Ranking the Redwall Books

[Mosflower 4Life]

How would you guys rank the Redwall book series from best to least favorite?

These would be my rankings:
1. Mossflower
2. Martin the Warrior
3. Rakkety Tam
4. Long Patrol
5. Taggerung
6. Redwall
7. Lord Brocktree
8. Legend of Luke
9. High Rhulian
10. The Bellmaker
11. Mattimeo
12. Marlfox
13. Pearls of Lutra
14. Mariel of Redwall
15. Rogue Crew
16. Outcast of Redwall
17. Triss
18. Eulalia
19. Salamandastron
20. Sable Queen
21. Doomwyte
22. Loamhedge

[redtooth]

Unfortunately I only read 4 books yet. Im rereading Mariel now (almost finished) and then I will read more. But for now I would say:
1. Redwall (Unbelievable well written, thrilling book. Cluny, Basil, Asmodeus and myself are great characters)
2. Mossflower (Epic tale!)
3. Mariel (the badguys were too weak and dumb , but I liked the island and great map.
4. Legend of Luke (really differentiates itself from the other books. Very nice story! Ending of book 2 could be better.
6. Martin the warrior (Nice story about Martins early life)
7. Mattimeo (nice adventure but didnt like Slagar and the, though exciting, end was a bit dissapointing
8. Brocktree (great army of Trunn and Brocktree was cool, story was not very exciting, though).

Will update this post and add more books when I have read them.

[SoranMBane]

Well, I've read every one of these things (and even reread most of them within the last few years), so I may as well do my own ranking. Just keep in mind that, out of all the Redwall books, the only two I actually dislike are the bottom two; I ultimately like the rest of the series, even if a few of them do frustrate me for one reason or another. I'll also add short summaries of what my overall opinion is on each of them. But anyway, my rankings:

1) Martin the Warrior: Easily my favourite.
2) Mossflower: Awesome.
3) Rakkety Tam: Awesome.
4) The Sable Quean: Awesome.
5) The Long Patrol: Awesome.
6) The Bellmaker: Solid.
7) Marlfox: Solid.
8 ) Mariel of Redwall: Solid.
9) Lord Brocktree: Solid.
10) The Legend of Luke: Solid.
11) Salamandastron: Solid.
12) Mattimeo: Solid.
13) Pearls of Lutra: Solid.
14) Taggerung: Alright.
15) Doomwyte: Alright.
16) The Rogue Crew: Alright.
17) Triss: Alright.
18) High Rhulain: A bit frustrating, but still enjoyable.
19) Outcast of Redwall: A bit frustrating, but still enjoyable.
20) Redwall: Heavily flawed, but still enjoyable.
21) Eulalia!: Boring (and also the only Redwall book I found myself disliking as I was reading it the first time; even the one at the bottom of this list was one I only came to dislike in hindsight).
22) Loamhedge: It would be alright if it wasn't for the fact that everything to do with the Martha plot is just lazy and busted to the point of being messed up and kind of unintentionally offensive.

[Captain Tammo]

My turn! So there aren't actually any Redwall books I remember disliking. So just because some titles are in the latter half of the list does not necessarily mean they weren't enjoyed. Just didn't have the same moment another book at the top of the list had!

