Mariel of Redwall
Jacket cover of USA edition:
Gabool the Wild: a more wicked rat pirate king never ranged the seas. To serve him means peril. To cross him, means certain death. When Gabool attacks the mouse-ship carrying Joseph the Bellmaker, he plunders Joseph’s marvelous bell in a fit of greed, and pitilessly casts him and his daughter, the mousemaid Mariel, into the raging sea. Gabool thereby unleashes events that will pit him against a force the magnitude of which even he cannot possibly imagine. Mariel is cast ashore, with no memory of who she is; her only protection is her trusty rope-weapon, the Gullwhacker. But once she is brought to Redwall Abbey, she remembers and, certain her father is dead, vows to avenge him. Mariel sets off with three fearless Mossflower companions in search of Gabool, and ensures a battle that will never be forgotten in the annals of the peaceful Redwall community. With robust humor and fiercely romantic spirit, Brian Jacques introduces a brave new heroine to Redwall fans, and weaves yet another glorious tale of drama and adventure.
My rating: *****/10 stars
Main hero: Mariel the mouse
Excerpt from Redwall Friend and Foe:
Fiercely independent, young mousemaid Mariel is a survivor and a warrior. Thrown from a cliff by searat Gabool the Wild, Mariel manages to survive and makes her way to Redwall. At the Abbey she meets Dandin. Together with him and several new friends, she returns to Terramort to kill Gabool and rescue her father, Joseph the Bellmaker.
Main villain: Gabool the Wild the rat
Excerpt from Redwall Friend and Foe:
Gabool the Wild, King of the Searats, is the fiercest fighter alive and destroys those who cross him. Having captured Mariel and Joseph the Bellmaker, together with the great bell, Gabool disposes of the prisoners and keeps the bell. But he is haunted by awful nightmares of fearsome badgers, avenging mice and a bell that sounds without being touched. Rapidly driven out of his mind, Gabool's nightmares become a terrible reality and he is ultimately killed by his own secret weapon--the scorpion, Skrabblag.
Badger hero/heroine: Rawnblade Widestripe
Excerpt from The Tribes of Redwall: Badgers
A huge Badger Lord said to be the image of his great-grandfather Sunflash the Mace, Rawnblade has commissioned Joseph the Bellmaker to cast a beautiful bell engraved top and bottom with mysterious symbols. But when, seasons later, there is no sign of bell or Bellmaker, Rawnblade suspects his archenemy Gabool the Wild of having a hand in their disappearance. Prompted by the spirit of Martin the Warrior, Rawnblade overcomes his enemy and donates the recovered bell to Redwall Abbey--as predicted by the graven symbols around its top.
Otter hero(s)/heroine(s): Bagg and Runn
Two more mischeivous otter twins have never been seen within the walls of Redwall. From telling whoppers to their friend Durry Quill the hedgehog to cutting vermin scaling ropes with sharp kitchen knives, the siblings Bagg and Runn lead the carefree life of a Redwall dibbun. At the end of Mariel of Redwall, Bagg, Runn, and their friend Grubb escape the Abbey to run away in the woods and instead find Lord Rawnblade and the returning travelers, whom they lead back to Redwall.
Pages: 387
Covers:
