Commentary on the Book Loamhedge

[Wylder Treejumper]

For discussion related to the book Loamhedge.

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

[belle]

It had its pros and cons. It was less interesting than I'd expected a book about the ancient Abbey to be. It was obvious Brian Jacques was running out of ideas, as he was now trying to make the book a story about incredibly whiny delinquent "realistic" teenaged characters instead of the usual heroic ones, and, while characters who have more flaws can be interesting, it was just really awkward when put on paper in the form of animal characters. The Abbot, when talking about how he'd just let them do as they wished and learn on their own, didn't seem like an authentic Redwall Abbot; it was too contrived. I also hated the whiny male teenaged hare and didn't care for the awkwardly written mousemaid who was his friend, either. It was like Brian tried to pull the characters out of Abbey habits and flowing frocks and stick them into skinny jeans and sweat drenched T-shirts.
On the other hand, the storyline with the young vermin who learned their lesson was awesome. I'd reread Loamhedge if only for those characters. The ending with the squirrel and the otter heroes' death was also cool.

[Eulaliaaa!]

I actually liked how Brian Jacques strayed from the typical, yet always lovable, heroes. He was trying something new by making the young ones more like the ones of this world. It's not that he was running out of ideas, it's that he was using new ones.

[alexandre]

I was disappointed in it because it wasn't during the time when loamhedge was an abbey full of mice, and I just assumed it would be a tale from the time of the abbey, so it is sort of my fault that I didn't like it because I expected it to be something it wasn't. A good way to put it in perspective is like how chopped cucumbers and chopped Zucchini slices look almost the same, I like the taste of both, but if I am expecting cucumber and bite into Zucchini it will leave a bad taste in my mouth, why? because I didn't expect it. The book also seemed to consist of two separate stories that don't really connect so that was kind of weird.

- The Redwall Rat

[Ashleg]

Second least favorite book in the series.
I was annoyed at Martha, bored with Horty, and I don't even remember the villain's name.

Guess we all have our weak works and Brian's no exception, but that doesn't make the series any less awesome as a whole.

[Groddil]

Second least favorite book in the series.
I was annoyed at Martha, bored with Horty, and I don't even remember the villain's name.

Guess we all have our weak works and Brian's no exception, but that doesn't make the series any less awesome as a whole.

m

What was your least favourite? :p

Also, @alexandre, your signature is pointlessly huge. Can you maybe get rid of all the empty lines that are doing nothing but take up space?

[Ashleg]

Triss.

[alexandre]

Triss.

     It seems that many would agree, although I found the Rouge Crew to be worse than Triss, at least in Triss, Jacques made the villains hilarious. And thought the main character was queen of sues, I thought the rest was OK.

                                                       - Rat

[MeadowR]

Just finished my re-reading of Loamhedge and I felt myself rather enjoy it, contrary to what others have said. It took a while to read, due to other things going on, so actually already I can't remember all that happened in the first part of the book! Bit of an incomplete why I liked the book here. I liked the Saro and Bragoon team - nice to have that sort of focus on some older creatures. In a similar way, it was interesting to have the obviously teenager characters and I think they worked rather nicely in the end. I liked that we could go back to Loamhedge, albeit briefly, but at least it gave the place another mention.

The little things that I liked less were Horty being one of the more annoying hares. I think as I've got older I've gained even less tolerance for such characters as hares that won't pipe down about food; not to mention the childish way they act when they're caught out on it. Think that kind of character wasn't made to appeal much to the older reader! I suppose my gripe with Lonna is a general gripe with many badger characters, too. Somehow their need to destroy all 'baddies', no matter what, even if they may not have actually done anything, doesn't quite sit with me, as is their lack of consideration for other 'goodbeasts' at times. I suppose Raga Bol could have had more of a presence.

[The Skarzs]

It has been a while since I have read that book, but from what I can remember, your points are very valid.
Did it seem that the quest was very. . . staged, so to speak? Regardless of the normal spirit of Martin interractions, certain things seemed so coincidental and forced. Who ended up with the sword in the end, the convenient wearets cutting off that loose end of Bragoon and Saro (which didn't seem to add to the story other than showing their companionship through to the end and maybe as a way for the three youngsters to grow up), what happened to the note, and the cure itself!


. . . Dunno. Am I trying to find stuff wrong with it?

[Ashleg]

No, you're just pointing out what is wrong with it. Which are a lot of things.

[MeadowR]

Oh yeah, I wonder what was in the original note. I think Bragoon and Saro's note was pretty wise, mind.

[The Skarzs]

On a medical level, though. . .

[MeadowR]

Yeah. Had we not known that Martha had a phantom problem with her legs that could be fixed, then it could have come over as an insensitive note!

[Cornflower MM]

Welcome to the sixteenth book in our series readalong event: Loamhedge!

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 Loamhedge!
• 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!