The Radical Child

Rakkety Tam by Brian Jacques
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Author Brian Jacques dedicated this tale of Redwall to a colleague and a great friend, Tim Moses, and opens with a squirrel named Melanda, the youngest creature ever to serve as Recorder of Redwall Abbey, introducing the story of the titular squirrel protagonist, Rakkety Tam MacBurl, who receives several poems throughout the story. The chief antagonist is the wolverine Gulo the Savage, hunting down his brother Askor for want of the Walking Stone, whose holder allegedly is entitled to rule the land of snow and ice, with some backstory exposed for him, such as his committing patricide.

Meanwhile, it’s winter at Redwall Abbey, where Humble the hedgehog has reigned as Abbot for a long time. There’s also talk of a shipwreck near Salamandastron, after which the writer introduces readers to the territory of the Squirrelking Araltum and Idga Drayqueen, the country whence the titular protagonist and his fellow squirrel Doogy Plumm come. Another character playing part is Yoofus Lightpaw, a water vole and master thief from Mossflower, married to Didjety. Tam and Doogy partner with the Long Patrol to battle the vermin throughout the story, eventually meeting Yoofus.

Tergen, a goshawk, the author introduces as well, with the avian receiving an injury requiring one of his wings to be in a splint. Sister Armel, another squirrel, dreams of the Abbey Warrior Martin, like characters of Redwall ages ago, with Tam ultimately wielding his blade against the vermin armies. Well-described battles occasionally erupt between the good creatures and vermin, accounting for a satisfying but somewhat familiar tale of Redwall, on par with its predecessors, with much of the same positives and negatives. However, it’s still a good read for younger audiences.

View all my reviews

Marlfox by Brian Jacques

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In this tale of Redwall, the titular Marlfoxes, a special breed of vulpine, led by Queen Silth, haunt Mossflower Wood and steal the tapestry of Martin the Warrior from Redwall Abbey, with a party consisting of the two children of squirrel warriors, Dannflor Reguba and Songbreeze Swifteye, following them, with the shrew Dippler and watervole Burble accompanying them. The prologue features a poem about wandering players, with plenty of other good poetry throughout the novel, and the first main chapter introduces several characters including Song’s father Janglur Swifteye, not to mention Ascrod and his sister Vanna, children of Queen Silth.

The wandering players, the Sensational Wandering Noonvale Companions Troupe, are enroute to Redwall Abbey, where a squirrel, old Friar Butty, serves as Recorder, mentioning the dry, rainless summer, and the death of the former Abbey Warrior and Abbot Arven, not to mention Abbess Tansy. Throughout the story, the Redwallers clash with the Marlfoxes and occasional rats and other “vermin,” with Dannflor having sporadic visions of Martin the Warrior, along with a featured power struggle including another of the Marlfoxes, Mokkan, High Queen Silth herself occasionally haunted by an entity known as the White Ghost.

The weather does ultimately become rainy early on, with several other notable characters such as Gawjo the squirrel warrior, and the osprey Megraw. There are links to the book’s chronological predecessor and a few characters present then, as well, and the story the author tells well, with the political theme of power struggle always being welcome in the fantasy genre. However, as with its precursors, Jacques takes the Tolkien-esque black-and-white depiction of the various species as inherently good or evil, with the eleventh Redwall book mostly being on par with prior entries, not a bad thing.

View all my reviews

Martin the Warrior by Brian Jacques
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Martin the Warrior, a hero of legend to Redwall Abbey and the son of Luke the Warrior, began life as a slave to the stoat Badrang the Tyrant, with a weasel named Hisk overseeing the mouse’s slavery. Martin’s friends include the mousemaid Laterose, nicknamed Rose, her brother Brome, and the mole Grumm Trencher. One day, Martin saves an aged squirrel, Barkjon, who has a son named Felldoh also in slavery. Backstory is provided on Luke the Warrior, who left his wife Windred and son Martin to fight the vermin, with the mother and child captured as slaves.

