Mossflower Book Review

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Long Review

I don’t remember where we were introduced to the Redwall series, but it was a mainstay in my household growing up. This is a prequel to the debut Redwall, and tells the story of just before the founding of Redwall Abbey, the setting for all of the books.

As a quick review for those who aren’t familiar with Redwall, the Abbey in Mossflower Woods is run by the gentle woodland animals, and often becomes a refuge when there is some kind of horde or army invading. This world is comprised entirely by animals – with the good side consisting of animals like mice, hedgehogs and badgers, and the bad side being things like rats, weasels and foxes – and stories range from within Redwall to islands across the Great Ocean.

Mossflower was written to explain the origin of the Abbey and the sword of Martin the Warrior, which is a recurring weapon in the series. Seasons before the events of Redwall, Mossflower Wood is under the oppressive rule of Tsarmina the wildcat. Martin, a warrior mouse who stumbles into the middle of the woodlander’s fight to escape, leads a small group to the mountain home of Boar the Fighter to bring back an army to face Tsarmina and her forces.

This book is a reminder of why the Redwall series was such a hit for readers who wanted something more than simple chapter books. Brian Jacques is a master of building a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat and writing beloved characters. There is a simplicity to these book – what you see is what you get. Unlike the Chronicles of Narnia or Stormlight Archives, there’s no additional philosophy being discussed in the background. They are just stories about good defeating evil.

Coming back to it as an older reader and writer, I appreciated the technical skill and artistry worked into the story. I also listened to this as an audiobook, which is a great way to enjoy these books. Jacques recorded all of his books with a full cast, which each character getting their own voice actor, while he, an accomplished voice actor himself, narrates. Even the chapters are introduced with little musical jingles that his group composed!

Overall, I wouldn’t hesitate recommending this book to anyone.

Technical Notes

Jacques shines in descriptions in this book. Within the first few chapters, as we’re introduced to the wildcat fortress of Kotir, he paints a bleak picture, emphasizing the dark corners, the way the guards huddle around the fires for warmth, the threadbare nature of their cloaks and emptiness of the pantry. Some authors will weave their description between their dialogue and action, but Jacques devotes paragraph segments to it, usually leading in from dialogue or leading out of it into action.

This is not to mean that he is florid or boring. On the contrary, the description just accentuates the rest of his action and dialogue. No Victor Hugo’s here!

Another choice, which will bother some readers and make others smile, is his style of writing accents. There are two camps of accents-writing: Those who tell you what it sounds like (“It was a Boston/Highland/English…”) and those who write it like it sounds (G’day, matey. Glad ta see yar here!”).

As a writer, I tend to float in between the middle. Brian Jacques jumps full force into the second camp. Different animal species and cultures have their own dialects – otters are rough and tumble seamen (“Aye, matey, that’ll do!”), hares are posh English (“I say, jolly good show, wot wot?”), mice, squirrels and hedgehogs are pretty unaccented – and then there are the moles.

Molespeech is described as ‘rustic.’ It’s written like this: “Ee’m maken a powl t’jump ditcher. Squirrelbeasts do et iffen they baint no tree to swing offen.”

(This is a mole making a vaulting pole to get over a wide ditch)

Whether you like it or not is a point of personal preference – just know that it’s a challenge to keep all the dialects as clear and as well-written as Jacques does with all his books.

Technical Notes: Standalone Books vs. The Lore

There are some interesting effects when a series takes off, and authors begin to write prequels and sequels. One of the beautiful things about the Redwall series is that almost every book can be read separate from the whole. Some, like Redwall and Mattimeo, have the same characters and happen a few seasons/years apart from each other, but most are completely standalone.

Now, where this gets interesting is how it effects the lore – used here to mean history or worldbuilding – of the world as a whole.

For example, in Mossflower, Martin briefly mentions his backstory, how he was left to defend his tribe when his father, Luke, sailed off to chase pirates who plagued them. After a while, when Luke did not return, he set off wandering, eventually landing in Mossflower.

In Martin the Warrior, another prequel book that Jacques wrote further along in the series, the full story is unfolded, and it is not a very happy one. However, the Martin we meet in Mossflower doesn’t seem to bear any of these burdens.

Jacques ties the circuit by having Martin decide his cover story, to hide his heartache, at the end of Martin the Warrior. But there are other inconsistencies, like the amount of hares in the mountain of Salamandastron… and all of that is irrelevant to the plot and review of this specific book.

My point is that, overall, Jacques works really hard to make sure all of his books line up with each other and don’t contradict, as well as making sure none of his books need another to be enjoyed (but it will be much more enjoyable if you read more of them!). But, when you write a series of standalone books, instead of a series that builds off of each other, it can be difficult to maintain continuity.

Readers Beware!

As always, this is a section to alert you to some things that some readers may not like, or things that might cause some discussion between parents and kids!

There is a lot of sword and shield action and fighting in this. Likewise, a lot of circle-of-life kind of violence.

An eagle picks off the occasional creature for food. A swan swallows an interloper onto his property. A massive eel wreaks havoc in a toad village.

A badger lord takes on a shipload of pirate vermin. A mouse fights a cat to the death. Creatures are imprisoned and starved. Stuff like that.

None of it is painted in graphic detail.

Final Thoughts

Like I said, Redwall was the series that introduced me to the fantasy/medieval sword and shields world. It’s stood the test of time as a great series of heroes and villains. Instead of the constant betrayal and distrust of more modern books, characters are lifelong loyalists and supportive of each other. Good is good, and no matter how dark it is, there is always hope – and hope will win out in the end.

Where to Buy

The Redwall Series is available on Alibris, as is Mossflower specifically. Of course, Amazon is also an option, both for the series and Mossflower.

Barnes and Noble is another avenue, if you are so inclined.

(Some of these links are affiliate links. Learn what that means at our affiliate disclosure page. If you’d like to request a book review, just let me know!)