For discussion related to the book
Rakkety Tam.
Plot Teaser:
From a region known only as the Land of Ice and Snow from across the Western Sea emerges Gulo the Savage, a vicious wolverine and his horde of a hundred white vermin who eat the flesh of their enemies. After murdering his father, Dramz, Gulo assumed control of his father's territory. However, only those who possess the Walking Stone may rule, and after his father's death, Gulo's brother, Askor, steals the stone and sails to the land of Mossflower Woods. Gulo pursues his brother with approximately a hundred flesh-eating white foxes and ermine under his command, little caring for any unfortunate woodlanders- or Abbeydwellers- who stand in his way.
@James Gryphon: If these topics are considered unnecessary please delete.
Rakkety Tam remains one of my favorite all time, and it is the one that I probably read the most. There was a time when I carried it around in my backpack religiously throughout school, reading it over and over again. It is archetypal to me, a perfect example of what a Redwall book should be. Tam and Doogy were a great pair of main chars, they had the sort of rough camaraderie that I like so much in protagonist/deuteragonist sets (see Zootopia),the book had a lot of action and character interaction, there was both tragedy and celebration. The Long Patrol featured a large part (always a plus), and the final battle was uneven and uncertain to the last moment (at least, if you willingly suspended disbelief. Nobody ever believes that a book's main character is going to die and the bad guys win).
** Be Warned: Contains Spoilers! **
On my re-read of this book, I found it hard to get really involved with at first, but then managed found a better flow later on (maybe I was reading it too tired, or so). I don't think it's the most imaginative of the books. There are a few nice little ideas in it, like having red squirrels in kilts!, and I quite liked the relationships and their contrasts between some characters, such as Yoofus and Didgety (sp) - Yoofus clearly being not the most honest of characters, yet still has this pleasant, well-meaning wife. The 'cannibalism' element was bold and gruesome!
I liked it, but a little lacking in some development and adventure against others in the series.
One thing I think I might have missed: What was it about the 'Walking Stone'? Was it mentioned at the beginning its relevance? I thought we might hear in the epilogue that the tortoise had something special attached to its shell or anything like that to show why it was so precious. Why were Askor and Gulo so keen to have it? What did I apparently miss/forget? If I didn't miss anything, what do you think its relevance was?
It was like a symbol of power in their country or something. The king possesses the Walking Stone - Askor stole it so Gulo couldn't be the proper king.
Hmm, I guess that explains it enough on that level - thanks! I suppose we can only imagine how it became to be a symbol of power for the kings in the first place...
Rakkety Tam was probably one of my favorite Redwall books. It had a lot of good songs and some really fun characters. I always liked the noble Rakkety Tam and the mischievous Doogy Plum, as well as the Badger lady (if I remember correctly) and the giggly ottermaid.
It also had one of the...maybe three? romances in the whole series. That's not why I liked it so much, just something interesting about it.
Brookflow was a downright pleasure whenever she had a spot in the book.
Melesme the Badger Lady is quite interesting. I can't think of any other Badger Lady we ever saw who was an elder when ruling. Cregga, Violet Wildstripe and Ambrevina were all young, or at least certainly far from old, in Cregga's case. She also, according to the Redwall wiki, only ruled for 27 seasons. That presents what I'd think is an interesting succession story.
Quote from: MeadowRabbit on September 11, 2017, 03:13:11 PM
I liked it, but a little lacking in some development and adventure against others in the series.
I think I disagree there. I thought this entry in the series was one of the best! I think I've read it 3 or 4 times over the years now, and I know I'll revisit again in the future sometime! I still (kind of) remember the first bit of the poem...
Rakkety Rakkety Rakkety Tam,
The drums are beatin' broh (sp?)
Rakkety Rakkety Rakkety Tam,
Are ye marchin' off tae war?
A warrior from the northlands he came,
A buckler o'er his shoulder,
A claymour swinging at his side,
There's not a beast that's bolder!
Oh Rakkety Tam has sold his sword,
I scarce believe he's done it!
He swore an oath unto a fool,
Who took his word upon it!
Yeah, that poem/song left an impression on me as well. I used to go around singing it in the heaviest Scottish accent I could muster. ;D
I love the song and rakkety tam is one of my favourites of all time
There are 6 more stanzas to the song 3 for each book in Rakty Tam
One thing I've always felt was a bit bizarre about Rakkety Tam is generally Tam and the other squirrel--whose name seems to have slipped my mind--being mercenaries. This to me is very strange considering the characterisation of woodlanders in previous books and the simple fact of, what are mercenaries in Redwall payed? Brian Jacques said Redwall was a land of small settlements, no big cities, and it also seems to lack any large governing body; thus they don't have coinage, so what I wonder is used as currency in Redwall.
Interesting question.
My hunch is that they were paid food and shelter, as there are no indications of a place of buying things.
His name was Doogy.
Quote from: Ashleg on November 09, 2017, 01:16:54 PM
His name was Doogy.
Yeah, Wild Doogy Plumm, that was his name.
Another thing I just recalled about Raketty Tam was that Gulo and his lot are called 'cannibals' even though they don't actually eat any foxes, ermines or wolverines in the book; to me it's interesting that the woodlanders were actually using the term cannibal to refer to that lot even though technically they're not cannibals.
