Scan barcode
A review by couldbestephen
Redwall by Brian Jacques
3.0
I grew up reading these books. My memories of Redwall and the heroes who lived in her halls hang in my memory behind rose colored glass. On revisit, this book is still a solid intro to the world of Redwall, but doesn't quite hold up (which I expected).
Jacques quickly establishes the framework the world of Redwall will exist in. Certain animals are kind and good, others are inherently evil. Food and feasting is as important as the action. Riddles and puzzles will be a cornerstone of any Rewall adventure.
The characters of Redwall tend to be a little one note, a little one dimensional, but since this is a middle grade novel, I can excuse it to an extent. How characters are written and what their purpose in the story is changes depending on what Brian needs; the lack of character consistency can be jarring at times.
How Jacques writes certain animal cultures can be offensive on modern review (and were still not great even when he wrote the books). The Foxes are Romani coded, carrying all of the negative stereotypes. The Sparrows seem to be some sort of First Nation coded?
All in all, I still enjoyed revisiting this story. I think it holds up, even though some elements have aged poorly.
Jacques quickly establishes the framework the world of Redwall will exist in. Certain animals are kind and good, others are inherently evil. Food and feasting is as important as the action. Riddles and puzzles will be a cornerstone of any Rewall adventure.
The characters of Redwall tend to be a little one note, a little one dimensional, but since this is a middle grade novel, I can excuse it to an extent. How characters are written and what their purpose in the story is changes depending on what Brian needs; the lack of character consistency can be jarring at times.
How Jacques writes certain animal cultures can be offensive on modern review (and were still not great even when he wrote the books). The Foxes are Romani coded, carrying all of the negative stereotypes. The Sparrows seem to be some sort of First Nation coded?
All in all, I still enjoyed revisiting this story. I think it holds up, even though some elements have aged poorly.