Hank the Cowdog (series review) ~ 4.5 stars

Time for a fun review of a very fun series that’s great for just about any person of any age. I haven’t met anyone so far who doesn’t like these books, and since I love them so much, it’s high time I wrote a review.

John R. Erickson is a author from Texas who has written 65 books (and counting) about a fictional dog called Hank the Cowdog. Since I have yet to read a Hank the Cowdog book that isn’t worthy of at least 4 stars, this review will be a general one that can apply to any one of the books.

Hank the Cowdog, the narrating character, is the Head of Ranch Security on a ranch in the Texas Panhandle. Basically, his job is to keep the entire ranch running and safe from coyotes, monsters, and whatever else might pose a threat. He also barks the sun up every morning, herds cattle, helps the cowboys bale hay, and keeps his screwball assistant Drover from causing too much trouble.

Hank is a real character—you can’t always trust everything he says. Half it is exaggerated or completely made up, and the other half is the result of a garbled conversation with Drover. According to Hank, he’s a blue-ribbon, papered, pedigreed cowdog—the truth is that he’s just a ranch mutt with an inflated opinion of himself. But Hank’s adventures are not exaggerated—while he may not fight Laundry Monsters in Sally May’s front yard, he does have some narrow shaves with cannibal coyote brothers Rip and Snort. And there’s the time when he ends up in the dog pound, and the time when he’s stranded in town, and, well, you get the idea. Plus Hank thinks he’s a big favorite with the lady dogs, which adds another level of hilarity to every encounter he has with them.

Drover, Hank’s assistant, is the source of a lot of the humor in the Hank the Cowdog books. He spends most of his time daydreaming, watching the clouds, and otherwise behaving in what Hank would call a “frivolous manner.” Drover has a hard time dealing with reality, and his preferred response is to run to the safety of the machine shed until things blow over. He spends most of his time confused, and this has led to a lot of misleading conversations with Hank that have caused some pretty spectacular mix-ups. Take, for instance, the time Drover thought the world was coming to an end after Sally May went to a clearance sale in town.

There’s a mixed bag of other recurring characters in the Hank the Cowdog books that are just as important as Hank and Drover. There’s Slim, the bachelor ranchhand and Loper, his boss. There’s Sally May, Loper’s wife, and Pete the Barncat, Sally May’s pet. There’s also the buzzards, Wallace and Junior, a tribe of wild coyotes, J.T. Cluck the rooster, and a whole bunch of others. They all add up to make the Hank the Cowdog books some of the funniest books I’ve ever read. Hands down.

Why are they funny? It’s hard to explain, but John R. Erickson takes full advantage of all the screwy characters in his books and uses them to create situations that are funny in a way that makes you laugh out loud. It’s not slapstick humor, and it’s not a dumb kind of funny. Hank the Cowdog is always hilarious in new ways every time, and it’s good, clean humor that everyone can laugh at because it really is funny. Hank’s adventure’s are also just plain entertaining, and they’re just as fun to read the eighth time as they were the first time. Basically, I’d suggest you get the first five of these and start reading them. We bring them along to read aloud in the car. If you’re that kind of person, I bet you could read them to the kids before bed. And if you’ve got kids who are starting to get interested in reading, these are definitely good books to put into their hands. I really can’t recommend the Hank the Cowdog series highly enough.

This isn’t the first Hank the Cowdog review I’ve written either. I had one published in my local newspaper, and also posted a short review on my other blog, Too Hick To Be Square. But trust me, they all say the same thing. Hank the Cowdog is a great series. They’re fun, they’re funny, they are really, really good books. Enough said. Now get yourself to a library and check one out.

Link to author website: http://www.hankthecowdog.com/

Mistborn: The Final Empire ~ 4.5 stars

Mistborn: The Final Empire is the first book in an epic fantasy trilogy by the same name, written by Brandon Sanderson. Normally I find epic fantasies to be a little too mature and just plain long for my tastes, but Mistborn was different. It wasn’t as mature as some I’ve read, and the first book was under 700 pages long, whereas most epic fantasy books that I’ve read approach 1,000 pages. With those two things going for it, as well as a plot and theme that were just plain awesome, Mistborn turned out to be the first epic I have really, really enjoyed.

