Another in this great series, RED WALL - in its great classic tradition, a Hedgehog Maid sets out to save them all from Ublaz Mad Eyes and his monitor lizard corsairs.
My kids love this series. I really enjoyed reading Redwall out loud to them. The vocabulary, sentence structure and character development is super. This series is so much better than many kids books out there.
Children's Literature
Brian Jacques' latest novel in his saga dealing with the peaceful, egalitarian society of Redwall combines humanitarian ideals with a good animal fantasy story. Six magnificent rose-colored pearls, called the Tears of All Oceans, are at the heart of the conflict since they are missing. The greed they inspire in those who pursue them leads to mayhem and death. The evil Emperor Ubaz, better known as Mad Eyes, desperately seeks to own the pearls for his crown. At Redwall, a young hedgehog maid named Tansy and her friends are determined to find the pearls to exchange for the life of Redwall's much loved Abbot Durral who has been kidnapped. This complex fantasy, with numerous subplots and hundreds of characters, shifts continually from chapter to chapter. Each fox, stoat, rat, otter, bankvole, lizard, owl and ferret's dialog is printed in various dialects, but the compelling story line and skillfully drawn characters creates a masterful coherence for the true fan of high fantasy. It is a story with great heroism on the part of many characters, but Tansy's triumph at the end assures us that good can win the struggle over evil.
The evil Emperor Ublaz of the island of Sampetra attacked Holt Lutra for six rare pink pearls known as the "Tears of all Oceans." As the ship was returning to Sampetra with the treasure, two of the crew stole the pearls and then battled one another for sole possession. The wounded survivor, Graylunk, found his way to Redwall where he was cared for by Fermald the Ancient. Fearing retaliation by Ublaz, Graylunk went off to die alone. He left the pearls with Fermald, who put each pearl in a different hiding spot and left clues to their whereabouts. When Ublaz heard about Graylunk, he sent a ship to recover the pearls. Instead, the crew kidnapped Redwall's Abbot Durral and Viola Bankvole. Martin the Warrior took a crew and sailed off to rescue them. Back at the abbey, Tansy led a small group to solve the riddles and locate the pearls in case they were needed in exchange for Viola and the Abbot. A major battle occurred, and Ublaz discovered he had more than one enemy. Readers will enjoy attempting to solve the riddles before Tansy. The humorous antics of the three Dibbuns, or young ones, counterbalance the seriousness of the battle scenes. Jacques' signature elements of the "Redwall" series are all here: well-developed animal characters, marvelous descriptions of the settings and action, a strong moral code, swashbuckling action, and mouthwatering descriptions of food. 1998
