Rakkety Tam by Brian Jacques

 

"All the best plans are a bit risky..."

Gulo the Savage, ruler of his homeland in the hard and cold North, is searching for a relic known as the Walking Stone, which has been stolen by his brother Askor. The titular character Rakkety Tam and his best friend Wild Doogy Plum are given the task of bringing the stolen royal banner home to the King and Queen in exchange for their freedom. Meanwhile in Redwall Abbey, Sister Armel has had a vision of long dead Martin the Warrior, who tells her to take his sword and deliver it to Tam, who in turn vows to protect the Abbey from those who would threaten it.

When I was young, I thought the Novels of Redwall were some of the best advanced-reader children's novels on the market. They have all the hallmarks of a good children's novel. Always including poetry, songs and riddles, Brian Jacques was the master of rhyme. The characters are all talking animals, stereotypically cast again and again in predictable roles: we know mice, squirrels, and hares are likely heroes, while rats, foxes, and weasels are likely villains.

Even though the stories jump between characters, the books are generally easy to follow. There's always a quest involved, characters setting out on an adventure for various reasons. Set seemingly in medieval times, with swords and slings as weapons, the adventures can be best described as swashbuckling romps through the woods. Whether they're searching for justice or each other, each quest ultimately ends in an epic battle between good and evil.

As with most fantasy, the attention to detail is everything. The world building is great. Each book opens with a map of the location where the quest is taking place so we can follow the characters journey. And as our characters journey, no stone, stream, thicket or swamp, is left undescribed, nor are the creatures that live in such places left unimagined. Each species is given their own accents, making a story of talking animals richer, providing them with not just a voice, but a culture. And Brian Jacques must have been a foodie because his descriptions of the meals that the creatures are eating, are pawsitively decadent.

The one thing I notice as an adult, that I didn't notice as a kid, was how graphically violent these books can be, which is probably why they're market toward young adult readers instead of being advertised as straight up children's lit. But aside from the violence and maybe the length of the novels, I see no real reason why kids wouldn't or shouldn't read them. As with all things, the responsibility lies with the parent to decide whether or not their child is mature enough to handle squirrels and foxes killing each other with swords and spears... And when I put it that way, it sounds quite silly.

Rakkety Tam follows the same archetype as the rest of the books in the series, but with the epic battle being replaced by a duel. And despite the model it's based on, it reads like its own original story, as most in the series do.

I quite liked this installment in the series and am awarding it its five stars.