The Rogue Crew: A Tale of Redwall

The diabolical Razzid Wearat (probably the nastiest, ugliest, most evil villain Jacques has ever come up with) has spent many seasons making a name for himself, torturing, killing, and raiding coastal settlements with his band of corsairs; now, the hideous mutant has acquired a unique ship - the "Greenshroud". This practical war machine is fitted with giant iron-plated wheels, so that it can sail on land as well as sea. After Razzid brutally murders four young hares to test out his new "toy", and tortures a solitary old otter to death solely for the fun of it, Lady Violet Wildstripe, the Badger Ruler of Salamandastron, sends out captain Rake Nightfur and his Long Patrol hares. Their mission; to seek out Skor Axehound and his Rogue Crew Sea Otters, the only creatures known to have opposed Razzid and lived to tell the tale. Rake and Skor must form an alliance of all their fighting beasts, and seek out the "Greenshroud", before much more damage can be done by the Wearat and his bloodthirsty crew.However, Razzid has captured two young hedgehogs, who inadvertently tell him of Redwall Abbey, a place of plenty populated by simple woodlanders. Thinking it would be nice to rule this Abbey, and take its inhabitants as slaves, Razzid sets a course through Mossflower Woods towards Redwall. The two hedgehogs, however, manage to outwit Razzid's not-too-bright crew, and escape into the woods, where they meet up with a tribe of Guosim Shrews. The little band heads towards Redwall to warn Abbot Thibb and his creatures of the impending danger.By this time, Skor and Rake have formed the alliance. Skor's trackers have figured out which way Razzid is headed; the Rogue Crew and Long Patrol set off as quickly as they can, hoping to beat Razzid to the Abbey, and defend its inhabitants from the horrendous, brutal Wearat.It's a race to the finish as all three groups speed towards Redwall, a pulse-pounding race that, throghout the book, keeps one asking the same Question....WHO WILL MAKE IT FIRST?Brian Jacques has done it again; weaving a swashbuckling adventure to delight all readers of fantasy. I love all the Redwall Books, but I can definitely say that "The Rogue Crew" is one of the most exciting novels Jacques has ever written, and a fitting end to the 22-book series. Furthermore, it arrived four days before the estimated time; great work on the part of the company shipping it out, I would say.*ONE WORD OF WARNING*: This is probably the most violent of the Redwall Books, owing to the ruthlessness of the villians, and the no-prisoners-taken attitude of the Rogue Crew. If you are under 13, I would not recommend this book until you are familiar with the rest of the series.

I grew up reading Redwall. It was during middle school I discovered "Redwall" itself inside the schools library. Once I was done reading it I couldn't get enough. I pestered my mother until she took me to the public library so that i could check out more of them. Within one year I had read through most of what the public library had to offer. Even into college I would happily pick up any of the new books and read them.Most of the Redwall books are about good triumphing over evil, singing, and feasting. They are book of high fantasy and full of adventure as the good guys either go on a quest or defeat the bad guys. Even though most of the books follow the same general story line it's the wonderful characterizations that keep bringing me back to it each time.I highly suggest this and all Redwall books to 4th grade and up kids. Even adults might enjoy them. Every school in American and beyond should have the entire Redwall series in their libraries as these books are just that good.I do have a little bit of a sad ending to this review though. I actually pre-ordered this book the day that Brian Jacques died. While reading it there were several times I cried as I would laugh at a situation, character, or looked at one of the little pictures at the beginning of each chapter. I did so because while reading this book I realized that there will never be anymore Redwall and this was the last of a great series from an amazingly great author.

The Rogue Crew... twenty-second and unfortunately the last epic saga in the Redwall series. From start to finish, this book was amazing, it held me in suspense and it had my rapt attention. This is probably one of my favorite books in the series, although my all time favorite volume is Taggerung. Brian Jacques writing style is so unique, so lyrical, and so amazing. In this book, none of the classic Redwall characteristics are missing- the huge feasts and savory suppers with details of the variety of foods, the valorous battles between the peace-loving creatures and the bad, the constant battles of good and evil, with good ever prevailing, the friendships, the losses and deaths of loved creatures... it's all here. I will admit it does have a level of violence that maybe the other books didn't describe as much, but it certainly doesn't ruin the storyline. Most of the cruel acts are committed by the antagonist Razzid Wearat who delights in harming other creatures. For me, the most vicious act was when Razzid punishes the seer vixen Shekra for plotting mutiny with some other vermin behind his back, and though she isn't slain, he pierces her paw through with his trident, which, for me, was worse than some of his other acts of cold murder. But that is the way it is with vermin, Brian Jacques would say, throughout the entire series. As for the epic-ness of this book, I would say it is very much so, and I'm truly sad that I've read all the books and this long-running series is over because of his death. In essence... a very amazing, epic, swashbuckling finale to my favorite books of all time.

Thank you

My grandson (11) really liked this book

Très bon livre et excellente série, je la recommande fortement à tous , de bonnes valeurs , ..... qui forment !!!

Best series. Love it . Sad there won't be any more . . . . . . . . .

I have read all the Redwall Series, and this one is up there with the others as an exciting romp of adventures. The animal characters are so easy to like and hate and the world of the Abbey is so believable. Love it.

Brian jacques is an excellent author. My son stated reading his books from a very early age and continues to read them as and when another comes out.He loves the characters, the stories, everything. His favorite author.