Pearls of Lutra

I’m almost done with Pearls of Lutra. I’m reading the climactic battle scene. I’m sure it will end well, but at least one of the good characters will die. That is how every Redwall book I have ever read ends. Wait - a good character (or two!) died already, around the middle of the book. However, many more bad characters have been slain. If one were to do a body count, the good guys have the upper hand – or in this case, paw. Just like in all the other Redwall books.

I think the reason for all these happy endings is because people, especially children, prefer happy endings. But actually, there is some tragedy in the Redwall books. For example, in Martin the Warrior, someone important dies. (I won’t say who, so as not to spoil the ending.) When good characters die in the series, they make a big deal about it. That’s probably because the good guys are always outnumbered, so when one of the “vermin” dies, that’s no big deal – there are plenty more. (Unless he/she was a leader of course, then the book makes a big deal about that.) But the reader’s sympathies are (usually) with the heroes and heroines of the story, so when one of them dies, that’s sad for the other protagonists - and the reader, too.