The Legend of Luke: A Tale from Redwall

by Brian Jacques

Paperback, 2005

Status

Available

Call number

823.914

Publication

Firebird (2005), Edition: Reissue, 384 pages

Description

When Martin the Warrior leaves Redwall Abbey and embarks upon a journey to the place of his birth, he learns about the brave and noble deeds of his father Luke, a real Warrior Chieftain.

User reviews

LibraryThing member stixnstones004

I haven't read a Redwall novel since I was younger, but I'm glad to find that the stories continue to appeal to me. Two of the reasons I have always enjoyed these novels so much is the dialogue, which varies deliciously with each species of animal (my favorite being the moles), and the tantalizing

descriptions of food. Whenever Jacques describes what's being eaten in the story, I wish I could be a part of it and share in the cheese and celery flans and the deeper 'n ever pies and the shrimp 'n 'otroot soup. But more than these two things, the stories within the story are always riveting, though sometimes I feel bad for the vermin, who seem to have no choice but to be evil creatures. The otter Folgrim and the baby squirrel Chugger were my favorite characters in "The Legend of Luke" since Chugger always made me smile and the dark mystery of Folgrim was very interesting. All in all, I've missed reading the Redwall novels and am glad that they are still popular in a generation of Hannah Montanas and Gossip Girls.

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LibraryThing member wfzimmerman

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this paperback is that the ISBN is deployed vertically on the back cover.

LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey

Fun, of course - it's a Redwall book. Much less scattered than most, this follows almost a straight-line trip by Martin and some of his friends, back to Martin's childhood home. One big flashback in the middle of the book, plus an occasional visit back to what's going on at Redwall - but even those

start showing up mostly near the end of the book, as they anticipate the return of the travelers. Still don't know (maybe it's mentioned in his own book) how/why Martin left; the story here is Martin's father, Luke, and his adventures dealing with the sea rogues who attacked their home and killed Martin's mother. Martin and friends deal with various villains as they head north, but most of the conflicts are minor - in fact, most of the encounters they have end with making new friends, who they revisit on their way back south to Redwall. The major conflicts are all in Luke's story - battles with evil creatures and with the sea and storm. And the end is just a trifle vague - Luke presumably dies in the battle, along with the black squirrel and their enemies, but there's no actual evidence of it... Jacques leaving his options open. No frame on this one either, though it ends with the events of the summer recorded in the Abbess' book - it starts with a new character, Trimp the roving hedgehog maid, who plays a large part in the rest of the adventure as well. Enjoyable as usual. One odd thing - Luke's dialog seemed to vary, from Martin's standard English to a slightly more slurred version (yore, ol'), sometimes within a single paragraph. Jacques' style of dialog differing for each type of creature is an interesting feature of his books; I think this is the first time I've noticed him slipping.

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