Martin vows to take his father’s sword back from Badrang, and is early on in the story intended as a carrion sacrifice. The novel also reveals Badrang’s chief rival, but also an antagonist of Martin and company, a fellow stoat named Captain Tramun Clogg of the Seascarab, who initially attempts to take Badrang’s fortress of Marshank. Martin and company ultimately escape bondage, coming into the court of pygmy shrews lead by Queen Amballa. The two villainous stoats further set aside their differences to focus on combatting Martin and the good animals.

Other characters introduced include the supposed magical rabbit Ballaw, with a lizard tribe also briefly capturing Martin and company, and an encounter with Wakk, Chieftain of the Gawtrybe. The foundation of the Fur and Freedom Fighters marks the concluding action of the novel, which is ultimately another enjoyable yarn of the Redwall universe, although akin to other books in the series, it always depicts specific animals in black and white terms, with species determinant of whether a character is good or bad. Even so, it’s definitely another one of the cornerstones in the talking animal literary subgenre of fantasy tales.

View all my reviews

The basis for a Disney+ series over three decades later, Lucasfilm's Willow stars Warwick Davis, who had before played the Ewok Wicket in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, as the eponymous halfling sorcerer Willow Ufgood, who becomes steward to an infant, who had been smuggled out of the clutches of an evil queen, who in turn fears a prophecy of a newborn being her doom and thus gathered the pregnant women of her realm. The elders of the dwarven village where Willow lives decree the baby must be returned to a member of the Daikini, which is, to say, humans, to be raised, although her protection and taking down Queen Bavmorda naturally come first.

The special effects were advanced in their time but contained traces of the era such as the slight-robotic nature of stop-motion, which was similarly present in the original Star Wars trilogy before their digital remaster during the 1990s. The general fantasy atmosphere of the film is nice as well, and I imagine it's what film versions of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy would have looked like had they been made in that era, with actual halfling actors, no less. Granted, some scenes and dialogue come off as awkward, with the original Star Wars and Indiana Jones films being no strangers to this (despite what many critics and audiences popularly believe), but in general Ron Howard did a decent job with the film; I'll watch the sequel series on Disney+ when I get the chance.

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The final installment of author J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy opens with wizard Gandalf and hobbit Pippin riding the former’s horse Shadowfax into the city of Minas Tirith in Gondor, meeting the Steward of the High King, Denethor son of Ecthelion. Mordor has decimated other cities in Gondor, with the forthcoming night predicted to be the city's last. Meanwhile, the hobbit Merry rides with the remnants of the scattered Fellowship of the Ring, including the human ranger Aragorn, elf Legolas, and dwarf Gimli, with the company venturing to the Gate of the Dead in the Haunted Mountain.

Mordor's siege of Gondor ultimately commences, with the Lord of the Nazgûl, the nine former humans who surrendered to the will of Sauron when given their respective rings, showing himself on the frontlines. Aragon then enters the battle, with the armies of the West soon assembling at the gate into Mordor, when the Eagles come. As this is occurring, Sam spies on the orcs for his captured master, Frodo, after which they make their way to Mount Doom to send the One Ring into its lava. A final conflict with Gollum decides the fate of the Ring, after which the Eagles come to their rescue.

Most of the former Fellowship ultimately reunites, and the hobbits make their way homeward, where conflict arises in the Shire thanks to an individual terming himself Sharkey. Overall, the final book of the trilogy is, like its predecessors, enjoyable and straightforward, and while some have protested the alleged plot hole of the Eagles potentially aiding in the return of the One Ring to Mordor, it wouldn't have been that easy due to the potential corruption of the avians by the Ring, and the possibility for the Ringwraiths to be skyborne. After the main narrative text, several appendices give insight into the lore of Middle-earth, which is welcome.

