Rakkety Tam

Rating:
Summary: Latest Redwall Book an action-packed wonder
Review: This Redwall book surprised me. Brian Jacques last few book have been about minor skirmishes, with few people on each side. But this book breaks free from that, with over 100 foxes and ermine under the command of the crazed wolverine leader Gulo the Savage. This horde goes to battle against 100 hares of the Long Patrol. The hero of this story, Rakkety Tam Macburl, and his friend Doogy Plumm, are the first Northern creatures we have heard of that are not birds. There are several stories which wind together, making this book an excellent read and a must-have for redwall fans.

Rating:
Summary: Rakkety Tam, Matthias, Triss ect.
Review: Being the 17th Redwall book, I of course snapped this one up the first time I saw it on the shelves. My love for rodents and the themes to these books kept me reading the first 16, but I was prepared to be dissapointed. I was.

To me, it seems that in this whole series the plots are always the same, and sometimes it's hard for me to decipher between the different books in the series. In Rakkety Tam, we once again have a warrior who goes on a quest to kill the bad guy, ends up finding Redwall, gets help from long deceased Martin the Warrior, and become a hero defeating thousands of foes by killing their leader. He manages to raise an army and the ever-feasting Redwallers who never hurt anything manage to defeat trained warriors with cutlasses versus window-poles. They even manage to do it without anyone dying!

I just wish that these were just a bit more original rather than just a different type of rodent getting Martin's Sword and killing an animal five times its size. I would suggest Redwall, Mattimeo, or the Bellmaker from this series, but all the other ones will just make you angry as you read about the Redwallers devising some plan against the stupid enemies, who always seem to go mad from bad dreams.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Read!
Review: Even though I'm only half way through the book, I can already tell it's one of the bst Redwall books yet. The beginning is great,introducing the main villian, Gulo the Savage. This story stands out from the rest becase the plot is great and it seems to get better by every book. Detail is fantastic and the charcters feel as if you know them like real people. This is the plot:
Gulo the Savage is an wolverine, sailing towards Mossflower wood in search of The Walking Stone and his brother which he means to kill. He and his beast-eatting vermin fall upon the temperate climate of Mossflower and then go in search of the Abbey of Redwall. In another part o Brian Jacques world is Rakkety Tam Mcburl and his mate Wild Doogy Plumm. They leave their disliked king and queen in sarch of their stoen banner. They then team up with The Long Patrol and learn of Gulo and his vermin. The quest then begins to resque the two Redwal maidens taken captive by the vermin horde. All of this leading up to the final battle when Gulo confronts Redwall. The rest of the book should be a good as the first half. I reccomed this book to anyone who lies fantasy. I hope all who buy or read this book are satisfied.


Rating:
Summary: Goooooooooooooo Rakkety whoooooooo!
Review: I have been a Brian Jauqes devotee since I picked "Redwall" in fifth grade. Now,as a 21-year old college student, I still get excited when a new book in the series comes out.
I agree that the last few books plots' have been formulaic, but "Rakkety Tam" breaks the mold and showcases the wonderful comraderie of Jaques' animal heros and villans in a fresh way. I partciularally enjoyed reading the good-natured banter between the squirrel Northerners Rakkety Tam and Doogy Plumm. They are interseting charcters and Jaques captures their accents down to a tee!
"Rakkety Tam" features more violent battles than in previous books, but they mirror the more violent battles going on in the world today.
All in all, this book was a wonderful! I recomend it to anyone who is looking for a story to chuckle and and cheer over, no matter if they need a "silent reading" text for grade-school or are seeking a study-break from Mid-terms!

Rating:
Summary: Has Jacques Lost His Luster?
Review: It's sad but true: the 17th "Redwall" novel just isn't up to standard. Brian Jacques has made the mistake that so many authors before him have made as well: they get stuck in the same plot sequence when writing a series. Jacques just doesn't have any new material to offer here; indeed, it's more of the same old feasts, battles, etc. And while younger children will have no gripes with his yarn, older readers, especially those who have read his other novels, will be frustrated with the book's sheer predicatability. As a "Redwall" devotee myself, let me warn other fans of the series: brace yourselves for disappointment.

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Rating:
Summary: Redwall is Dead, Its Time for Something New
Review: Redwall is dead. The first thirteen or fourteen books are good, but for reason the magic is gone. Now, I think absolutely everyone can argee that the Redwall series is nothing more than a repeat of the same story over and over again. It seems that Mr. Jacques just pulls out his old manuscripts of past of books, replaces some old names, places and poems with new ones and then he's done. It is time for something new from Mr. Jacques, either Redwall should end and he should move onto something bigger and better or he should create soemthing new for Redwall. There always is the good guy killing some bad guy with some riddles and a quest involved, its old. (Not to mention that the good guy normally has never touched a sword, therefore they would never kill a trained warrior- like the bad guys are- so it kind of hard to believe, Triss is a very good example, it was horrible...horrible) My suggestion, though it won't ever reach Mr. Jacques would be to do something new with the series. Maybe he should create a Redwall trilogy, where all three books are one continueing story. Maybe he should have Redwall destroyed and write about the struugle after against a rising vermin empire lead by a great wildcat or an evil badger that was once the lord of salamandastron and has been banished from the mountain and has joined the vermin for revenge. At the end of it all Redwall could be rebuilt and the story could conitnue. I wish I was Mr. Jacques, there is so much he could do with Redwall, yet he keeps on writing the same old repeatative books. My point is Redwall needs a change, a serious one and quick! Would you want to read seventeen books that almost the same story, I didn't think so.