Book Review: The Long Patrol is an exciting adventure tale of Redwall

Hi everyone. School's out for me right now, so I might be able to do a little more with this blog than book reviews. In the meantime I do have a new book to review, and it comes from Brian Jacques wonderful world surrounding the amazing abbey of Redwall. This book is The Long Patrol.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Story:
Tamello De Fformelo Tussock is a young hare who dreams of joining the Long Patrol, a group of hares that serves Lady Cregga Rose Eyes, the badger who rules the stronghold of Salamandastron. Even though both of Tammo's parents have served in the Long Patrol it takes Tammo's mother to convince an old friend, a squirrel named Russa, to get Tammo started on his journey. However the journey isn't a smooth one. An army of sea vermin known as the Rapscallions has come ashore following their defeat at the hands, or paws, of Lady Cregga Rose Eyes, and their former leader has died. His heir, through treachery and deceit, is Damug Warfang, a rat who is eager to carve a name for himself. Leading his army inwards, he learns that the peaceful Redwall Abbey has a problem. The south wall is crumbling, and needs to be rebuilt. The race is on as Damug makes his way towards the peaceful abbey. Will Tammo and the Long Patrol be able to help save Redwall? Or will the abbey fall into the clutches of the Rapscallions?
Brian Jacques always does an incredible job with storytelling and world building. I like how he manages to replace the traditional fantasy races with woodland creatures like mice, squirrels, moles, badgers, etc. He also knows how to make use of poem, rhyme, and song to help further build up the world around Redwall. The book may start out slow for some, but it gets easier to read the further you go along. It may be hard to understand the style of speech several animals have, but that helps add to the world of Redwall. If you want to take a break from elves, dwarves, and other traditional fantasy races then you should take a trip to Redwall Abbey.
Caution:
Characters are in peril and threatened with death. An eel almost eats someone. Some characters end up trapped in a dark place and encounter blind cannibals. Damug Warfang's helmet has a skull on it. A badger is mentioned as having Bloodwrath. Animals fight and kill each other
Lessons:
Fighting is justified if you are trying to protect your family and loved ones from those who would harm them and take away their freedom. The greatest act of love is to give your life from another. We can find ourselves prepared for the future if we study the past.

Oh, just a little note, this week I'm going to be reading and reviewing a book for a friend before it becomes available online. I intend to read and review it before the week is out, so be sure to check back again this week.