Martin the Warrior
Review
Martin the Warrior is the sixth book in the Redwall series. It’s Martin’s origin story, following him as he’s enslaved by—and eventually leads an uprising against—the tyrant Badrang.
Martin the Warrior has two villains: Badrang the Tyrant and the corsair Tramun Clogg. For much of the story, they have an on-again, off-again rivalry, with intertwining schemes and betrayals, before Badrang finally gains the upper hand. This leads to a first in the Redwall series: Clogg actually survives the book!
The story follows Martin as he’s captured, escapes, travels to Noonvale, and then returns at the head of an army to kill Badrang. The banter and double-crossing between the villains are fun, but the quest to Noonvale feels like a side plot that drags on too long. Martin and his new love, Rose, run into half a dozen different groups along the way, but none of them leave much of an impression because their parts are so brief.
There’s also an awkward moment near the end where seems to realize he’s written himself into a corner, and has Martin proclaim, “I will never mention Noonvale, or any of you,” as a way to explain why Martin’s story in Martin the Warrior differs from the one told in Redwall or Mossflower. Until that moment, it hadn’t felt odd that Martin—more legend than living creature in the series—had a vague past, but calling attention to it made the gap feel unnatural.
Overall, Martin the Warrior was a little disappointing after the fantastic Salamandastron. I’m not sure how much further we’ll get in the series as my kids are starting to want to read their own books instead of listening to Dad. I’m proud of the readers they’re becoming, but a little sad that it means story time is near its end.
In truth, I think their disinterest affected how much I enjoyed the book too. But still, we’ll give The Bellmaker a try, even if it ends up being the last.