1. The Long Patrol:      First one I ever read, loved it!
2. High Rhulain:          Loved the journey in this. And some great character FOILs
3. Legend of Luke:      Specifically book II. Awesome story of a mouse with no "super powers" as some have
4. Rakkety Tam:          I really liked Tam - he was a great warrior
5. The Bellmaker:        So much goes on in this story and I read it at a really cool time in my life
6. Pearls of Lutra:        Ublaz is my favorite!
7. Mattimeo:               Slagar the Cruel is a standout villain in this series and makes the story really intense!
8. Salamandastron:     The struggles between badger lord and ferhago make this among the best
9. Redwall:                  How can you not like this one?!
10. Sable Quean:         Vilaya and Zwilt are amazing villains!
11. Martin the Warrior: This ones sad, but a really well-written story with an ending that beats almost all the others
12. Taggerung:             Finally a "good guy" species put into a "bad guy" role!
13. Marlfox:                 Again, the villains are what make this one special to me
14. Outcast of Redwall: I read this when I was beginning to think I knew the Redwall formula. I was very wrong!
15. Loamhedge:           Another sad one. A fantastic journey and some spectacular character development
16. Mossflower:            This one is epic. Just epic
17. Mariel of Redwall:   Mariel could beat any other hero up... with a rope. Talk about awesome!
18. Triss:                     I loved all the islands in this one! Ruddaring and Peace Island are among my favorites
19. Lord Brocktree:      Don't be fooled by the "low" ranking; this ones awesome, too!
20. Doomwyte:            Nice, mysterious villain lair, and the Baliss is a great character!
21. The Rogue Crew:    A band of sea otters team up with the Long Patrol for a fight. Need I say more?
22. Eulalia:                 I actually don't remember much from this one. It's the only reason it got the bottom.

[Rooish]

I haven't read anything past Loamhedge, and I  never got through that one. So I'll rank those I did read.

1) Mossflower - the first I read. It had real, well rounded characters; (even most of the vermin were somewhat sympathetic and realistic), it wasn't formulaic, and I loved the oppressed Woodlanders plot.

2) Martin the Warrior - because it's epic and dark and one of the saddest in the series.

3) Salamandastron - I guess I like the sad ones? I enjoyed learning about the culture of Salamandastron, the sideplots were interesting, and the ending was epic.

4) Outcast of Redwall - an edge of yourself read. I like what Jacques tried, and ultimately failed to do, with the series' controversial moral determinism.

5) Pearls of Lutra - Mad Eyes was great , Romsca was great, I actually enjoyed the Riddles, and I enjoyed the subplots.

5) The Long Patrol - the hares of the Long Patrol, my lads! I love the military plots so I enjoyed this one.

6) Mattimeo - the first few chapters are really emotional, Slagar is a great villain, there's tension, and I loved the Abbeydwellers' defense against Ironbeak.

7) Mariel of Redwall - Mariel's journey was powerful, and Greypatch was a great villain.

Marlfox - the British cover was amazing. I enjoyed the Marlfoxes as well as some of the character drama, like Rusvul and Dannflor. The kids' quest was cool.

9) Redwall - as the first in the series but not the first I read, it was a bit quirky and strayed quite a bit from the world and Abbey culture Jacques came up with after.

10) The Bellmaker - Blaggutt made this book. And Finbarr Galedeep.

11) Legend of Luke - I liked the adventures of Luke's crew on the ship.

12) Lord Brocktree - I don't remember much about this one but I enjoyed the frenemy relationship between Fleetscutt and that grumpy squirrel.

13) Taggerung - I like ferrets so I like that aspect of thiis book, and I liked how Jacques apparently attempted to tackle child abuse by parents in Nimbalo's case, but Deyna was such a letdown and the author failed miserably at making the protagonist raised by villains interesting. Also I feel like there was no real conflict?

14) Triss - kind of bland.

15) Loanhedge - way too much going on in this one, but I didn't really like any of the characters. Agreed that Martha's plot was kind of offensive.

[The Skarzs]

Lol, Loamhedge is probably the least appreciated book of the series. That list seems reasonable, Rooish.

Have you considered getting back into the books and finish the series?

[WUMASTER]

A lot of people are putting Loamhedge towards the bottom. Plot is flawed with Martha learning to walk at the price of several lives.