The story centers around Vin, a skaa and a street urchin living with a crew of thieves in Luthadel, the capitol city of Luthadel. The skaa are the common people of the Final Empire, the peasants, the servants, the slaves, the ones who do the manual labor. They are treated like property by the noblemen, who relax in their opulent homes and casually execute any skaa who looks at them the wrong way. Vin has learned to distrust noblemen and everyone else. Then she falls in with a skaa named Kelsier, and slowly her shell of outer toughness begins to crack.

Kelsier is a man who has seen and experienced much. The scars on his arms mark him as the Survivor of what should have been a death sentence, and he has already tried once to defeat the Lord Ruler who has governed the Final Empire with a will of iron for a thousand years. Besides just being a visionary and a bold thinker, Kelsier has another advantage on his side. He is what is called a Mistborn, a person able to use Allomancy. Allomancy is the ability to harness certain powers through ingesting or “burning” metals. Unlike most of his crew, who can access one of the powers, Kelsier can use them all. And so can Vin.

When she joins his crew, Kelsier is preparing a skaa rebellion — one that he intends to be the largest skaa revolt in the history of the Final Empire. And this rebellion he intends to be a success. As he teaches Vin to use her powers, he and his friends begin the work of rousing the skaa and preparing them to fight the trained soldiers of the Lord Ruler and his ruthless killing machines, the Inquisitors. But rousing the skaa is no easy task. After a thousand years of subjection, most have forgotten what it is to feel any hope of freedom, and they have been beaten down and cowed for so long many do not dare raise their heads. Is being a Mistborn enough to accomplish all that needs to be done?

I enjoyed this book a LOT. As I said before, most epic fantasies that I’ve read have had too much mature content for my tastes. Although Mistborn does have some, it was mostly in a referring-to sort of way, and there was only a little. I was also really happy with the magic and world of Mistborn. There was detail, but not an overwhelming abundance. Brandon Sanderson is very good at creating unique systems of magic and describing them well. He also explained enough of the world for the book to make sense, but left plenty of questions unanswered. I still want to know what the kandra and koloss are, and there’s a lot I don’t know about the Lord Ruler. I am very much looking forward to reading the next two books in this trilogy.

I was also really impressed by the characters in this book. It was the characters who made Mistborn so appealing to me, actually, particularly Kelsier. It was hard not to get caught up in his vision just reading the book. And his character has many layers that are slowly peeled back as the book progresses. Vin’s character also goes through some changes as she goes from a timid, fearful, and very stubborn girl to a confident, brave, and very stubborn young woman with incredible powers. I can honestly say there was nothing I did not like about Kelsier and Vin, and Kelsier’s group of friends and allies were no less intriguing and well-written.

The theme of this book was really, really captivating, though, and is another big reason of why I was so impressed by Mistborn. In this book Brandon Sanderson brings up a very interesting question, especially when relating to books and stories, and that is: what if the good guys don’t always win? What if the bad guys come out on top? On the basis of that question alone, you can expect to find a very interesting story, but Brandon Sanderson also told a story with amazing characters, an intriguing world, and all those other things that make a book great. And for a final point in its favor, this book is less than 700 pages long, even though it’s definitely an epic. If you’re in the mood for a good, well-written fantasy but don’t have 36 consecutive hours to devote to just reading, Mistborn: The Final Empire is definitely one I’d suggest. In fact, I’d suggest the entire Mistborn trilogy, though I haven’t gotten around to reading anything but the first book yet. It was that good.

Boston Jane ~ 4.5 stars

     Boston Jane: An Adventure, by Jennifer L. Holm, is a historical fiction story which revolves around the realities of frontier life in 1854 and the inexperience of a young woman fresh from the civilized city of Philadelphia.

     Jane Peck is not what anyone would call a 'proper lady.' As a girl she was a complete tomboy and too fond of eating cherry pies. As a young woman of sixteen, though she has learned everything that Miss Hepplewhite's Young Ladies Academy can teach, she still seems incapable of becoming one of those women who hold an esteemed place in Society. But what she doesn't at first see is that the very things that prevent her from becoming a 'proper lady' are the things that enable her to survive and endure the challenges that the Northwest Territory hold for her. Without her strong, irrepressible nature and the stubborn will to succeed that she got from her father, she'd never have decided to travel to the untamed frontier of Shoalwater Bay to marry a man she has admired since childhood.

