Mossflower
Review
Mossflower is the second book in the Redwall series. It chronicles the arrival of Martin the Warrior in Mossflower Woods and how he saves the woodlanders from the evil wildcat queen, Tsarmina.
The structure of the story mirrors Redwall in several ways:
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Like Mathias, Martin has to go on a quest to get his sword.
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The woodlanders are threatened by an evil leader and their army. In Mossflower, Tsarmina has her own castle, Kotir, which the woodlanders besiege, whereas Cluny and his army attack Redwall.
The plot is is simple: Tsarmina is oppressing the woodlanders, and Martin can save them if he finds Boar the fighter. The characters are mostly black and white, with two exceptions: snakefish, a predator who nonetheless helps Martin; and Ashleg, an advisor to Tsarmina who has a change of heart and runs off to start a new life.
The highlight of the book was the introduction of Salamandastron and the meeting with Boar the Fighter and his hares. The badger lords and their Long Patrol were always a favorite part of the series for me when I was younger.
My children also enjoyed Mossflower, and we moved straight on to the next book in the series, Mattimeo.