My rankings: (can't remember all the plots, because I read the series three years ago)
1. Mattimeo- good one, and one of the most interesting. The nice part was the underground palace.
2. Triss- first book I read in the series. Exciting plot.
3. Redwall- the thing is, the first book in the series is always going to be slightly different from the follow-ups. Good plot and intro to series.
4. Martin the Warrior- before reading this book, Martin the Warrior has always been a spirit, but now I got to read about him "in broad daylight". It's nice to read this after you've read a different book, before Martin was introduced.
5. The Bellmaker- a good journey south. I've always wanted to know what were other regions near Redwall Abbey, and now I got introduced to Southsward. However, what is even further south of that is still a mystery. Can't complain, though, because of how good the plot was. If Mr. Jacques designed further books with maps for more areas, eventually he'll have to design the whole planet, though.
6. Mossflower- the interesting story of how Redwall came to be, and what was in Mossflower beforehand.
7. The Legend of Luke- Probably one of the earliest time periods in this series. Luke has always been someone whose only spoken of by characters and does not come out into the plot. It's nice to actually have him in the plot.

[Delthion]

I'll rank some, but unfortunately I don't remember all of them...

1. Rakkety Tam - Highland Squirrels. 'nuff said. But to be a bit more specific, the entire story is fairly sound, most of the faults that take place in most of the books (in my mind at least) do not happen in Rakkety Tam. The only part that I dislike is how Gulo starts killing off all of his horde.

2. Lord Brocktree - The first Redwall book that I read has the one of the greatest beginnings to a book in all of Redwall: the last of an aging group of hares and their Badgerlord stand against the innumerable horde of vermin lead by Ungatt Trunn. Stonepaw's character is one of my favorites in the entire series. Only misses first place because of Highland Squirrels.

3. Mattimeo - Points off for disappointing main villain, but other than that, a great book. Possibly with the most interesting villain in Redwall.

4. Martin the Warrior - If you haven't noticed yet, I like the ones where the goodbeasts and vermin go against each other
toe-to-toe. So Badrang's fight with Martin is a great one. Penalties for creating characters that you wanted to live with every fiber of your being only to have them trampled underfoot by the great pen.

5. Outcast of Redwall - My favorite character in this whole book is the kestrel, his relationship with Sunflash is the best part of the book. I like Sunflash's character a lot as well. Penalties for killing off too many characters, and disappointing end battle, and Bryony. (I think that's how her name is spelled.)

Tied for 5th. Loamhedge - I don't honestly see why so many people hate this book. I really like the two rogue dibbuns coming back to Redwall, and I LOVE the return to Loamhedge, so much mystery surrounds this earlier Abbey that it is nice to see a little revealed. The end with Martha spontaneously learning to walk With a magic sword, a warrior spirit mouse that haunts a great hall in a tapestry, and will randomly inspire various creatures to take up said magic sword to save the abbey from various invaders, all of this is present in a book and yet a beast can't just walk again? This is were we draw the line of suspending our belief? Points off for not having a memorable villain. Honestly I can't remember any siege or anything, only the journey to Loamhedge and back.

6. Legend of Luke - I really like finally seeing Abbess what's her name, the founder of Redwall, and one of the most renowned creatures throughout the books, second only to Martin really, yet her character is substantially less fleshed out than his. Points off for everyone dying in the end.

7. Doomwyte - The villains in this are crafted masterfully, Baliss is the snake that probably holds the most emphasis in the series for me (yes that includes Asmodeus. Also, I don't remember the Raven's name but he was great too). The return to Brockhall was particularly interesting, but as I had not read Mossflower this was my first visit there. The environment in the villain's lair is some of the greatest descriptive writing that I have read in Redwall. The riddles in this were particularly enjoyable to me compared to most of the others. This one on the whole, however, just doesn't leave as much of an impact as the ones above it on this list.

8. Eulalia - This is the last of the ones that I mostly enjoyed, I enjoyed Mossflower but for about 50% of the time. Thud'n'Blunder forever! I also liked the sage Badger, though I don't know exactly why, I like the redemption of Orkwill, and Gorath is one of my top three Badgers in Redwall. Stonepaw, Brocktree, and Gorath being those top three. But on the whole it  was fairly average.