     These happy plans doesn't go as expected. When she reaches Shoalwater Bay where her fiance was supposed to be waiting for her, he has gone far away to work for the Governor of the territory, and has already married to a Chinook Indian woman. Friendless, without family or money, and with no way to get back home, Jane must find a way to survive in the primitive settlement. Everything she learned at Miss Hepplewhite's proves utterly useless as she rubs shoulders with the smoking, drinking, tobacco-spitting frontiersmen of the settlement and the Chinook Indians living nearby. But as she mends clothing, bakes pies,and begins make a place for herself at Shoalwater Bay, Jane discovers that what it takes to be a lady is not fine embroidery and fine clothing, but a stout heart and a refusal to give up.

     Boston Jane is a book that I enjoyed very, very much when I first read it about two or three years ago. Jane was a girl who I liked from the first page. She had an ironic view of life, and bold, forthright attitude. She was funny, she was brave, she didn't hesitate to screech at the frontier men when they starting getting on her nerves. And although she ended up in some of the most ridiculous situations, she somehow manages to make the best of everything that happens, including a smallpox epidemic that kills many of the native Indians. Jane isn't a dainty lady, she's far from perfect, and she's not always grateful for what she does have. It was those things that made me like her so much. She was just like me, except she could bake pies much better than I can.

     I liked many of the other characters in Boston Jane: An Adventure, and they all added to the distinct flavor of the book. Mr. Russell, the dirtiest, most flea-bitten man on the settlement, seems to have a low opinion of Jane, but beneath his gruff and grubby exterior is a heart of gold. Other new friends are Mr. Swan, an eccentric gentleman, and Handsome Jim, a Chinook Indian. Besides these, she also forms an unlikely friendship with a sailor called Jehu Schudder which may eventually bloom into something more. All these characters and more are found in Boston Jane, a collection of people with varied personalities that together this an entertaining, memorable read.

     And did I mention that this is actually a trilogy? So after Boston Jane: An Adventure,  there are two more books of Jane, Jehu, Mr. Swan, and Mr. Russell, along with new characters and new adventures/dilemmas for Jane to face. What's not to like? Be sure to check these both out of you like the first book.

Boston Jane: Wilderness Days

Boston Jane: The Claim

     By the way, my pet peeve about these books? They changed the cover art. My copies have interesting covers of Jane doing something she does in the book, and they're very inviting covers. Here you just get a girl in a dress standing. Pretty, but not very interesting, at least in my opinion. But that's just my pet peeve. The books are still good, regardless of what covers they have, and I highly suggest you read them. 

Link to author website: http://www.jenniferholm.com/p/novels.html

The Screaming Staircase - 4.5 stars

Second edition cover

     The Screaming Staircase by Johnathan Stroud is another new book I picked up recently. Johnathan Stroud wrote the Bartimeaus Sequence - I reviewed the first book in that series earlier. I've liked most of what I've read from Stroud. A few of his stand-alone novels didn't appeal to me much, but I've always liked the Bartimeaus Sequence, so when I saw he was writing another series, I gave it a go.

     The Screaming Staircase is the first book in the Lockwood and Co. series. It could be only a trilogy, which would be a shame, but since it's not finished yet - the second book in the series, The Whispering Skull, only came out September 2014 - I don't know. But so far, I've really enjoyed the first two books, so I'm probably going to be getting myself any sequels he comes up with.

     This story is set in London. A sinister Problem has been troubling the world for nearly fifty years now. All manner of ghosts and spirits have begun to appear in rapidly increasing numbers, and they don't appear to be friendly. Unfortunately, only young people have the ability to perceive these spirits. Many different agencies have sprung up, employing hundreds of adolescents and children to find and destroy these Visitors, as the spirits are called.. Lucy Carlyle is a brave and talented young agent with the ability to hear the Visitors. When she teams up with clever, charismatic Anthony Lockwood and his mildly repulsive assistant George, they all have hopes that the agency is about to make its mark on the world.

     Unfortunately this is not to be, and after their latest case ends disastrously with a house going up in flames, Lockwood and Co. face the possible end of their new agency. To save it, they must brave the most dangerous haunted house in London, perhaps in all of England. Combe Carey Hall has a reputation of spirits and hauntings that stretches back several centuries - long before the Problem really began. Can the three intrepid agents survive the horrors of the Screaming Staircase and the Red Room? Can they put an end to the haunting of Combe Carey Hall, or will they be the next three lives the forces of that house have taken?

