Salamandastron is the fifth installment in the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. As I write this, I am not even halfway through the book, but I know what it’s about. In this book, Lord Urthstripe the Strong, Badger Lord of Salamandastron, must defend his mountain fortress (Salamandastron) from an army of vermin led by Ferhago the Assassin, a cruel, blue-eyed weasel who smiles quite a bit. At the same time, Redwall Abbey is struck by an epidemic of Dryditch Fever! Apparently, there is only one cure for Dryditch Fever – the Flowers of Icetor, which grow on the northern mountains. It is up to Thrugg, the brave otter, to find them in time to cure everybody in the Abbey.
The Redwall books tell at least two stories that occur at the same time. That is one of the things I enjoy about the series. In fact, there’s one main thing I don’t like about the series. Virtually all the mice, squirrels, otters, badgers, and hedgehogs are good, while virtually all the ferrets, weasels, stoats, foxes, and rats are evil. I actually like all the species listed as “vermin,” especially foxes, and I think it’s a bit unfair to have them all be bad just because they’re what they are.
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Joshua,
ReplyDeleteKudos to your clear, concise writing. You did a great job of giving us a little background, so that we who may not have read the book know a bit about it, without summarizing the whole book. You then continue with a personal reflection. That's a good point about the type-casting of the ferrets, weasels, etc. I'm curious what you mean by "they're what they are." Do you mean that the characters are acting the way those animals would in nature? If so, can the same be said of the Redwall creatures? How kind and peace-loving are badgers, mice, or otters? Maybe you could write a story in which the foxes are the "good guys." Or, more interestingly, make the foxes cunning and carnivorous, but sympathetic.
josiah