Cannobalism in Redwall pretty much refers to eating another walking, talking, two-legged mammal that wears clothes. Like Goofy eating Mickey Mouse, as even though Goofy and Pluto are both dogs it would be more like cannibalism if he ate Mickey. They are both basically people.
Quote from: Nadaz, voice of the host on November 08, 2017, 10:43:34 PM
There are 6 more stanzas to the song 3 for each book in Rakty Tam
Yeah I really liked that! I felt like it made the book feel more complete in the end - it was really well done.
Quote from: Ashleg on November 09, 2017, 11:33:38 PM
Cannobalism in Redwall pretty much refers to eating another walking, talking, two-legged mammal that wears clothes. Like Goofy eating Mickey Mouse, as even though Goofy and Pluto are both dogs it would be more like cannibalism if he ate Mickey. They are both basically people.
Well put, Ash!
The book is amazing no problems in it I ove it and have read it over and over again
I am really surprised there is no discussion for this already...
So I noticed that a scene was reused. In the beginning Abbot Humble goes up to the wallop and gives Skipper(?) a bowl of oatmeal. Skipper remarks that it tastes good but different, the Abbot said the Friar put nutmeg in it and knew he wouldn't be able to guess. I remember a similar situation in one of the other books where a friar put nutmeg in an otters hotroot soup and the same interaction occurred. Just some random thing I noticed...
Any prolific author invariably 'rhymes' with themself. When you write so much you end up invariably using the same tried and tested tropes (sometimes becoming over-dependent on them)
That's just one interpretation though.
True, I was just surprised it was so close, like almost word for word...
Quote from: Tungro on March 29, 2019, 05:38:52 PM
I am really surprised there is no discussion for this already...
There is. http://redwallabbey.com/forum/index.php?topic=9487.0
It was halfway down the next page... Pockets (Wylder Treejumper) made a discussion topic for each book a while ago.
Also, *Rakkety.
I knew the search results where to good to be true :P
Ratchety Spam
That is interesting. I never noticed that, or just thought it was Deja Vu. . .
Merged - carry on.
I don't see alot of people talking about Yoofus Lightpaw and his wife. Honestly, I liked his wife more than I liked him. They were a likable pair together, and the fact they have the walking stone is a nice simple reveal! Also the whole scene where Yoofus, his wife, and Doogy (I believe) going through the forest with Rockbottom.
Welcome to the seventeeth book in our series readalong event: Rakkety Tam! For those who have not already seen, here are a couple things to note before you start discussing:
- Please keep your posts here and in the entirety of the General Discussion board on-topic and constructive. When discussing topics like favorites, it always helps to give reasoning as to why you chose your favorite character, scene, etc. When in doubt, add more! It is always fun to see what other people think and respectfully debate with them.
- If you would like to participate but don't own the book, there are a few resources that may be of use to you. Libby, Audible, and (of course) your local library, are all good ways to rent books/audiobooks for free (Audible is free only for the first 30-day trial). There is no harm in permanently expanding your Redwall collection, though, if you can afford it!
- If you want even more Redwall discussion, please check out the Recorder on the Wall (http://redwallabbey.com/forum/index.php?topic=10104.0) podcast episodes for the book! Every three weeks we will be posting the relevant episodes, so please check them out. Here are the episodes for Parts 1 (https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/frustratedfans/Recorder_Episode_55.mp3), 2 (https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/frustratedfans/Recorder_Episode_56.mp3), and 3 (https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/frustratedfans/Recorder_Episode_57.mp3) of Rakkety Tam!
- If you have created any writing, art, voice acting, or any other form of media based on this book and/or its characters, send a link (or image if it is art) to me through PMs and I will share it in this post! Seeing how other people portray the story through their own work is a wonderful way to be drawn deeper into the story and wider Redwall community.
Finally, here are a few guiding questions for discussion if you are unsure what to talk about:
- Who is your favorite character, and why do you regard them as your favorite?
- Who was your least favorite character, and why did they bother you?
- What was your favorite scene? What stuck out to you about it?
- What are your thoughts on the book as a whole? Where does it rank against other Redwall books and why?
- Do you have any theories or small details others may not have picked up on when reading?
- And anything else you want to mention!
Have fun, and happy discussing!
Quote from: Scott McLamok on October 07, 2017, 07:06:45 AM
I love the song and rakkety tam is one of my favourites of all time
Yo, I posted here?
There were two threads for discussing Rakkety Tam, and the mods decided to merge them.
Rakkety Tam was a little bit of a disappointment. It was good but I had been told it was one of the best when I don' think it was. People said it brought Redwall back, and while I think it did definitely call back to some of the early classic while still having the newish flare to Redwall, I don't think it's even much better than Loamhedge, the book right before it. I think one thing i owuld have preferred, was if it took place in winter. It felt weird to have winter animals in the summer and it be just like nearly every other book surroundings wise. I think that a winter setting would have made it blend better for me. It also didn't add much with characters. I feel like the main characters, (besides Rakkety Tam and Wild Doogy Plum who were fantastic) were actually worse than the characters in Loamhedge. And the side villains weren't that interesting to me. Gulo was a great villain. Never before had we had a villain as scary in a certain way that Gulo was. His brute strength and ruthlessness were great, you never knew if any of his followers would die or not. Anyway, not a bad book by any means, just not the lassic everyone says it is, at least IMO.