Lord Brocktree

[theradicalchild]

Lord Brocktree by Brian Jacques
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When this Redwall prequel begins, the badger Lord Russano of the mountain Salamandastron, is scribing the history of his home, and tells the tale of how it came into its own thanks to Lord Brocktree of Brockhall. In the first of the main chapters, the Lord of Salamandastron then, Stonepaw, feels that peace has endured for too long, and sure enough, in the northeast reaches of the Mossflower Wood, the stoat Drigg Slopmouth and his brood are harassing a hare, Dorothea Duckfontein Dillworthy, Dotti for short, who is luckily versed in self-defense, with her heroism observed by Brocktree, son of Stonepaw, with the two becoming companions.

Furthermore, the blue-furred ferret, the Grand Fragorl, leader of a group of vermin called the Chosen Ones, and servant of the wildcat Ungatt Trunn, the self-proclaimed Ruler of the Earth, plot against Salamandastron and its lapine servants. Early chapters expose backstory for Dotti, exiled from her own home due to her clumsiness and told to relocate to Salamandastron. Brocktree and company ultimately encounter the otter Ruffgar Brookback and the Guosim shrews, who band to battle the typical “vermin” of the literary franchise, Stonepaw himself holding out against them in his mountain home.

The story is generally good, although as with other chronologically future books in the franchise, Jacques depicts specific animals in black and white terms, for instance, badgers, otters, and hares being good, and rats, stoats, and cats being evil, but otherwise, it’s a good yarn for younger audiences. There also arises confusion at times on which characters belong to which species, which even using the Kindle’s search feature didn’t easily rectify, and thus, more reminders as to the characters’ races would have been welcome. Regardless, younger audiences will likely enjoy this yarn from the late author.

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