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Anatomy of a Redwall Novel
17 years ago
1. Forward by unspecified narrator, or told in the omniscient third person, introducing minor characters that have a catalyst effect on the plot, setting the book into motion.
2. Enter Hero, a stoic, salt-of-the-earth character. This character is a) a farmer living an idyllic life or b) a transient warrior seeking some greater purpose. Usually male, almost always a mouse or squirrel, occasionally a badger, hare or otter, very rarely a hedgehog. Males are more likely, though females are not uncommon.
3. Enter Villain. Villain is a) An ambitious pirate or b) a greedy warlord, but is always a leader and never an underdog himself. Villain may be any of the standard "villain" species, i.e. fox, rat, stoat, ferret, assorted other weaselly thing, in which case he will have a unique speech impediment/physical characteristic/weapon, usually relating directly to their name. En lieu of these unique characteristics, Villain may be a standard representative of a more exotic species (ie, an intensely aggressive wolverine or covetous raven).
4. Villain instigates the plot through a usually brief, always random encounter with Hero, during which Villain wrongs Hero in some way, usually killing any nearby loved ones and leaving Hero with deep, driving scars both literal and figurative. Alternately, Villain and Hero have no contact whatsoever until the very end of the book.
5. Hero sets out on a quest for one of a variety or righteous goals, seeking revenge/help or chasing a Plot-Convenent Prophetic Dream bestowed by at least one dead military figure. He is joined shortly by a sidekick or three, who may or may not actually have reasons for tagging along.
6. A minor character dies violently.
7. Food is eaten, and discussed at length.
8. A song or poem is recited. May or may not be about the food. May or may not inspire others to sing other songs.
9.Villain deals with mutiny/relations with rival Villains, almost always violently, to remind us of how horrible he is.
10. Repeat steps 6-9 until book is of comparable length with other Redwall novels.
11. Anywhere between steps 5 and 10, Redwall Abbey itself is come across by Villain. Villain will have a vague knowledge of the abbey, believing it to be a fortress full of treasure. He will lay siege to the abbey, prompting an impromptu arming of the perpetually-unprepared Redwallers. Despite Villain's extensive combat experience, and that of his minions, a combination of luck, pluck and incompetence will prevent him from making any but the most temporary of infiltrations.
Very rarely, Villain knows ahead of time that attacking the abbey is a good way to get himself killed, and will attempt to avoid confrontation. Unfortunately, in these cases Villain is usually looking for something he believes the stubborn and unfriendly Redwallers possess.
12. Hero, or more rarely a sidekick, gains the sword of Martin the Warrior, and instantly becomes an expert in its use.
13. Climax. Typically a large-scale battle, more rarely a straight-up duel between Hero and Villain. Villain will either die violently through his own ineptitude or cowardice, be killed attempting to flee the unstoppable might of Hero, or accidentally fall on something sharp Hero put in the way. Hero usually receives severe but nonlethal injuries.
14. Epilogue, written by a descendant of Hero and a love interest that either materialized near the end of Act Two or else was completely unmentioned in the rest of the book. Invitation to visit the writer's home if you are ever in the vicinity.
note: While the good animal/evil animal lines are clearly drawn, they are not totally inflexible. Good "Vermin" are generally represented as being too intellectually stunted to be evil, while evil "Woodlanders" Are rarely even given names, even if they feature prominently in the events of the book.
PS-This list applies more to the more recent books. If you feel I've forgotten something, please say so.
2. Enter Hero, a stoic, salt-of-the-earth character. This character is a) a farmer living an idyllic life or b) a transient warrior seeking some greater purpose. Usually male, almost always a mouse or squirrel, occasionally a badger, hare or otter, very rarely a hedgehog. Males are more likely, though females are not uncommon.
3. Enter Villain. Villain is a) An ambitious pirate or b) a greedy warlord, but is always a leader and never an underdog himself. Villain may be any of the standard "villain" species, i.e. fox, rat, stoat, ferret, assorted other weaselly thing, in which case he will have a unique speech impediment/physical characteristic/weapon, usually relating directly to their name. En lieu of these unique characteristics, Villain may be a standard representative of a more exotic species (ie, an intensely aggressive wolverine or covetous raven).
4. Villain instigates the plot through a usually brief, always random encounter with Hero, during which Villain wrongs Hero in some way, usually killing any nearby loved ones and leaving Hero with deep, driving scars both literal and figurative. Alternately, Villain and Hero have no contact whatsoever until the very end of the book.
5. Hero sets out on a quest for one of a variety or righteous goals, seeking revenge/help or chasing a Plot-Convenent Prophetic Dream bestowed by at least one dead military figure. He is joined shortly by a sidekick or three, who may or may not actually have reasons for tagging along.
6. A minor character dies violently.
7. Food is eaten, and discussed at length.
8. A song or poem is recited. May or may not be about the food. May or may not inspire others to sing other songs.
9.Villain deals with mutiny/relations with rival Villains, almost always violently, to remind us of how horrible he is.
10. Repeat steps 6-9 until book is of comparable length with other Redwall novels.
11. Anywhere between steps 5 and 10, Redwall Abbey itself is come across by Villain. Villain will have a vague knowledge of the abbey, believing it to be a fortress full of treasure. He will lay siege to the abbey, prompting an impromptu arming of the perpetually-unprepared Redwallers. Despite Villain's extensive combat experience, and that of his minions, a combination of luck, pluck and incompetence will prevent him from making any but the most temporary of infiltrations.
