Mariel of Redwall

Mariel of Redwall by Brian Jacques
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

On an island called Terramort northwest of Redwall Abbey, the searat Gabool the Wild goes by several titles, including Warlord of All Rodent Corsairs and Captain of Captains. At the time, Redwall Abbey is under construction, with one of the main protagonists, Dandin the mouse, a descendant of Gonff the Prince of Mousethieves, goofing off to the badger Mother Mellus’s disdain. In the meantime, Gabool wants Joseph the Bellmaker to erect a belltower, and an amnesiac mousemaid hones her skills with a rope, eventually adopting the name Storm Gullwhacker. Furthermore, the badger Lord Rawnblade Widestripe of Salamandastron travels with his band of hares, soon finding the mousemaid.

One of Gabool’s henchmen, Graypatch, receives considerable time throughout the novel, and the identity of Storm Gullwhacker becomes known, with Dandin wishing to travel with her. The secondary antagonist arrives at Redwall Abbey with his forces, with the Redwallers seeking to repel them, a few such as Saxtus reluctant to claim other lives. Rawnblade’s forces soon arrive at the Abbey, with his long patrol and others joining the resistance against Gabool’s forces, helping to free his slaves along the way, with an organization called Trag, the Terramort Resistance Against Gabool, spawning in the meantime, the action soon ending.

Overall, the second Redwall prequel and the fourth book overall is enjoyable, with plenty of endearing characters such as the enigmatic Storm Gullwhacker, her identity and connection with Joseph the Bellmaker unraveled, along with connection to other entries such as Dandin’s relation to Gonff, one of Martin the Warrior’s chief companions. Structurally, however, Mariel of Redwall is like its precursors, such as depicting certain species such as searats in black-in-white terms, not to mention the ending with a Redwall parishioner’s journal entry, although it’s nonetheless a good read for younger audiences, and for me, it was nice revisiting this installment of the late Brian Jacques’s iconic series.

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