Starred Review for Publishers Weekly (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

The brilliantly complex sixth installment in the Redwall fantasy-adventure series freshens up the notion of swashbuckling by honoring courage of a nonviolent sort. Young mousemaid Rose and her mole companion Grumm have traveled far from Noonvale to rescue Rose's brother Brome from slavery in the evil fortress Marshank, ruled by the tyrant stoat Badrang. Martin, the warrior mouse, himself enslaved at Marshank for most of his young life, teams up with Rose and other peace-loving creatures to end Badrang's tyranny. Studded with vibrant and distinct animal characters, Jacques's classically inspired ``in-another-part-of-the-forest . . . '' plot-weaving achieves virtuosity as moments of sensitivity shake his fierce heroes off their warrior paths. A female character emerges as the story's guiding star; outshining even Martin, she vanquishes foes with her beautiful singing and with reason. An excellent adventure with an enlightened conscience. Illustrations not seen by PW. Ages 10-14. (Feb.)

ALA Booklist (Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 1994)

Jacques continues his popular Redwall series in a sixth entry--set prior to Mossflower (1988), which details how Martin brought peace to Mossflower Woods. This tale harks back to the making of Martin the Warrior, whose spirit has encouraged and whose sword has been wielded by later warriors battling threats to the woodlands. He was only a young mouse, but of strong build, with a glint in his eye that proclaimed him a born fighter. And he has been enslaved by the heartless stoat Badrang the Tyrant, chieftain of a horde of weasels, ferrets, foxes, and rats, who is ruthlessly using slave labor to build a fortress on the Eastern Coast. Once again, various bands of protectors have separate adventures and eventually converge at the fort for the final bloody battle. As usual, Jacques does not gloss over violence and gore, his good guys are really good and the bad ones evil to the core, and there's a great deal of humor and camaraderie and good eating. Particularly poignant in this episode is the death in the culminating battle of the mousemaid Rose, whose namesake rose later blooms and flourishes in her memory on the Redwall Abbey grounds. Another winning tale for the saga's many fans. (Reviewed Mar. 1, 1994)

Horn Book (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 1994)

Fans of the Redwall series will be delighted by this prequel, which gives the details of the early life of Redwall's founder, Martin the Warrior. The familiar mix of despicable tyrants, valiant warriors, nick-of-time rescues, unexpected allies, hearty food, and a few deeply mourned deaths is as entertaining and exciting as ever. This will be a well-deserved favorite with fantasy lovers.

Kirkus Reviews

The generic Jacques yarn features an intrepid mouse aided by a stalwart squirrel, a bumbling, country-accented but doughty mole or hedgehog, and a seemingly foppish but actually steely hare; these precious few face a monstrous warlord (here, a weasel) and his motley crew. Overcoming all vicissitudes, they storm an evil hold, scale cliffs, and invoke the spirit of animals past while keeping up their present spirits with nature's bounty—endless cordials, nut-breads, and berry comfits. Lately, a heroic maid, too, appears, a leader of animals yet sweet to the core. The unmelancholy Jacques follows the pattern to the dot with this current offering, a tale of the origins of Redwall Abbey's founder. The language may be hackneyed, but it works; young readers love the derring do, and only a churl would reject this morality play in fur. Enjoy. (Fiction. 8-12)"

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

In a starred review of this 1994 installment in the Redwall series, <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">PW said, "Jacques's classically inspired plot-weaving achieves virtuosity." Ages 12-up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Feb.)

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9-Jacques adds another tale to his Redwall fantasy series. This is the story of Martin as a brash young mouse and so precedes both Mossflower (1988) and Redwall (1987, both Philomel). Martin is a prisoner slave in the fortress of the tyrant, Badrang. Escaping with a group of other prisoners, the animals are separated, and spend the rest of the book trying to find one another, mingling with a large cast of colorful characters, good and bad, along the way. Meanwhile, back at the fortress, the evil Badrang is fighting for his life against the equally evil Captain Clogg, who has arrived by sea to try to wrest control. In the end, Martin and his compatriots arrive in time to assure that good triumphs, but only after an almost unbelievable series of swashbuckling episodes and close calls. The story is a complex one with three strains going on simultaneously, and only sophisticated readers will be able to follow it. Jacques writes to a formula of constant action and high adventure as good fights evil. He is able to carry it off because his plots are exciting with lots of tension, and because he is able to establish distinctive and interesting personalities throughout each book. This story carries readers along at a breathless pace and stands well with the others in the series. However, it offers nothing new and is not essential to the enjoyment of the previous books.-Jane Gardner Connor, South Carolina State Library, Columbia