaves, Silth hopes to vanquish the monstrosity that comes only when she's alone... The White Ghost, probably the spirit of her murdered mate, really a concoction of her daughter Lantur, hoping to drive her mother to insanity or death. The island, in the center of a vast lake, like an inland sea, is the home of many water rat soldiers, forced to fight through fear of the magpies above them, ready to kill them at a signal, and the pike below... The Teeth of the Deeps, to whom unsatisfactory soldiers are fed. Noonvale makes another appearance with a traveling show, bringing with it a raucous hare (we always need more of these). The Guosim are all angry at one specific shrew- Dippler, an orphan that was on guard when the Marlfoxes stole their logboats. Log-a-log is the only one who stands up for him. Skipper of Otters left his band frolicking in the waterfalls for the spring and came to visit Redwall for their prime vittles. Janglur is a rover, travelling the land skillfully with his mother, wife, and daughter Songbreeze. They all meet on their way to Redwall, all to warn the Redwallers of the impending danger, where they meet Dann, the son of a rough-and-ready stolid stubborn squirrel who recently lost Dann's mother. But Redwall is not prepared for one of their young ones to be kidnapped and held for ransom. When the treasure of Redwall.. the great Tapestry of Martin... is stolen, Song, Dann and Dipp all make a break for it to rescue it after they're knocked out guarding the Abbey. On the way, they meet Burble, a watervole of a seemingly friendly tribe. Behind them, Rusvul, Dann's father, is overcome with guilt about the way he drove his son to shame and leaving the abbey to prove himself to his father. But Janglur knows her daughter will be all right... she's been trained well, as has Dann and Dippler. So long as they don't get into trouble. But they might get into a lot before they expect it. THE LEGEND OF LUKE is the story of Martin's father, Luke the Warrior, as he tries to protect his tribe from vermin. They move far north, where it's hard to make a living but at least the vermin won't come. He doesn't know, however, that searats and corsairs frequently put in on northcoasts for repairs. While he's away one evening, Vilu Daskar attacks his tribe and slays everyone he finds, including little Martin's mother Sayna. Bent on revenge, Luke becomes cold and distant, only talking to his small son, until he's ready to capture a pirate vessel. But the little corsair barque they capture is onlly about one-fifth of the size of Vilu Daskar's great Goreleech, the red-painted ship with the red-paint wake. Or maybe it's blood. Vilu, however, gets more than he bargained for from attacking a peaceful squirrel village to fill his two immense decks of oarslaves... Ranguvar Foeseeker, the berserk black squirrel who shows no fear. She takes nothing from anyone. (I love Ranguvar...) Luke follows upon every wave, having no experience as a sailor but every one as a warrior, and hoping to return when his task is finished to his little son Martin, who he abandoned to seek their revenge on Daskar. LORD BROCKTREE is the story of Boar the Fighter's father, the legendary first true Badger Lord of Salamandastron, the first to instate the Long Patrol, and his fight to secure his mountain from Verdauga Greeneye's older brother Ungatt Trunn and his blue-dyed vermin. Color of the sea, color of the sky, both stretching further than the eye can see, it's a great color for the Blue Hordes, who can shake the earth all at once and who can make the stars fall from the sky and make the land disappear. There are only fifty or so hares in Salamandastron, and Lord Stonepaw is old, weak and decrepit like all of his fighters. After he sends Fleetscut out to search for the younger hares, who have all left, we are introduced to Lord Brocktree, who is travelling to Salamandastron to rule there. By the time he reaches the mountain, it's been taken over and the hares either captive at the peak or hiding in the caves at the base. Brocktree, accompianied by the young haremaid Dorthea (Dotti) sets out to find the hares and to take them back to his mountain. His mountain! And vanquish Ungatt Trunn once and for all. THE TAGGERUNG. I don't want to give too much of this away. The Taggerung is the chosen leader of the Juska. Juska adapt the name of their leader to end their tribe name: thus, Juskarath was the tribe of Sawney Rath, a feared fighter. He would have chosen a wife among his tribe and had a son for the Taggerung, but the vixen Grissoul, the Seer, says the omens point instead to a ford in a river, where he will find the chosen one. Sawney makes the discovery... a baby otter, at the river for an old otter ceremony of "wetting the back" of newborns in running water so they'll swim well later. Sawney takes the otter and names it Tagg, short for Taggerung. Zann Juskarath Taggerung is his full name, and none can approach him save Sawney and Grissoul. The Taggerung grows into his own (kind of the opposite of OUTCAST) but for some reason won't kill for fun the way Sawney does, even under orders to. This angers Sawney so much that Tagg has to make a break for it. On the way he meets many interesting allies and enemies, foremost among them Nimbalo the Slayer the young but fierce little mouse. If Tagg is not the Taggerung, who is he? And who is the strange mouse that keeps appearing in his dreams, calling only "Deyna"? Is the mouse Deyna? What's going on here? And all the while the Juskarath members are hot on his trail, hoping to bring back his head and become the next Taggerung of the Juska. THAT IS ALL OF THEM. All of the main books, that is. There's also THE GREAT REDWALL FEAST and A REDWALL WINTER'S TALE, both children's both and totally in rhyme. They are very cute and recommended, but they aren't quite as deep (ha ha) as Redwall novels are. Well, you survived it! 3 pages of Redwall! That means you can survive 300! GO GET A BOOK AND READ IT! NOW! I BET YOUR EYES HURT! Or, just click on the link below and go to another mind-rotting internet page.... Whatever! |
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