OKAY! IN REDWALL, THERE IS A PATH GOING FROM NORTH TO SOUTH THAT APPARENTLY HAS BEEN THERE FOREVER. NOW,

OKAY! IN REDWALL, THERE IS A PATH GOING FROM NORTH TO SOUTH THAT APPARENTLY HAS BEEN THERE FOREVER. NOW, THE THING IS PATHS NEED SIGNIFICANT TRAVEL TO BECOME DIRT PATHS THAT ARE COMPACTED ENOUGH TO STAY DIRT PATHS OVER THE YEARS. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT EVENT DID THAT!? OR IS THERE JUST A LOT OF TRAVEL!?

More redwall doodles

I'm re-reading Taggerung right now! This is a lovely review! And really really interesting comments.

thoughts on [The] Taggerung

This is very long because I'm very torn on it. When it's good it's very great but it fails in its original twist.

All my favorite Abessess are dead 🫥. Well except Lycian I guess. 

Here's something never mentioned - outside of Germaine's tomb, where are the Abbesses buried? Just by the vegetables to replenish the soil I guess. 

I may be wrong but this may be a new art style for the chapters and only for this book. It may never be seen again in another story because I don't remember seeing it again (disclaimer - I get the ebooks and not all come with art) Pity, it's like the Marlfox art but with less sketchy lines. It's nice!

You've heard their names, everybeast has. Cluny the Scourge, Slagar the Cruel, Ferahgo the Assassin and many others. All of them defeated and slain. Redwall is so powerful, it killed someone who never tried to conquer it or even entered Mossflower Country!

See they mention Vulpuz! There’s a demon entity! AWESOME

Once again we have a great concept that's kneecapped bc of the strict dichotomy these species have. You can find fanfictions on the Redwall wikia where people have played with the concept of “good” species who are raised in evil (or in my 25 chapter fanfictions case, suffered a head wound and turned into vermin) and actually kill and commit crimes. We can't even give Tagg the vermin dialect. There's nothing to deconstruct here. 

Sometimes he had admired Sawney, his strength, leadership and determination, but he had never really liked the ferret, never called him lather, never loved him. No internal conflict. If this had been written earlier, I'm sure we would have gotten a little. This is why Nimbalo is a better character because he has been changed bc of the abuse he suffered and is unlike most mice in the series.  

The hares are wildly hit and miss for me. Scarum was annoying. Boorab is delightful. 

We see the flatlands north of Redwall to the mountain. It's nice, lively, not as weird southern desert like where the ravine and Loamhedge is. 

This may be the only book in the series with an actual theme beyond good vs evil, in terms of family. The ones you pick, are born into, are forced into, you lose, you leave, you make. You see it in the Obvious but then you see it with instances like how Boorab and Filorn are peas in a pod or how Fwirl (who is a rarity as an actual active female character who is noted as pretty doing things beyond healing) joins the Abbey, and Mhera supporting Cregga all this time. 

Actually most of the redwall characters genuinely grow and learn something you don't often see in these books. It helps that it's not a huge cast, like in Loamhedge, the Bellmaker is killed early and they never name the man again. Broggle learned confidence, Fwirl and Nimbalo learned to rely on others, Filorn learned acceptance,  Alkanet isn't shamed for being stern but grows to be flexible , Mhera did the typical Abbess MasterClass speed run. 

One of the chapter arts suggests that Nimbalo is much smaller than Tagg. He stated to be a harvest mouse, when the non denomination mice of Mossflower are a bit more in scope with otters. 

We need more Forthrights. 

The actual drama of Tagg finally being back at Redwall but them not knowing he's the missing babe Deyna is very good and I appreciate how the reunion is delayed and not rushed through. There's a real sense of anticipation, and for my big critiques about the idea not having any follow through, this is probably the best 3rd act of any Redwall book. Maybe only Mossflower is better. 

Somehow I thought Ruggan Bor just...walked away when Deyna said the Taggerung wasn't at Redwall lmao WHY did I think this.

Another point; You know how I said squirrels don't have a subculture like the other animals? There are very few, if any, shrews without a subculture , they're either Guosim or Pigmy Shrews.

There's a sliding scale of sapiency with some animals. Woodpidgeons don't talk, so they can be eaten. Other birds do, so they don't get eaten, even if that's the intent of the villains. Most lizards are sapient but some like Firl in Mariel don't talk. So when rawback was trapped in the swamp, did he go insane by eating talking lizards and frogs? Basically one out of two mentions and depictions of cannibalism in the series?

While there's a humongous missed opportunity with Tagg as a character, this can very solidly sit in my top 5. 

Tiny friends

Photographed by Miles Herbert

Been listening to the Redwall audiobooks and I just realized that at least one of the mice to carry the sword of Martin is a descendant of Gnoff (Dandin). Since Gnoff seems to have a large number of descendants in the Mossflower area and all of the mice who are Redwall Champions (with the exception of Mariel, who counts because I say so) grew up in Redwall, it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that all the mice who take up the sword are descendants of Gnoff.

Also it seems fitting that Martin would choose mice from his best friend's family tree.

made a Redwall wallpaper for my gf 🗡️ the little isolated Matthias mouse is by the wonderful artist @wonderarium :)