The Long Patrol

[theradicalchild]

The Long Patrol by Brian Jacques
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This tale of Redwall opens with the young hare Tamello De Fformelo Tussock, Tammo for short, yearning to become a member of the eponymous Long Patrol at the dawn of spring. In the meantime, the main antagonist, Damug Warfang, leads his army of vermin up the coast. The female red squirrel Russsa Nodrey also keeps watch on the Rapscallion army near the hares’ Camp Tussock and joins Tammo in his ambition to join the lapine troop. The rats have a Throwing of the Sword ceremony to commemorate Damug’s ascent to become Firstblade, with Tammo and Russa making their way to Redwall.

At Redwall, the southern wall is derelict, with a subterranean chasm contributing to this, the Abbey having lacked a badger and a hare for some time Arven the squirrel. The Long Patrol ultimately joins the Redwallers against Damug, a battle rounding out the book. It’s pretty much on par with other entries of the series, with endearing characters, although it continues to depict specific animals in black and white terms. Arven the squirrel is now the Abbey Warrior, with Tammo and Russa ultimately reaching the monastery. An infant badger eventually named Russano comes into play later, an epilogue occurring several seasons after the main events.

As with its precursors, the tenth Redwall is an enjoyable action-packed read, especially for youngsters, although it has many of the same issues with its predecessors, primarily the depiction of different species in black and white terms. For instance, mice, squirrels, hares, shrews, and badgers the late Brian Jacques depicts as inherently good, while others such as rats, ferrets, weasels, stoats, and foxes he depicts as naturally bad, akin to the variant races in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books, which can reflect real-life xenophobia. Regardless, those who enjoyed previous books will likely appreciate this one.

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