Redwall is a a timeless fantasy epic.  Everything about it speaks to the grandeur and excitement of Beowulf-despicable villains, a coming-of-age story, lost treasures, prophecies, riddles, monsters, and more.  Brian Jacques populates the Redwall universe with characters that range from comical to sinister and everything in between.  The language is of exceptional quality and provides the reader with a clear mental image of the action and setting.  Readers will find an exciting adventure tale that appeals to all ages.  Of course there are minor flaws, like the presence of dairy products despite the lack of farm animals in the immediate vicinity, but if you let little things like that ruin a good book for you, then you have missed out on the beginning of one of the greatest fantasy sagas of all time!

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: 6 mild obscenities, 1 anatomical term

Violence/Gore:  The main antagonist is a constant whirlwind of violence and imaginative threats; another character also threatens to kill other characters on multiple occasions.  Most of the novel occurs during a siege so there are multiple extended battle scenes that include death and injury caused by falling rocks, boiling water, arrows, slings, swords, wasps, and falling from great heights, but with little description.  Several characters die from snake venom and are described as being black and swollen when dead.  A character also has a tail chopped off.

Sex/Nudity: Two characters very briefly hold hands.

Mature Subject Matter:

Death, orphans.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Characters drink (implied) alcoholic drinks such as ale.