High Rhulian

[theradicalchild]

High Rhulain by Brian Jacques
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The late Brian Jacques dedicated this entry of his Redwall series to his friend Alan Ingram, whom he terms the guardian at the gate of the eponymous Abbey. A poem about autumn follows, with plenty of poetry, as always, throughout the book. Its action opens on Green Isle, where the Warlord of the Green Isle Cats reigns. Riggu Felis, the mentioned monarch, has a pine marten aide named Atunra and children Jeefra and Pitru. Meanwhile, back at Redwall Abbey, the young Lycian the mouse is Mother Abbess, with another of the primary protagonists, Tiria the young otter, daughter of the Skipper of otters, introduced, being skilled with a sling.

Outside Redwall, water rats patrol, capturing an eagle whom Tiria emancipates. Jacques eventually reveals the backstory of Green Isle, where the otterclan Wildlough reigned until the cats came into power. Fights occasionally erupt between the vermin and the “good” creatures, with the riddle of the Geminya Tome perplexing Redwallers. Tiria further receives a visit from Martin the Warrior, a trend in prior installments. The ottermaid eventually begins a trip to Green Isle with the help of friends, the Long Patrol, and their Badger Lord, coming into play as well.

Overall, this is another enjoyable Redwall book, even if it recycles elements from its predecessors, including the predisposition of specific animals as good or evil and the visitations from Martin the Warrior. There’s also the issue of the lack of clarity at times as to the species of various characters, with little reminders throughout the text, and the Amazon Kindle’s X-Ray function doesn't work for the book. Furthermore, within each chapter, the action constantly shifts between sets of characters when the author could have segregated them in each of the book’s subsections.

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