8. Mossflower - I don't remember as much about this one, it's our first introduction to Brockhall, and to the land that Redwall would be built on. However, if I do remember correctly, the ending was EXTREMELY disappointing, but I'm not sure if that's correct or not. But the worst thing in this book that I can remember without a shadow of a doubt is the disappointment of Boar the Fighter. The most legendary warrior in all of Redwall, his name has been lauded throughout every Redwall book that Involves Salamandastron, and he just walks out onto the beach one night after forging Martin's sword, and fights a huge horde of searats to the death.

9. Pearls of Lutra - I enjoyed this one a little more than Mossflower, but the main character death that Brian Jacques added in this one particularly gutted me for some reason. I was deeply depressed for about a week after reading that chapter, and I don't know why. I wasn't particularly attached to the character...so yeah.

10. Salamandastron - Just fairly lack-luster in my opinion, part of the reason for that is that I have one of those "Friend and Foe" posters, and the villain that I looked forward to meeting the most was Ferahgo, but he wasn't much of an assassin, he just lead a small band of vermin, and had Salamandastron's food supplies poisoned.

11. Sable Quean - Master of stealth and the blade against another great swordsman? Now that promises to be great! Such potential was in this one and it was completely wrecked. I liked the "death" of Vilaya in this book, at least, until it was found out that she wasn't actually dead. The thing that I absolutely DESPISED in this one is the way Zwilt is dispatched. If the duel that we were promised from the beginning of the book was carried out well, this book would be in the top three, as it is it's one of my lowest ranked books. Redeeming quality is the Bloodwrath mole, that made me smile.

11. Triss - I didn't dislike this one as much as I disliked Sable Quean, but there isn't really anything to dislike, it's fairly bland, I am fairly sure that Brian Jacques was just experimenting with the way he told the final battle, seeing as how he never did this again, I would say that he learned well from that mistake.

12. Taggerung - It was a fierce battle for last place, but this one barely one out. The reason I dislike this one is mainly because I dislike the entire story of Taggerung, and there isn't really anything that really stuck out to me. I am fairly certain that one of the most feared hordes in the land never amounted to any more than an imagined threat, so that was seriously disappointing.

13. The Rogue Crew - Definitely the worst book that I can remember in my opinion, it seems to me that in this one Brian Jacques spent to much time dwelling on the villain's rise to power, and the construction of the landship that he built, that he didn't leave enough time for the resolution. The one thing that brings the Rogue Crew way down here is my utter hatred of the sword-bearer in this one. Every time it seems Martin chooses a person to wield his sword, in this one, he chooses a mole who does absolutely nothing. It seems as if the never-faltering spirit of Martin was just playing a practical joke on everyone, because to my memory his sword never accomplishes anything noteworthy in this book.

Honorable Mentions that I can't remember for the life of me.

1. Redwall (Read this one second to last and I can't remember any of it, maybe that reflects on its quality?)
2. The Bellmaker/Mariel of Redwall
3. Marlfox
4. The Long Patrol
5. High Rulain (I remember absolutely NOTHING about this one. I don't remember the storyline, the villains, the main good guy, the abbot. Nothing.)

So ends my short ranking that accidentally turned into a dissertation.

[Jetthebinturong]

Tied for 5th. Loamhedge - I don't honestly see why so many people hate this book. I really like the two rogue dibbuns coming back to Redwall, and I LOVE the return to Loamhedge, so much mystery surrounds this earlier Abbey that it is nice to see a little revealed. The end with Martha spontaneously learning to walk With a magic sword, a warrior spirit mouse that haunts a great hall in a tapestry, and will randomly inspire various creatures to take up said magic sword to save the abbey from various invaders, all of this is present in a book and yet a beast can't just walk again? This is were we draw the line of suspending our belief? Points off for not having a memorable villain. Honestly I can't remember any siege or anything, only the journey to Loamhedge and back.