Very rarely, Villain knows ahead of time that attacking the abbey is a good way to get himself killed, and will attempt to avoid confrontation. Unfortunately, in these cases Villain is usually looking for something he believes the stubborn and unfriendly Redwallers possess.
12. Hero, or more rarely a sidekick, gains the sword of Martin the Warrior, and instantly becomes an expert in its use.
13. Climax. Typically a large-scale battle, more rarely a straight-up duel between Hero and Villain. Villain will either die violently through his own ineptitude or cowardice, be killed attempting to flee the unstoppable might of Hero, or accidentally fall on something sharp Hero put in the way. Hero usually receives severe but nonlethal injuries.
14. Epilogue, written by a descendant of Hero and a love interest that either materialized near the end of Act Two or else was completely unmentioned in the rest of the book. Invitation to visit the writer's home if you are ever in the vicinity.
note: While the good animal/evil animal lines are clearly drawn, they are not totally inflexible. Good "Vermin" are generally represented as being too intellectually stunted to be evil, while evil "Woodlanders" Are rarely even given names, even if they feature prominently in the events of the book.
PS-This list applies more to the more recent books. If you feel I've forgotten something, please say so.
=^.,.^=
But otherwise, he's still got some skill to storytelling. He just needs to....rethink his formula a bit :3 And I enjoy all badgers, not just Orlando :3
At the moment, I'd say my favorite is probably "The Bellmaker".
I do admit that his newer ones aren't as good as they once were, but after 20 books, I imagine it's getting tough to think up new characters/situations. xD ...And you've gotta give the guy credit for creating such a legendary series that's lasted for so long. <3
I really should listen to the narrated versions then, the thought never really occured to me. O_O Thanks!
They always make me hungry. 3:
And I'd probably have renewed interest if they had more than 2 1/2 good vermin characters through the whole thing :B Foxes were initially introduced as being a neutral species. :P That idea certainly got kicked in the face somewhere between single story and series mode, hmm?
The easy explination; these are children's books. The Harry Potter books all also follow a set formula, ALWAYS. They just got more violent towards the end. Children liek consistency instead of blurred lines.
Also, dont knock on the badgers. THEY ARE THE ULTIMATE D8<
In the first game, we had an even mix of 'good beasts' and 'vermin', who played out the consequences of years of racism and different degrees of education (some versus NONE EVER) pretty damn well. In the second game, only my vermin players stuck around, due to timing issues. The second half was the epic war story; I only went with it because it would be the first time (if non-canon =P) that vermin saved the world (countryside. Whatever.). And they did. It was loads of fun. =D
1. Implicit racism.
2. Lovingly detailed descriptions of food.
1. Implicit racism.
2. Lovingly detailed descriptions of food.
Good summary though. You really hit the nail on the head.
The thing that caused me to give up on the series (twice) wasn't the plot formula. Growing up, that formula (and the obvious 'talking animals' factor) made these books the only books I could wrap my little ADD mind around long enough to finish. Nah, the thing that ultimately killed it for me was the black and white 'specism'. Oddly enough, the one that did it in was Outcast. "Must... Resist... Innate tendencies... Towards... EVIL!"
I still read 'em from time to time (Taggerung was pretty good, even if it followed the good/evil shtick), and Redwall will always hold a special place in my heart.
Also, birds always die violently. I think there's, one exception. Like, if there's a bird, they're gonna die. They're the throwaway minority! Like, wtf happened to the sparrows? After, The Bellmaker I wanna say, whichever one had the ravens and rooks, and most of their young and old wind up slaughtered, that owl moves in with them to help rebuild.... And then, poof, never see 'em in the books again.
While I agree about the formulaicness of the books, I must commend Mr. Jacques because it is very difficult to write more and more stories and yet remain original. It seems every story of this type requires a hero and a villain. Sidekicks, oppressed masses, etc. Perhaps, since you are his penpal, can suggest some of what others have written here to him. Such as the idea that a "villain" species becomes the hero. Or perhaps can write stories from the villain's perspective. There are still a number of novel ideas that he can implement even within the formula he is using. Just alter a few aspects. Perhaps the main hero actually gets killed, only for another hero to rise up from the masses to lead the people to victory.
And yet I keep enjoying them.
I may be horribly broken.
Sadly, the Redwall series is in a sort of rut. Without taking the entire thing to another plane of existence (ala Final Fantasy) there's only so much to work with. It would be nice to see something happen within Redwall that involved betrayal and such, or to have some non Mossflower 'bad' furs doing something uncharacteristically good, and not just to promote their evil. There was even that one story where the Redwallers raised a Vermin from a baby, and his natural evilness took over after he had grown, leading to his death... which just seems wrong, all things considered.
One interesting idea I had once was the concept of a pack of wolves being driven down from the cold north and taking up residence in Mossflower until things thawed; though they would perform acts of raw survival, they wouldn't be inherently good OR evil... just focused on their own survival and such. Their leader would be a noble sort, but ruthless at the same time, and eventually, he would come face to face with the badger lord. The ending, rather than having either die, would be them both coming to a mutual understanding through combat and watching each others ways, and they would part at the end of winter with new knowledge and respect for each other. I think wolves are just a bit too large for Mossflower though.
I, for the record, LOVE these books. They could be cookie-cutters for all I care, it's my fanboy pick so I get to be devoted to these...it's a level 3 perk I believe.
http://www.somethingawful.com/d/new.....book-bin-3.php