Commentary on the Book Taggerung

[Wylder Treejumper]

For discussion related to the book Taggerung.

@James Gryphon: If these topics are considered unnecessary please delete.

[belle]

Second Redwall book I ever read and the first one to actually have Redwall in it. Deyna irked me with his air of being better than everyone and wanted to see him taken down a peg or two, but otherwise I loved it. Redwall seemed like a wonderful place to live, the food sounded delicious, the story of a family reuniting is still heartwarming.

[MeadowR]

I enjoyed my re-reading of Taggerung. I felt the story worked well as a story of its own - especially in the beginning. The way it was plotted out, the motives and the way the characters behaved towards each other seemed to work for me; there was a level of believability there, such as the behaviour of the jealous son towards the Taggerung, and Tagg's new mouse friend, Nimballo's (thanks, Ashleg) background. The thing I would say is that they could have stretched the beginning part a bit more to have more of Tagg's time with the clan, learning their ways, and for there to be more of a conflict in his mind about suddenly becoming 'good'. I get that it was always there within him, but I still think there could have been a bit more to it. Other comments to make, unfortunately my memory of it is fading already. But yes, I did like how this book read, having a bit more thought in to it than say, Outcast.

I like having these threads to discuss each book; hopefully once I've read Triss I can write my thoughts as soon as I've finished before I forget again. 

[Ashleg]

Tagg's friend's name is Nimballo.

[Hickory]

One L.

[clunylooney]

There was something about this book. In a certain way, it's my favorite but I can't put it higher than Marlfox, why is that? Is it because I read it in only 3 days? Maybe... Anyway, I loved everything about this book. (except the pygmy shrews) This was the first redwall book where no chapter bored me. I love Deyna and Nimballo, Cregga's death was 1 of the only2 redwall deaths that nearly had me crying. The villains are what make this special for me. Sawney Rath was an actually caring father type, in his younger years at least. I actually really liked having one of the big baddies being a complete coward. I really liked Gruven Zann and his journey quite a bit. Vallug and Eefera were awesome. They lay a 2 beast siege on redwall and killed Cregga. Vallug was cooler than Eefera but Eefera was cool too. They are my favorite villain duo of all time. And finally, my favorite, Ruggan Bor. He was so awesome. He was so cool and collected, he had golden fur and golden eyes, his clothing was awesome, he was skilled and intelligent, his clan symbol was awesome. And he was one of the only badguys smart enough to back down from a fight that he would loose. The Villains in this book were awesome. This book was awesome.

[Rosie Willowwater]

Welcome to the fourteenth book in our series readalong event: Taggerung!

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 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, 2, and 3 of Taggerung!
• 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!

[WorshipTiria]

This was my third favorite book in the series, possibly because the protagonist was an otter (I'm biased).

[JazzOfRedwall98]

Hey there! First post on this forum, but since I've been getting back into the series, I figured I'd find a place to talk about the books. Taggerung is first book I've completed since reading the series again and I wanted to talk about it because I enjoyed it a lot:

1. Who is your favorite character, and why do you regard them as your favorite?

This one's tough. I enjoyed a lot of the cast and it's hard to pick a particular one as my favorite. If I had to choose, it's a tie between Mhera or Deyna, and Cregga is behind the both of them. I enjoyed watching them on their journeys and I'm glad they were able to reunite at the end. I have to put Deyna slightly above Mhera because his plot had more action and excitement. Cregga's interesting in the fact that since I accidently read Taggerung before starting Marlfox, I'm reading her story in reverse, and I'm interested in seeing what she was like as a Badger Lady.

2. Who was your least favorite character, and why did they bother you?

Sister Alkanet. She annoyed me a lot throughout the book save for those rare occasions where she'd mellow out for two seconds and show something resembling empathy for her fellow creature. I usually never say this in regards to the goodbeasts, but I was honestly hoping she was killed by Vallug or something. She was just rude, bossy, and I wished someone could've knocked her down a peg once or twice. If she was so concerned about finding an Abbot or Abbess, she could've done it and saved everyone the trouble.

3. What was your favorite scene? What stuck out to you about it?

Weirdly enough, my favorite scene is the brief fight with Sawney and Gruven I. I liked that it showed that he was Chief for a reason, and that he was a skilled killer. I only wish he was like that for the rest of the book and hadn't been taken down so easily. A second encounter between him and Deyna, especially after finding out about Rillflag's death at Sawney's orders, would've been interesting.

4. What are your thoughts on the book as a whole? Where does it rank against other Redwall books and why?

I haven't read all the books so I can't properly rank it, but I enjoyed it. The ending did feel kind of rushed/unnecessary, and personally, if Ruggan Bor was meant to be something of a final boss, I would've introduced him sooner. I also kinda liked the riddle and how it was more of a red herring meant to make Mhera realize she had the traits of a leader within her, although perhaps Cregga simply taking Mhera under her wing would've been a less convoluted way of doing that. Also, LOVE the concept of the Juska. A shame they never pop back up from what I've read on the Wiki.

5. Do you have any theories or small details others may not have picked up on when reading?

I firmly believe that Madd is Fwirl's mother and I'm sad nothing else was mentioned about it.