Martin The Warrior
by Brian Jacques
Illustrated by Gary Chalk
Cover Illustration by Fangorn
375 pages
Copyright 1993
A young, strongly built mouse is being held captive as a slave of the ruthless stoat, Badrang. This nameless slave is being used to help build part of a stronghold called Marshank for the horde leader. The youth is often whipped or flogged for misbehaving during his long, cruel working hours.Even so, on witnessing similar mistreatment of an elderly squirrel is more than enough for him to bear. The unwilling slave ferociously attacks the captain of the guard, who goes by the name Hisk, and attempts to strangle him to death with his own whip. Unfortunately, Gurrad, a soldier of Badrang, is close, and quickly blows an alarm on his bone whistle. The nearest six guards come to Hisk's rescue, beating the young mouse with their spear handles. As soon as word of this outrage on one of his guards comes to Badrang, he has the rebellious mouse brought before him.
After interrogating the slave, Badrang commands that he is to be tied up between two poles on the highest point of Marshank, to be eaten by the birds during the night, and to serve as a warning during the day. And so the slave was bound to two poles upon the rooftop, expected to be long dead by the dawn.
The mouse becomes feverish, and cries aloud how Badrang captured him when he was hardly more than a child. He screams at the top of his lungs how Badrang killed his grandmother, and he tells of how he had taken the sword which his father had given him. The young mouse's name was Martin.
Far below, a youthful female mouse named Rose, and a slightly older mole called Grumm heard Martin's outburst. They called up to him, and asked of the other slaves there. Rose asked if there was another mouse by the name of Brome in Marshank. Brome was her younger brother, who had been wandering aimlessly, and was captured by Badrang. Little did they know young Brome was held in a prison pit far below Marshank.....
From this point, Martin's heroic epic tale begins.
Fan Comments
Timothy Jensen from Needham, MA wrote:"Martin The Warrior. I like the immense detail and vivid characters. The good amount of adventure and fighting also adds to the joy of reading this book"
Robert Bieze from Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, USA wrote:
"Martin the Warrior, it is the story of the most famous Redwall character and the action keeps you on your toes and the unexpected tragedy of death brings tears to even the strongest of us; the others are exceptional, but they don't do what Martin the Warrior did the first time I read it."
Katherine from Sacramento wrote:
"Martin the Warrior; it's very detailed and it seems so real."
American Edition
Books by Brian Jacques
- Redwall (1986)
- Mossflower (1988)
- Mattimeo (1989)
- Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales (1991)
- Mariel of Redwall (1991)
- Salamandastron (1992)
- Martin the Warrior (1993)
- The Bellmaker (1994)
- Outcast of Redwall (1995)
- The Great Redwall Feast (1996)
- The Pearls of Lutra (1996)
- The Long Patrol (1997)
- Marlfox (1998)
- The Legend of Luke (1999)
- Lord Brocktree (2000)
- Taggerung (2001)
- Castaways of the Flying Dutchman (2001)
- A Redwall Winter's Tale (2001)
- Triss (2002)
- Angel's Command (2003)
- Loamhedge (2003)
- Urso Brunov (2003)
- Rakkety Tam (2004)
- High Rhulain (September 20, 2005)