     The Screaming Staircase was definitely a page-turner. Stroud balanced the comfy relationship of the three-person agency with a lot of fast-paced action and really dangerous situations. I was also really captivated by the originality of the plot. The story is set in slightly post-modern London, but it wasn't sci-fi at all. Something else that I found was interesting was the fact that agents use rapiers to fight Visitors - what's not to like about some dashing teens with flashing, silver-coated blades? Furthermore, there was definitely a mystery element to this story, and although the clues were there, I was kept deliciously guessing the entire time. I think you can agree that that's a mark of very good story-telling.

First edition cover

     As for the characters of The Screaming Staircase, they display Stroud's trademark sarcasm and humor. If you're like me and couldn't get enough of Bartimeaus in the Bartimeaus Sequence then the characters in Lockwood and Co. have a taste of that same sharp wit and irresistible, careless charm. Lucy is a very plucky and extremely admirable young lady. I didn't expect her to be my favorite, but she is, hand's down. It's also hard not to be charmed into liking the irrepressible Lockwood, and though I still have my doubts about George, he turned out to be a good egg after all. 

     Another mark of Stroud's ability to write very, very good stories is the Visitors. The descriptions of ghosts, spirits, and other things not quite of this world that stem from the Problem are incredibly riveting, and though I really should say 'realistic' that's what I'm going to go with. I honestly wished I hadn't started to read the climax after dark, because what they encountered in the Red Room was actually pretty scary stuff. If you've got a problem with getting emotionally involved with a book and getting as freaked out as the characters are, then you'll probably want to save The Screaming Staircase for strictly daytime reading.

     Other than that, The Screaming Staircase was a captivating and fun read from an author I know and trust to write good, high-quality material and tell intriguing stories. I'm actually really impatient for the next book to be published.

Link to series website: http://www.lockwoodandco.com/

Delirium Trilogy ~ 4.5 stars (guest review)

Guest post by jayden robyn

     Lauren Oliver’s Delirium trilogy, consisting of Delirium, Pandemonium, and Requiem, for young adults is one of the many popular dystopian trilogies of recent times, and is quite possibly my favorite young adult trilogy. This review will cover all three books. 

     In Delirium, we meet Lena Haloway, a girl who is approaching her eighteenth birthday—and the “cure.” In Lena’s futuristic world, love has been declared a disease and must be eradicated. When everyone turns eighteen, they must receive the cure that renders them forever unable to love. They are then paired with someone who will be their spouse and basically live their lives as they are told. This twist on the dystopian world easily could have gone wrong, but Lauren Oliver presents it in a fashion that is very believable, and she gives us background on how her world works without ever bogging the story down. 

     Lena is eagerly awaiting her cure—that is, until she meets a young man named Alex. At first, Lena is wary around him; after all, until they are cured, boys and girls are segregated and do not have contact with each other except for family members. But Lena is intrigued, and soon she begins to doubt the world she has grown up in. Alex tells her about the Wilds, a place outside the borders of the U.S. and how “Invalids”—those who are not cured—live there, free to choose for themselves and free to love. Then Lena discovers that she has fallen in love, and decides once and for all that she will not be cured, and she and Alex plot a daring escape to the Wilds. 

     The entirety of Delirium’s 441 pages covers Lena’s journey to realizing that her world isn’t all that it is made out to be. It is relatively slow-placed, though it does have its exciting moments, and the ending is definitely a major cliffhanger. I found the pacing to be much less bothersome and the story itself more enjoyable the second time around. I would rate Delirium 4 stars. 

     Pandemonium, fortunately, does not fall victim to the “second-book syndrome” that many middle books in trilogies do. I found it even better than the first. Its pacing is much quicker, and the storyline goes back and forth between the brewing rebellion during the present time and Lena’s adjustment to the Wilds during the not-too-distant past. This presentation was smooth and allowed us to follow Lena’s journey without getting bogged down. 

     Pandemonium also introduces several new interesting characters, including Raven and Tack, leaders of the group that Lena joins in the Wilds, and Julian, a likable young man who was raised his whole life believing that love is a disease, just like Lena. Together they take part in the rebellion that is being formed by the people of the wilds to bring down the loveless world that Lena formerly inhabited. A love triangle also begins with Lena, Julian, and Alex. I normally do not like love triangles in the slightest, but Oliver pulled it off well enough that I didn’t mind. I would rate Pandemonium, which ends with another huge cliffhanger, 4.5 stars. 