View all my reviews

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first entry of author J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Ring series, the start of the sequel series to The Hobbit, opens with a prologue detailing the various aspects of the halfling race known as hobbits, their government, their love of smoking pipe-weed, and some synopses of key information from the prequel book such as Bilbo's acquisition of the One Ring of Mordor. The main chapters begin threescore after The Hobbit, with Bilbo Baggins about to celebrate his hundred-and-eleventh birthday, the same day his second/third nephew (or first cousin once/twice removed) Frodo Baggins celebrates his thirty-third.

Bilbo uses the One Ring to "disappear" from Hobbiton forever and never be seen again, with his cousins, the Sackville-Bagginses, annoyed they won't inherit his property, Bag End, and that it'll go to his nephew. Gandalf tells Frodo of the truth of the Ring, noting the corruption and transformation of Sméagol into Gollum, and Sam Gamgee joins Frodo on his quest to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom in Mordor. Meanwhile, the Ringwraiths, formerly the nine mortal men who received rings from the Dark Lord Sauron, are on the move, seeking the One Ring.

Fellow hobbits Pippin Took and Merry Brandybuck join Frodo and Sam, and the four find themselves in the home of the enigmatic Tom Bombadil, to whom Frodo contemplates giving the One Ring since it doesn't affect Bombadil at all. Bombadil afterward rescues the hobbits from a barrow-wight, and they continue to the village of Bree where they stop at the Prancing Pony inn, meeting the equally-enigmatic Strider, who sees Frodo for who he truly is as the Ring-bearer, with the Ringwraiths catching up to them. One of the nine stabs Frodo, with a flood sweeping them away afterward.

Frodo is taken to the home of Elrond where he is healed and reunited with his friends, chief among them Gandalf, who tells of his dealings with the rogue wizard Saruman who allies with Sauron, and the newly-formed fellowship sets off for Mordor. After facing troubles attempting to cross the Misty Mountains, the company agrees to traverse the Mines of Moria, where the fate of Balin the dwarf is discovered, along with a journal detailing the dwarven abandonment of the subterranean caverns. At this time, the forces of Mordor invade, and the fellowship separates from Gandalf.

The party enters elf-inhabited woodlands and meets Lady Galadriel, bearer of one of the elven rings of Mordor, with Frodo offering her the One Ring, although she refuses. They leave afterward, and the fellowship ultimately dissolves when Mordor’s forces attack. Boromir tries to seize the One Ring for himself, with Frodo and Sam setting off alone to destroy it. Overall, the first entry of Tolkien's esteemed trilogy is definitely an enjoyable, straightforward fantasy novel, although it does feature negative tropes such as orcs being inherently bad, with no "good" ones present. Even so, it's a must-read for anyone with a liking for the fantasy genre.

View all my reviews

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Author C.S. Lewis dedicated the first Chronicles of Narnia book he wrote, and the second in its chronology, to his goddaughter Lucy Barfield, who was undoubtedly the inspiration for one of the protagonists of the same name, who joins her brothers Peter and Edmund and sister Susan in being vacated to an old professor’s manor during the air raids on Britain during the Second World War. During a game of hide and seek, Lucy enters a wardrobe and stumbles into the world of Narnia, encountering a faun named Tumnus, with whom she dines before returning home, finding that not a whole lot of time has elapsed within her homeworld.

Edmund too finds himself in Narnia, encountering the primary antagonist, the White Witch and self-proclaimed Queen of the country, who tempts him with sweets before heading off. All four siblings ultimately go to Narnia together, where they dine with a beaver husband and wife who tell of Aslan the lion, purportedly “on the move.” With the White Witch having tempted him, Edmund abandons his siblings, believing good to be in the Queen, although he comes to regret his choices. After the siblings meet Aslan, battle for Narnia ensues, the story ending on a high note.

Overall, this tale of Narnia is definitely enjoyable, with this reviewer having fond memories of it in his youth, and found that reading it secondly after its chronological predecessor, The Magician’s Nephew, yielded many continuity nods, and the occasional breakings of the fourth wall adds some humor. Granted, there are some instances where Lewis could have given specific characters actual names, such as the aforementioned beaver patriarch and matriarch, and there is a smidgeon of speciesism regarding the composition of the opposing forces (though certain races aren’t entirely black and white), but younger audiences will be sure to appreciate this classic.

