“Marlfox” by Brian Jacques

This is more like it! This story centers around the conflict between a clan of Marlfoxes with the surrounding countryside and inevitably, Redwall Abbey. It starts after the events of “The Long Patrol” with a few characters popping up again. Lady Cregga, though blind, is still around and feisty as ever. However, the Abbey is now without an Abbot or Abbess, and the creatures are just continuing as is until they determine someone fit for the position.

While I’m on the subject, the blind Lady Cregga shows how well Jacques incorporates characters with disabilities into his stories. Cregga has been blind for ages, but she can still kick vermin butt and lets everyone know who’s in charge around here. Same goes for gender, more often than not, the female characters are the leaders and warriors, on both the good and evil sides. It’s really wonderful.

This book features several rhymes, but one central riddle to guide a few of the characters on a quest to save the tapestry of Martin the Warrior. It’s not a very complicated riddle, but it’s pretty essential to the series to have a riddle, so there’s that.

This quest also serves as a nice tie-in to previous stories, specifically “Salamandastron” is referenced. Supposedly the island that the Marlfoxes are living on used to be inhabited by a White Ghost, who is actually an ancient Badger Lord. Pretty neat stuff. Another reference is in the Travelling Noonvale Players who stop by the Abbey. Noonvale is Rose’s home from “Martin the Warrior” and the hare, Florian, says that he is a descendant of Ballaw, another character from “Martin the Warrior” who was in a travelling performance troupe. I was hoping to get more information about the current situation in Noonvale, but no luck there.

I’m still laughing about the ending, there’s an endnote saying that the whole story is a play edited by Florian to perform, which is why the three parts (usually called Book 1, Book 2, and Book 3) are now Act 1, Act 2, and Act 3! I didn’t even notice, what a nice touch on it!