There has never been a Redwall hero quite like Rakkety Tam, the roguish Highlander squirrel who sets off for Mossflower Wood on a mercenary errand and loses his heart to the charms of Redwall Abbey. And there's never been a villain quite like Gulo the Savage: a vicious beast-eating wolverine who descends upon the Abbey in search of a relic called the Walking Stone. The return of the Long Patrol, the antics of a renegade vole thief, and the emergence of a new champion to wield the sword of Martin.

I first read the Redwall books years ago and I still enjoy them when I recently re-read them. I love the world building and the creativity with which these animals were anthropomorphized. The level of description is really well done and very detailed. So adventurous and so very entertaining. ( )

A tale from Redwall. Two warrior squirrels lead the battle against Gulo, a bloodthirsty wolverine who will stop at nothing to recover the Walking Stone that will give him the authority to rule the lands of ice beyond the Great Sea.

Ah've been robbed 'o mah sleep since taken tae reading Jacques tales of Redwall, at the request of mah daughters and their wee little brother, who--although he is just learning to read--loves tae listen to the taped editions.
This particular book made me laugh and brought a tear to my eye, wot?
One becomes easily attached to the characters who are so well described and given human qualities, which are fine in the good-beasts and terrible in the vermin. I find hints of myself and people I have known in the characters--good and bad.
Perhaps the world would be a sight better if animals could talk, and a good scoff in the Abbey with all the Redwallers would suit me fine; however, as Melanda says at the end: we can join them anytime in our imaginations. ( )

I am fascinated by the biggest mustelid (weasel), the wolverine (Gulo gulo), a tough survivor if ever there was one. So I did a search on the PAC of our local library for 'wolverine,' and this came up--somoene had properly keyworded it. Sure enough, Gulo and his enemy brother Askor are wicked and their prey--the squirrels, moles, rabbits and hedgehogs--are the good guys. Gulo heads up the 'vermin' side, but of course tough Borderlands squirrel Rakkety Tam triumphs. Much as I loathe this 'evilising' of a segment of the animal population (foxes, weasels, wolverine)--hey, what about humans?!?--the story is well told and exciting, and the songs and poems one rolls ones eyes at on turning the page are actually quite clever and not toss-offs. It's a decent book that will unfortunately breed many evil trappers and muddify how ecosytems work. (Talk about an off-topic review!) ( )