The Sable Quean: A Tale from Redwall

Young Buckler Kordyne is a Blademaster of the mighty Salamandastron who, although his incredible skills with his custom sword might make him think of his future as a general....but not Buck! His quick-witted, near arrogant manner makes him anything but a favourite amongst officers in the Long Patrol, even with the Badger Lord. For this reason, he is sent to deliver hand-made bell ropes for Redwall Abbey.Along the way, with his ever-present companion Diggs, Buckler will learn the truth of being a warrior, with the mystery of friend's children disappearing without a trace causing him to extend his stay at the Abbey. All over Mossflower, young ones are going missing.....but by who?Zwilt the Shade is a enigma of a beast, a strange creature known as a sable (these are the only two that have ever even been mentioned, you might know the species as a kind of marten-like creature, like Ublaz Madeyes from Pearls of Lutra or Ashleg from Mossflower). He lives to serve his Quean (the strange spelling comes from the Old English word meaning "wicked woman"). Zwilt runs her army of Ravagers and does her bidding with capturing young ones and taking them to the mysterious location known as Althier.What might become of such young ones? Will they ever return home to their parents? It might just be the job for an upstart hare with vengeance to pay.....I have read Brian Jacques' books since the debut of "Redwall". It has been a pleasure to watch to progress of the series, and "The Sable Quean" will not disappoint. The story is fast and furious, with parts that seriously make you question motives of both the Sable Quean herself, and, to my great and wonderful surprise, the author. I love all of Brian's books, but I must say I always feel the later books (after book 5) were lacking details I cherished in the earlier books of his series. He has brought this back very much so, with a well-rounded story and characters. It's nice to see some vermin, who, I must say, are often my favourite characters in the books, with a bit of backbone and true cunning. Zwilt caught my attention more so than any other of the characters, with an interesting story, species, and personality.This story is unlike any other of Jacques' books, being as the whole idea of it all, (hares from Salamandastron fighting in Redwall Abbey, anyone?) and also I love past history of Mossflower that many of us old-time readers will recall with relish, love, and fond nostalgia. The main problem I had was that the plot of stealing the young woodlanders was never explained? Vilaya never went on to tell her plans in anything other than terms that were very vague at best. The weren't slaves, or food, like in some cases in Redwall books, in fact, they were actually treated better than would be expected by vermin. Some really wonderous twists in the book, mostly involving the main characters, Buck, Zwilt....but mostly Vilaya. The unlike-ness of any other of Jacques' books makes this one stand out.In all, one of my favourite. Two thumbs up!

This is a book that made me really think. It centers completely around family, but looks at it from two different perspectives. On the one paw, you have the broadsword and the Coin, heirlooms from a hero that are kept with pride (and envy) by his descendants. On the other paw, you have reckless, unconditional, unquestioning love as family members take care of each other. In a stroke of literary mastery, Jacques explores both sides of family through the same character - Buckler Kordyne, Blademaster of Salamandastron. He is frustrated that his brother got the broadsword and Coin just because he was older, even though Buck was far more likely to use those items for what they had been intended. But in spite of his frustration with his brother, Buck goes to the farthest possible lengths to ensure that his brother's children are kept safe from the evil Vilaya, the Sable Quean.I think in this book, Jacques did his best job of tying up the story completely. This is yet another jewel from the Redwall mine - and, sadly, the indication that Redwall is drawing to a close.

Another wonderful Redwall story. The characters might change but the basic layout is the same. Vermin villains and goodbeasts to fight the injustice! If you are a Redwall fan than you will absolutely enjoy this book but if you are new to the series it's a great place to start. Good laughs, good creatures and plenty of hero's

This penultimate story in the Redwall series kept me turning the Kindle pages till the very end. And the hares are such a jolly, brave bunch.

For what it's worth, the spelling of the word Quean may seem peculiar to some readers. I checked an unabridged dictionary, and this very old word means "female cat." It is also an antique spelling for "Queen," meaning ruler. Both meanings play off of the sable who's the title character. Interesting, at least to me.Some have expressed concern that Brian Jacques may have "written himself out." And yet, there are still fresh, new elements found even in these late books. One is the strange, berserker mole with the war hammer. There's not a character quite like him in the previous novels. Another charming character is Ambry, the young female badger. She is quite a different sort of badger from her predecessors. For one thing, she refuses to carry bladed weapons.All of Brian Jacques' Redwall novels are highly episodic. He does somewhat link the threads together, but we alternate back and forth between several different narratives. This is a novelistic technique that goes back to Eighteenth Century novelists such as Richardson, Fielding, or Smollett. One gets a sense that the Redwall novels are loosely plotted, almost as if Jacques were to get up in the morning and say, "now what shall the characters do today?" One last observation I might make -- I do not believe Jacques takes the Redwall novels too seriously, and I do not think he expects us to do so. Charming, sweet characters die in the pages of the books, cruelty and abuse of the young and innocent occur and reoccur, but essentially the novels are comedies -- they resolve themselves at the end into scenes of restoration, harmony, mending, and peace. The disorder in the world -- Ravishers, or Sea Rats, or whatever -- has been vanquished. Halcyon goodness returns. The comedic endings in these novels remind us a little of Shakespeare's comedies, which often end with a marriage, or a coronation, or the reunion of dear old friends.I enjoyed the book. With these light novels, I believe that's all one should expect. Hope you like it also . . . .

Like it and was in good shape

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

Best series . So sad that there won't be any more . . . . . . . . .

If you are familiar with the Redwall series then I'll jusy say it as good as any Redwall book; and better than some of them because the main character is slightly out of the mould for a hare. But all the core values that Redwall has taught us to value and emulate are as strong as ever.If you aren't familiar then by the book that started it all - Redwall. Follow the series if you like it and by the time you reach The Sable Queen; you'll be well-placed to decide for yourself if it is a worthy addition to the series. You won't lose too much if you jump in and buiy this one first, but it will add so much more to your experience of the Redwall world if you start at the beginning.

very interesting!

When I first opened the packaging, I thought "wow...this is smaller than all my other Brian Jacques books..." then realised this is because it's the American publication. This doesn't detract at all from the wonderful writing that Jacques did, the chapter illustrations are lovely and so is the cover. The book arrived very promptly and is nicely priced.I highly recommend Jacques' work for children 7+, it has fabulously written passages which stimulate and increase the vocabulary skills of a child and will most certainly help them with their English/Creative writing in school! (Speaking from experience, I've read Jacques since the age of 7 and believe it has improved my own writing skills considerably!) :)