     Requiem, the conclusion of the trilogy, didn’t disappoint. In this installment, the story alternates between the point-of-views of Lena and her childhood friend Hana Tate, who has been cured. Writing point-of-views, particularly first-person POVs, that sound unique is tough to do, but Oliver pulls it off well. The separate paths of the two girls eventually meet near the end of the novel, which is somewhat darker than the first two but not overwhelming. The rebellion is growing stronger each day, and Lena also has to choose between Alex and Julian, as well as reunite with her mother, whom she hasn’t seen since she was a little girl.

     The ending of Requiem has been hit-or-miss with most people, and I personally liked it. Oliver wraps up the majority of the story’s loose ends, but leaves her characters’ futures uncertain while still ending positively. I wasn’t sure that I would like that, but in the end I found myself satisfied. I would rate Requiem 4 stars. 

     Lauren Oliver is a talented writer; her words flow smoothly and she has a unique way of describing things without ever feeling stilted or forced. I could easily picture in my head what she was writing about. Her characters are well-rounded and believable, with their own distinct personalities and motives. I liked Lena, Alex, Julian, and Raven, and while I didn’t totally like Hana, she was still interesting. Lena was probably my favorite character overall, and probably my favorite heroine of all the young adult trilogies. She is strong and capable, but she is far from perfect. I felt that she reacted believably to her circumstances in all three books. The romance is also clean. 

     My main complaint about this trilogy is the language. Oliver consistently uses curse words throughout the trilogy, and occasionally she’ll use big ones, too. They came often enough that I couldn’t just ignore them, and it detracted from the story somewhat. In fact, if Oliver hadn’t written the curse words, or at least not so often, I would’ve rated Pandemonium 5 stars and the other two books 4.5 stars. Overall, however, the Delirium trilogy is one of my favorites, and Lauren Oliver is still one of my favorite authors. I’d recommend this trilogy to anyone 14 and up. 

Link to author website: http://laurenoliverbooks.com/

Shadowfell ~ 4.5 stars (guest review)

Guest post by jayden robyn.

     Shadowfell is the first in a trilogy for young adults by respected fantasy author Juliet Marillier. It is set in Alban, a world not unlike a fantastical Scotland, and follows the story of a sixteen-year-old girl named Neryn.

     Neryn has been on the run for the last three years of her life, because of a secret she holds: Neryn can call the Good Folk, fairy-like creatures that inhabit Alban. A Caller is born only once a generation, if even that often. If Neryn’s magical ability is revealed, she will be captured and sent to the cruel King Keldec, and she will be forced to do his bidding.

     Alone and wary, Neryn is searching for a place called Shadowfell, rumored to be the hideaway of the rebels who seek to bring down Keldec’s rule. With help from the Good Folk and a mysterious stranger, Neryn journeys to find Shadowfell, which she worries may just be a rumor.

     Marillier’s writing is lyrical, and her characters are well-written and multi-dimensional. Neryn is a likable heroine; she is tough, and despite going through tragedies at a too-young age, she stills retains a kind heart. Neryn is not your typical heroine—she has no fighting ability, rather slipping away into the woods whenever danger approaches. While this starts to become a bit of a problem for me in the second installment, I liked this aspect of Neryn in this book.

     Flint, the troubled anti-hero of the trilogy, is very well-written and likable. While he struggles with the double life he leads, he is kind to Neryn and respects her. The romance that develops between these two is clean, as well as slow burning, a relief from the cases of instant-love that appears in many books today.

     There were several very likable characters among the Good Folk, and although they talk in thick Scottish brogues, I found them easy to understand for the most part. In fact, several of the Good Folk were probably my favorite characters out of the entire book.

     The story, your traditional quest tale, is slow-paced, but it never really dragged despite its 410 pages. Marillier manages to balance Neryn’s book-long journey with meetings with the Good Folk, close encounters with Enforcers, the men who do the king’s bidding, and finally, meeting the rebels of Shadowfell. Despite its dark moments, Marillier keeps a beam of hope shining throughout the story. The ending is not a cliffhanger, rather wrapping up the story of book one while still leaving more to be discovered in the second book. There was only one small instance in the book that I think would probably not be age appropriate for some under 14—however, the particular moment was not presented crudely.

