Redwall Series

[Nurvingiel]

Nice bump Rakkety.

I really like the Redwall series, and it is a very detailed world, which is cool. I especially enjoy the books about badgers, and the earlier history. My favourite part in Mattimeo is when they find the ruins of Loamhenge (IIRC).

I also enjoy the Badgers and the hilarious Rabbits quite a bit. Brian Jaques also writes dialect very well; dialect normally annoys me but I find his adds flavour to the characters.
I also love the feasts. I really want a meadowcream tart with strawberries. Mmm...

I have few complaints with the series. Minor: the excessively cute dibbuns and their excessively cute antics, being indulged by matronly nurses. (Fortunately it doesn't happen very much, and isn't central to the plot).
Also, the heroes solve complex puzzles and riddles just a little to easily IMO. (Though I really like the puzzles and riddles he writes. They are interesting plot devices, even though he uses this multiple times.)

Major: The abuse of anthropomorphism. I don't mind that all the animals talk, build stone abbeys, etc. but dividing animals into good and evil based on their species annoys me to no end. That and the fact that each book has more or less the same plot, are the only things that keep me from ravenously reading the entire series multiple times.
These are extremely well-written books, but why is it that rats, stoats, weasles and foxes are evil, while squirrels, mice, voles, shrews, rabbits, and badgers are good? (It's also slightly odd that they're all about the same size - at least to the degree that badgers and mice are happy living in the same building together. But I'm happy to overlook that.)

I mean really, what did a stoat or a rat ever do to you Mr. Jaques? It just seems unfair and arbitrary, and the stereotyping of each species (including the "good" ones, like shrews) is dull and irritating IMO.
I am not fond of the idea that just because someone was born a rat, they are inclined to being lazy, evil, and dishonest, and just because someone was born a squirrel, they are inclined to being athletic, kind, honest, and brave. The worst example of this was the young otter lad who was raised by pirates or something and turned out to be a decent, honest, and fairly well-adjusted chap. Um... how? (I think it was "The Pearls of Lutra", which was an exceedingly cool book aside from my one gripe.)

Well, enough of my rantage. They are great books, despite the boring stereotypes, and are very fun to read.