The Long Patrol
by Brian Jacques
Illustrated by Allan Curless
Cover Illustration by Chris Baker
358 pages
Copyright 1997
I have just finished reading The Long Patrol, and I can honestly say that my first words after finishing this book were "Wow!". This is definitely some of Brian Jacques' best work yet. It is my new personal favourite, and it certainly answers a lot of questions for all you die-hard Redwallers out there. It's certainly a different book. Things that have not happened before happen here -- Martin the Warrior and his infamous sword play a surprisingly small role in this book!
The Long Patrol opens up at camp Tussock, a fort belonging to a variety of good-doing creatures. With a young hare protagonist called Tammello De Fformelo Tussock, youngest son of Colonel Cornspurrey De Fformelo Tussock, an old Long Patrol hare. The Colonel plays the strict forbidding father in this book, who does not want his son Tammo to join the Long Patrol, because he is too young, and too impatient. However his mother, Mem Divinia, wants to encourage her son to do whatever he wishes to do. Girding him with her old Long Patrol Dirk, and bribing Russa Nodrey (a squirrel friend of the family) to take him along with him, Mem Divinia hustles the duo off into the night, to find the Long Patrol!
Gormad Tunn, the famed leader of the great Rapscallion army has been mortally wounded in a skirmish with the badger Lady Cregga Rose Eyes and the Long Patrol hares. He slowly dies in his tent while his two sons Byral and Damug prepare themselves for a fight to the death for the right to command the Rapscallion army which was well over a thousand seasoned warriors, born fighters all. Whichever rat wins shall take his army, and sweep across the land either by boat or on foot, as decided by the long time tradition of flipping Gormad's sword, one side wavy for water, one side straight for land.
Meanwhile in Redwall Abbey, something strange and unusual has happened. Something that neither Abbess Tansy nor Arven the Warrior could have anticipated. The Southern Wall is crumbling, sinking into the ground below. Would Redwall Abbey be taken by storm? Only time will tell...
Fan Comments
Philip Brown from Gainesville wrote:"The Long Patrol, I like it because it has exciting cliffhangers."
Kevin Lawrence from Kansas wrote:
"I really enjoyed reading the Long Patrol because of the wonderful explanations
of the battles and especially the food."
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)