     Shadowfell is my favorite book by Juliet Marillier, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good fantasy read—I’m not sure that it would appeal to those who aren’t into fantasy.

Link to author/Shadowfell website: http://www.julietmarillier.com/books/shadowfell.html

Fablehaven Book One - 4.5 stars

Well, to start with, the Fablehaven series is really one of my favorites. The author, Brandon Mull, has a unique way of explaining things without ever sounding boring. The humor is delightful, the villains are impeccable, and the storyline is exquisite.

Being one of my favorites, I'll try not to ramble on...

This story of demons, trolls, magic, and fairies takes place in modern-day North America on a preserve governed by Stan and Ruth Sorenson.
The preserve is called Fablehaven. (Ta-da!)

The Sorenson's grandchildren are to visit this summer, unaware of the dangers occupying their grandparents' estate. But when evil arises and their grandfather is taken, the children (Kendra and Seth) must overcome perilous obstacles to save him, in the aftermath proving themselves to be respectable future caretakers.
And, (spoiler alert) unfortunately, there is also a catch with their grandmother to deal with.

My magic rating:
This book -- this series, in fact -- is based on magic. Its foundation is magic.
I personally do not believe that magic is real, and see nothing wrong with reading stories about it. Hopefully, our readers will eventually learn Noodle's writing style and my writing style and figure out for themselves whether or not they'd like to put to use our review suggestions. For this book, I would have to rate it a 9 out of 10.

My gore rating, or nastiness rating:
With a 1 representing a bleeding paper cut and a 10 representing a body-blasting explosion, I'd say this book earns a well-deserved 2 out of 10.
It's really not bad at all in my opinion, but I don't get disgusted very easily. Each person reacts differently. There are dire situations and definitely some bloodshed, but nothing so bad as, say, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

All in all, I'd definitely recommend this book and this series to a friend -- or even multiple friends! It kept me intrigued until well after the end of the final book.

Link to author/Fablehaven website: http://brandonmull.com/site/fablehaven-books

Mariel of Redwall - 4.5 stars

     Mariel of Redwall, by Brian Jacques, is one of the Redwall novels. It's a story of a mouse called Mariel who escapes from a tryannical sea-rat king called Gabool the Wild and finds her way to the Abbey of Redwall. But her father is still a prisoner of the evil sea-rat, and Mariel is determined to rescue him. With three companions: Tarquin, Dandin, and Durry Quill, she sets out to return to Bladegirt, Gabool's fortress on the isle of Terramort. But it's a long voyage, and Gabool the Wild has hordes of other sea-rats at his command. Welcome to a riveting novel by Brian Jacques.

     In Mariel of Redwall, Mariel has an adventure which takes her from the great forest of Mossflower on a hair-raising voyage in a sea-rat ship. She meets the gentle abbeydwellers of Redwall Abbey, the fighting hares of Salamandastron, and the villainous sea-rats who serve Gabool the Wild. Only a young mousemaid, Mariel is a mouse with a thirst for revenge. Armed only a knotted rope called Gullwhacker, and her three trusty companions, she sets out to rescue her father: Joseph the Bellmaker. Guided by a vision from the founder of Redwall Abbey, Martin the Warrior, she seeks to find a way back to Terramort so that she can slay the sea-rat who made her a slave.

     Mariel isn't the only one who intends to kill Gabool, however. Rawnblade, the great badger lord of Salamandastron, the mountain fortress filled with fighting hares, is having visions of Gabool. His destiny is driving him toward Terramort. But one badger and one mousemaid may not be enough to slay Gabool and his rat horde. And Joseph the Bellmaker has escaped from Gabool, and he too seeks revenge. 

     This thick little book by Brian Jacques is quite a thriller. It may take guts to stick with it, since it starts a little slowly, but you'll be pleased with what you find later on in the story. The animals that people the world of the Redwall novels are creatures I have come to know and love. The gentle Redwallers in particular are very endearing, but the courageous hares of Salamandastron are my very favorite. Brian Jacques also sprinkles in plenty of marvelous riddles and songs into his stories - now that's something you won't see in many books! This story is well worth the read, and I advise you to give it a try.

Link to Redwall website: http://www.redwallabbey.com/