View all my reviews

Dangerous Games by Clayton Emery
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second installment of author Clayton Emery’s Netheril trilogy opens with magician Candlemas continuing to seek a solution to the blight that has been plaguing crops, although the sequel quickly forgets this subplot. Meanwhile, Sunbright misses his former companion Greenwillow, and attempts to move on, feeling that he needs time alone in the woods. Candlemas and he find a mysterious shard from the skies in the forest that has explosive properties, with the two thrown through time and dealing with whatever comes their way as they attempt to find a way back home to their period.

The main antagonist of the second entry is the magician Karsus, a cousin to a woman named Aquesita who serves as something for a love interest to Candlemas. Sunbright himself finds a love interest as well, in his case a shaman-in-training named Knucklebones. Playing a minor role throughout the story are a group of spirits known as the Phaerimm, who conspire against the humans. Karsus is believed to be savior of the empire, and researches high-level magic, involving Candlemas as well, and developing an interest in the fallen star piece.

A number of climactic conflicts conclude the story, which is for the most part an enjoyable sequel, although it does sport occasional clichés prevalent in the fantasy genre such as time travel, an adversarial empire, racial unrest, the quest for godhood, and so forth. However, the relationships between the characters are definitely believable and have some semblance of development, and the story is full of action up until the very end of the sequel, which I would definitely recommend to those who enjoyed its precursor, and I look forward to reading the trilogy’s conclusion.

View all my reviews

The Stiehl Assassin by Terry Brooks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The third and penultimate entry of Terry Brooks The Fall of Shannara series opens with Tavo Kaynin’s attempt at assassinating his sister Tarsha thwarted by Drisker Arc and his companions, with the woman who put Tavo up to the task, Clizia Porse, fleeing, and the would-be killer coming under Drisker’s surveillance in hopes he can recover from his trauma. Meanwhile, Rocan Arneas and the boy who calls himself Shea Ohmsford continue in their attempt to rescue Tindall from the Assidian Deep prison, with a machine within the facility briefly thwarting their plan, with Tindall having good knowledge of the weather machine called Annabelle.

Furthermore, Ajin’s father Cor d’Amphere, the king of the Skaar, dismisses his daughter from service, and she finds herself aboard what she believes to be her prison ship, although she ultimately finds herself accompanying Darcon Leah and Tarsha. Drisker goes to the shores of Hadeshorn and talks to shades of the long-deceased, including Grianne Ohmsford, who wishes to die outside the Forbidding and wants to be young again. Clizia Porse seeks to ally herself with the Skaar, with her former discharge Tavo improving under the care of Dar and company. The Prime Minister of the Federation, Ketter Vause, has skirmishes with the Skaar, seeking the help of the Dwarves.

Clizia Porse, with the blade Stiehl in tow, seeks the lives of the king of the Elves and that of Prime Minister Vause, with Drisker getting in her way and tagging her with magic so he can track her. Vause attempts to draw the Skaar outside their fortifications, with the Dwarves using weapons known as Reveals in their battles. A storm blows the airship Behemoth off course, landing Rocan and Shea on a distant island where they encounter a monster and raiders. The king of the Skaar expects the Federation Prime Minister to offer a truce, and believes his servant Kol’Dre wishes for his daughter’s hand in marriage. A confrontation with Clizia against Drisker Arc and the Kaynin siblings ends the third book.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this particular entry of Brooks’ final Shannara subseries, given its great fantastical action, occasional politics, and deaths that will likely prove critical when the author’s eponymous world “falls” in the final chapter of the franchise. It’s largely clear as to which races the dramatis personae belong, given the mention of Elves and Dwarves in addition to the human characters, although some concrete description and reminders as to their appearances would have been helpful in helping me better visualize the players in the plot. Regardless, I would very much recommend the third Fall of Shannara book to those who appreciated its precursors within and without the subseries.

View all my reviews