She doesn't learn to walk again, her not being able to walk was "all in her mind." She only needs to believe in herself to be able to walk, which is a disgusting message. Also, Martin sends Brag and Saro off on a quest to look for a cure that doesn't exist, so that they die pointlessly. And when I say pointlessly, I mean there was absolutely no reason for them to go. Martha "learned to walk" even without their fake cure. It's pathetic. The whole Brag and Saro plotline was pointless, the main plot would've gone the exact same way without it. This is bad writing. Pointless aspects are supposed to be removed in the drafting process.

[Delthion]

Ah, I still enjoy it though. Although I can certainly see the reasons for not doing so.

[WUMASTER]

I'll probably re-read Loamhedge if I have time, to get a refresher. Then I'll give a more accurate ranking.

[Vilu Deskar]

I have only read 5 so here yer go.
1. Legend of Luke
2. Redwall/Mossflower
3. Lord Brocktree
4. Mattimeo

[Grond]

She doesn't learn to walk again, her not being able to walk was "all in her mind." She only needs to believe in herself to be able to walk, which is a disgusting message. Also, Martin sends Brag and Saro off on a quest to look for a cure that doesn't exist, so that they die pointlessly. And when I say pointlessly, I mean there was absolutely no reason for them to go. Martha "learned to walk" even without their fake cure. It's pathetic. The whole Brag and Saro plotline was pointless, the main plot would've gone the exact same way without it. This is bad writing. Pointless aspects are supposed to be removed in the drafting process.

I agree on the part about the disability- it probably would have been better if he left her disabled and that even with her disability she did great things for the Abbey and lived a happy or satisfying life. Would have likely sent a better message to disabled readers of the series.

But I don't agree that the Saro and Brag quest was "pointless". I personally liked how in that book Redwall took on darker undertones. Maybe I'm reading to far into it and am finding meanings that don't exist but hear me out. Saro and Brag died as they had lived: as warriors and wanderers. They would not have died gracefully from old age or even lived out their last days well. They were accustomed to wandering all of their lives and suddenly they would have to be content with living out their lives watching their abilities and mobility vanish with old age. They could no longer enjoy the life they so loved and chose. Instead they died a death of their choosing and they went out with a bang and the way they wanted to. That quest also tempered Horty the hare and the 2 other abbey maids. It transformed Horty into a fledging warrior from an immature youngster. And it laid the foundation for one the maids to mature into a budding abbess. All 3 were fairly immature and mischievous before the quest. So the quest served a purpose but not necessarily the one Martin intended for it. I personally quite liked this and that book as a whole...

[Vilu Deskar]

Welp just finished Martin the Warrior, new ranking.
1. Mossflower
2. Redwall/Legend of Luke
3. Lord Brocktree
4. Salamandastron
5. Martin the Warrior
6.Mattimeo\Outcast of Redwall
7. The Bellmaker
8. Mariel of Redwall

[WUMASTER]

I noticed a trend with the Redwall series, when I first read it in 2015, which I haven't posted about here yet.

Basically, the first book of the series was different from the others. It was somewhat flawed, but it was the first book, so even the author is getting used to the new series, let alone the reader. Readers will probably forgive the little mistakes in the book, because every series is like that. The first book in a series may have certain flaws that the author does not even notice, but the book is still awesome.

Then, the later books change. The action gets much better, and there are much more exciting battles, and of greater variety. Those were books Mossflower-Triss.

Unfortunately, the series kind of repeats the same themes throughout, and by the later books of the series, it does get kind of repetitive. Nonetheless, they're still very good books that I enjoyed. I wanted there to be more books in the series. The action did get more intense in the later books, with newer inventions like the crossbow. As I've said in other places on this website, I sure would have liked to see a Redwall book where they invent gunpowder!

There are special cases, too. For instance, most people would agree that Loamhedge isn't exactly the best book, and I agree. There are some problems with it, but as someone who has read all the books before it, I would have to forgive the mistake. While reading this book I did experience those feelings. But for people who have read Loamhedge as their first book in this series, that might be a different story.

Speaking of which, are there any people who have read Loamhedge as their first book in this series?