GreatAlthough there was a delay in receiving this item from when purchased, communication was received from the seller advising this and it arrived on the last day given. My niece was ecstatic on opening her gift as she enjoys these stories so much.
I would use this seller again.
Fabulous TaleI have read this, and have just finished listening to the full version on CD,I was really sorry when the end came,a truly absorbing and exciting read but the CD version with all the songs brought to life is truly inspiring.Brian Jacques is a wonderful story teller his books are superior to most books written for adults (I am sixty years of age by the way) and have been an avid reader since age 6 so have had much experience !!
One to miss....stick to the older installments in the seriesFans of Brian Jacques will have noticed a worrying trend in his series. In the beginning books such as Mossflower, Redwall and Outcasts of Redwall were about a small band of creatures fighting of an imperialist presence that had colonised their land. The founding fathers of Redwall strove to establish a state based on peaceful amendments and I feel they would have been truly shocked at this latest offering. In High Rhulain, Redwall Abbey having no need to defend its own borders plays its hand at colonisation. Its pretext is that the inhabitants of the Green Isle are under an evil dictator and must be freed; an otter by the way receives this information in a dream. It is the moral thing to do. Of course they cannot go it alone unilaterally, they need backing from a bunch of stiff upper lip hares who are a lot more experienced in colonialist warfare. The hare's of Salamandastrom serve as useful yes men who eager at the chance of any battle quickly take up arms and go ahead and do battle with the wildcats and liberate the otter slaves. Once liberated the slaves are then governed by a puppet dictator from Redwall and the story ends. Whilst admittedly the aims of the war are laudable this time, the way the series is going one gets the feelings that the way the next book will feature Redwall Abbey going to war for forestry or fishing rights.
This, the latest offering is I am sad to say also the poorest one, or perhaps it is that I'm just getting older. But there no longer seem to be any big battles in the Redwall series and there is no character ambiguity. In Mossflower one of the heroes is a kleptomaniac, Outcast of Redwall (my personal favourite) has a rat who is almost evil but redeems himself at the end paying the ultimate price. High Rhulain has none of these ambiguities, all the animals fit into the stereotypes given to them. An unfortunate feature that has plagued the last few Redwall books is the absence of likeable characters and this instalment proves no exception. All in all, this book just serves for a longing for the series to return to its original form.
Full of Scope for the ImaginationThis is the only book I have read in the Redwall series by Brian Jacques, and I must admit I was slightly dubious about reading it as it struck me as the type of book which would appeal to boys. However, I was nicely surprised to find the herione was indeed a girl - something which you do not find much.
Jacques has created a world full of imagination and wonder. What would it be like if otters, rats and hedgehogs could talk to each other and live in their own village? Look no further - these animals are portrayed beautifully and simply in this very novel. Non-fiction and gems of truth are woven together beautifully in this action-packed novel - a feat which is hard to produce.
Boys and girls alike will love this book. If you are in two-minds whether to read it, I would strongly advise you to - you won't regret it!
Overall a good bookThis is the first Redwall book that I have read after I received it as a Christmas present. I will deffinitely be reading some more. The story is good and most of the characters are great. I was dissapointed by the lack of reverence paid by the characters to their fallen friends. It seemed that each time a character died everyone cried for a second, then turned to each other and said 'well, lets get on with it.' It seems nit-picky, but it really annoyed me everytime I read a death scene. Also, the dialogue was difficult to read at times, especially the moles. Despite those problems, it is deffinitely worth a read if you are into fantasy, and even if your not.
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