Windjammer Run

Welkin Weasels #3

by Garry Kilworth

Sylver and his band of weasels take to the high seas in search of the humans who mysteriously deserted the land of Welkin many years ago. On their tail is the seasick Sheriff Falshed, commanded by the stoat rulers to stop Sylver at any cost. And if that's not bad enough, behind them is a ship crammed to the gunwales with bloodthirsty rats, convinced that Sylver is secretly hunting a pirate's treasure...

Genres: Fantasy, Animals, Fiction, Childrens

388 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 25, 2011

About the author

Garry Douglas Kilworth is a historical novelist who also published sci-fi, fantasy, and juvenile fiction.

Kilworth is a graduate of King's College London. He was previously a science fiction author, having published one hundred twenty short stories and seventy novels.

Reviews

[Evianrei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sylver the weasel and his outlaw band take to the seas in The Welkin Weasels; Windjammer Run! This book was phenomenal, and it was a bittersweet moment when I read the last page. I'm not ready to stop reading about Sylver's adventures with his outlaw band. I'm not ready to stop reading about pompous Prince Point or Sheriff Falshed.

In this book Sylver and the outlaw band set out to sea in search of Dorma Island. They believe the humans to be there, but the journey will be a treacherous one! The sea is full of storms and monsters, along with other travelers. Not only that but Flaggatis the wizard-stoat with his rat army, and Sheriff Falshed with his stoat soldiers, are tailing the weasel crew to end them once and for all!


The ending of the book was outstanding, I loved the mental image of Falshed picking Prince Point up by the scruff and taking his place. I was ecstatic when Sibiline and Falshed became more than just slightly interested in each other. It was heartwarming to see Short One-Leg forgive Sylver so quickly, and to have them finally find Dorma Island!

The humans returning was bittersweet. I was glad to know the sea walls were being repaired, but being a human myself (and living amongst them) I doubt more than a handful would listen to animals even if they did talk. But this is a magical world, so I'll just chalk it up to 'magic'.

One criticism I had of this book was of the Dodo island the weasels visited. Sure the idea of an island full of silly birds worked well with the book, and it was interesting to read about their odd rituals and squabbles. But it seemed a bit, repetitive. Wasn't there already two groups of the same species that varied slightly and didn't get along in the previous book? *cough* squirrels
*cough*. It just seemed like the same old situation with some tweaks to the writing. I think there could have been a more spectacular island than that.

I was also disappointed to see that Miniver was already back with the weasel band at the start of this book. I wanted to read about her rescue. Glad to have her back with the group at least however.

You Might Like This Book If You Enjoy:
-Talking Animals
-Magic
-Adventures (especially ones at sea)

You Might Not Like This Book If You Dislike:
-Death
-Battles

[David Ellery · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the start there's a little more to this book than its two predecessors, a greater spark and energy, with the presistent issues not nearly so pronounced. There's a pretty disgusting reworking of an infamous skit in Meaning of Life early on, but otherwise the grisly streak is kept in check. The pacing and tone are better, Mawk's been reined in, Scirf does dominate at times, but other weasels are given moments, if mostly brief, to shine, the humour and references and whimsy are dialled up, and when it hits the high seas, it really finds its stride, and is genuinely hugely enjoyable, with some great escapades.

But it doesn't last. In the final third the imagination and cleverness and wit mostly fade, leaving unengaging and usually violent encounters, one plot convenience after another, one last abrupt and somewhat contrived villain death, and a not particularly satisfying ending. If it had managed to maintain, it would have been a four-star book, but it runs out of steam, reverts to old bad habits, and ultimately leaves something of a sour taste in the mouth.

Overall, the first Welkin Weasels trilogy is an uneven attempt to emulate Brian Jacques, held back by inconsistent plotting, erratic tone, and flat characters who never engage, but it's well-written enough, and is laced with enough humour and imagination to be at least sporadically enjoyable, and the one time it properly finds its groove, its great. Recommended to those willing to take the rough with the smooth.

Edited to add: it belatedly occurs to me the Welkin Weasels books were targeted at a stereotypical idea of what young boys like. This explains a great deal, particularly the usually pointlessly dwelt on gruesome and violent elements, and why the only female character with anything close to real agency is Sibiline, as she's mostly there to make Poynt look even more of a petulant idiot. This reinforces my feeling that the publisher exerted a lot of control over these books, and Kilworth struggling to work with their stipulations and restrictions is why they're so erratic. Ironically, if they'd just let him write, they'd have very likely gotten the Redwall-beaters they so desperately wanted, and more besides.

[Charleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like the plot jumps the shark a little bit on this third book, but by the end the humans are finally brought back to Welkin so hurrah. The scene where Scrif causes a giant shrew to combust by posing it a paradox made a big impression on me when I was young.

[Adz · Rating 4 out of 5]

More enjoyable than vol 2, more whimsical, a bit of a nod to Alice in Wonderland, and humorous too.

[STU · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couple of moments in this book I didn't see coming.
However, got a bit bored with the series by this book.
No real character development.