Redwall: Book One: The Wall

by Brian Jacques

Redwall Abbey, the peaceful home of a community of mice, slumbers in the warmth of a summer afternoon. The mice are preparing for a great Jubilee feast. But Cluny the evil, one-eyed rat warlord is advancing….

Audible Audio

Published November 8, 2011

About the author

James Brian Jacques was an English author celebrated for the Redwall series of children’s fantasy novels and the Castaways of the Flying Dutchman books, along with several collections of short stories that blend adventure, folklore, and the supernatural. Raised in Liverpool, he left school at fifteen and pursued a wide range of occupations, including merchant seaman, truck driver, bus driver, and entertainer, experiences that later enriched the characters and settings of his fiction. His love of literature, encouraged from childhood, remained constant, and he continued writing poems, plays, and stories throughout adulthood. While working as a milkman, he began reading aloud to students at a school for the blind, inspiring him to craft vividly descriptive tales that relied on sound, smell, taste, and touch. These readings evolved into the manuscript for Redwall, which launched a bestselling series known for its heroic quests, detailed feasts, and intense battles between good and evil. The books achieved international popularity, selling millions of copies and being translated into many languages, as well as adapted for television and audio. Jacques also hosted a long-running radio program devoted to opera and maintained strong ties to his hometown. His stories, rooted in memory, imagination, and compassion for young readers, continue to captivate audiences worldwide.

Reviews

[Peter Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Redwall is one of those books where the world-building does a lot of the heavy lifting. Brian Jacques creates a wonderfully distinctive medieval woodland world filled with heroic mice, badgers, sparrows, otters, and—most importantly—some extremely villainous rats. Redwall Abbey itself is a fantastic setting, with its feasts, legends, riddles, secret passages and sense of history.

The strongest part of the book is its atmosphere. There’s something genuinely cosy about the abbey and its inhabitants, which makes the threat posed by Cluny the Scourge and his army feel much more significant. Cluny is a memorable villain, and the contrast between the warmth of Redwall and the brutality of the invading forces works particularly well.

That said, I found the story somewhat uneven. The pacing can wander, and some of the characters feel more like archetypes than fully developed personalities. The dialogue and humour also occasionally feel quite dated, although that is arguably part of the book’s charm.

The adventure itself is enjoyable, particularly once Matthias begins to grow into the heroic role the story demands of him. The mythology surrounding Martin the Warrior and the search for his legendary sword adds a fun layer of mystery and gives the story a classic quest structure.

Overall, Redwall feels like a book from another era—and I mean that mostly as a compliment. It’s wholesome, violent, funny, sentimental and gloriously earnest. It probably won’t appeal to everyone, but if you enjoy traditional fantasy adventures with a strong sense of place and a cast of anthropomorphic woodland creatures, there’s plenty to love.

A charming fantasy classic that occasionally meanders, but ultimately delivers a very satisfying adventure - especially for younger readers looking to get an entry into the fantasy genre.

[Kai Moore-Austen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good! But I need to actually read the whole book! I didn't realise this was just part of it. So I have now got the whole book!

[Gothica Noctua · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Please see "Book Three: The Warrior" for my full review.]