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fiveredhens's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
twilliamson's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Nothing can beat a good Redwall story, and Salamandastron may be one of the very best in the whole series. It's full of action, adventure, heartache, and warmth.
What makes this particular entry into the series so special, though, is its central theme about relationships between generations. Two parallel journeys are reflected through the book, centered on Urthstripe, Badger Lord of Salamandastron, and Mara, his ward, as well as the villainous Ferahgo the Assassin and his son, Klitch. The loving father-daughter dynamic of Urthstripe and Mara is juxtaposed beautifully with the hateful father-son dynamic of Ferahgo and Klitch. All the action of the book thus revolves around these characters, which turns into a fascinating tale of power and evil, with incredible action, adventure, and lovable characters to round out secondary themes and adventures all in their own right.
In all, Salamandastron feels like a proper epic all its own, a worthy successor to books as dynamic and enthralling as Mossflower and Mattimeo. It is very much its own story, while still neatly fitting into the existing lore and setting of the series, a near-perfect encapsulation of what Redwall is and what Redwall can be.
Of the first 5 novels of Redwall, this may even be the best one, depending on your personal taste for adventure. Although bloody and violent, the book has a rock-solid emotional core, with powerful storytelling capable of joy and sorrow. It's simply delectable.
What makes this particular entry into the series so special, though, is its central theme about relationships between generations. Two parallel journeys are reflected through the book, centered on Urthstripe, Badger Lord of Salamandastron, and Mara, his ward, as well as the villainous Ferahgo the Assassin and his son, Klitch. The loving father-daughter dynamic of Urthstripe and Mara is juxtaposed beautifully with the hateful father-son dynamic of Ferahgo and Klitch. All the action of the book thus revolves around these characters, which turns into a fascinating tale of power and evil, with incredible action, adventure, and lovable characters to round out secondary themes and adventures all in their own right.
In all, Salamandastron feels like a proper epic all its own, a worthy successor to books as dynamic and enthralling as Mossflower and Mattimeo. It is very much its own story, while still neatly fitting into the existing lore and setting of the series, a near-perfect encapsulation of what Redwall is and what Redwall can be.
Of the first 5 novels of Redwall, this may even be the best one, depending on your personal taste for adventure. Although bloody and violent, the book has a rock-solid emotional core, with powerful storytelling capable of joy and sorrow. It's simply delectable.
breakfastgrey's review
2.0
Every couple of years or so, nostalgia calls me back to Mossflower Wood and the world of Redwall. Unfortunately, each trip has seen diminishing returns. The characters all feel the same. The plots are completely interchangeable. There’s a weird dose of animal racism that gets harder and harder to ignore. Some of the quirks that permeate all of the novels feel even harder to overlook here. How big are these animals in relation to one another and the world? Fish are massive, but a falcon can sit on an otter’s shoulder. Also, the dialects are beyond overdone. Molespeak used to be cute, but here every species has their own version of assorted British accents. It becomes cheesy and tiresome.
daenknight's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
popcorndiva's review against another edition
4.0
4 Stars
The books in this series continue to be wonderful, even if they are very formulaic. I think spacing out reading the next book in the series has been helping keep the books feeling magical and not being burnt out on the similar patterns between them.
As always, I loved the story and the characters. The only thing keeping this from being 5 stars is the lack of the emotional connection to characters. With some of the earlier books, we got several good chapters on each character's normal life before the major events of the book began. This book sort of skipped over that, so we went right into the action. While I love the action, I missed getting to see the characters just be themselves and living their lives a little bit before they were sent on life changing quests.
The books in this series continue to be wonderful, even if they are very formulaic. I think spacing out reading the next book in the series has been helping keep the books feeling magical and not being burnt out on the similar patterns between them.
As always, I loved the story and the characters. The only thing keeping this from being 5 stars is the lack of the emotional connection to characters. With some of the earlier books, we got several good chapters on each character's normal life before the major events of the book began. This book sort of skipped over that, so we went right into the action. While I love the action, I missed getting to see the characters just be themselves and living their lives a little bit before they were sent on life changing quests.
thepancreas11's review against another edition
4.0
Oh, yeah! We're goin' down to badger town! We're gonna lose our dang minds in badger rage and give them weasels what for! Along the way, some hares are gonna eat their faces off, and Redwall Abbey's gonna be super peaceful and then absolutely rocked by scandal. Our hero's gonna ride on a shrew boat, and our bad guy is going to be pretty bad at battle strategy. If we're lucky, Martin the Warrior is going to possess a nun and give us some riddles to solve!
Look, if you're this far into the series and looking for nuance, you're going to have to keep looking. These are children's books, and they've got a winning formula. There's no need to push the boundaries. Sure, "Mossflower" had some cool things to say about PTSD, and "Mattimeo" truly examined the dynamic between famous parents and their children. Yeah, there have been more exciting characters and more emotional moments and even more clever set pieces. It doesn't matter. I had almost as much fun reading this as any of the others. Yes, I'm badger-biased, but let's face it: these books can survive on their idea alone--for the most part. It's vermin fighting woodlanders. They've got weird accents and delicious food and a really shiny, really strong sword.
Would I like them to try to say more? Meh. They're a pretty good palate cleanser between "In Flanders Field" and "Beloved", and they seem to have enough morality to them. Treat the people around you like crap, and you're going to eat your just desert. Good enough for me.
Look, if you're this far into the series and looking for nuance, you're going to have to keep looking. These are children's books, and they've got a winning formula. There's no need to push the boundaries. Sure, "Mossflower" had some cool things to say about PTSD, and "Mattimeo" truly examined the dynamic between famous parents and their children. Yeah, there have been more exciting characters and more emotional moments and even more clever set pieces. It doesn't matter. I had almost as much fun reading this as any of the others. Yes, I'm badger-biased, but let's face it: these books can survive on their idea alone--for the most part. It's vermin fighting woodlanders. They've got weird accents and delicious food and a really shiny, really strong sword.
Would I like them to try to say more? Meh. They're a pretty good palate cleanser between "In Flanders Field" and "Beloved", and they seem to have enough morality to them. Treat the people around you like crap, and you're going to eat your just desert. Good enough for me.
joanna_banana's review
3.0
Of the Redwall books I’ve read again to my daughter, this one ranks more highly. Like Mattimeo there are some really sweet parent-child relationships (and not so sweet ones!!) giving the book more depth and emotion than just adventuring and fighting. There were more plot lines and characters too making the story more compelling. I enjoyed the story line of Thrugg and Dumble the most; though, Mara and Pickle with the shrews was pretty great too. 8 year old really enjoys these read aloud.
raechrae's review
2.0
I read this one so long ago its hard to remember but I know we travel outside of Redwall's walls and travel to the mountain where there were brand new adventures