``Eeulaliaaaaaaa!'' echoes the battle cry of Sunflash the Mace, badger warlord and champion of all that is good. Accompanied by his faithful scout, the kestrel Skarlath, Sunflash sets out to vanquish the evil ferret Swartt Sixclaw, who had enslaved him in his youth. Meanwhile, Sixclaw's bad-seed son is raised lovingly by a mousemaid at Redwall Abbey. However, in spite of his upbringing, he follows his father's wicked ways and is cast out of the abbey forever. The action climaxes in a pitched battle with Sixclaw's horde at Salamandastron, Sunflash's mountain stronghold. Convincing characterizations (including strong female participants), well-realized settings (accompanied by mouth- watering feasts), grand dialogue, inventive action—in this eighth offering in the popular Redwall series, Jacques (The Bellmaker, 1995, not reviewed, etc.) will more than please his fans. With the usual black-and-white chapter decorations throughout, the book is written to formula—good trumps evil, but has to count at least one important loss—and many will rate it among the best in the series. (Fiction. 9-14)
Pub Date: Feb. 21, 1996
ISBN: 0-399-22914-0
Page Count: 360
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1995
The tension never quite pulls tight in this confusing chiller, perhaps because Sleator introduces too many contrivances. Just before a gathering of relatives, Jared, 16, falls into a swamp polluted with toxic waste; soon after, he discovers that he can read minds, learning—to his horror—that outwardly perfect cousin Annelise is a monster who's already responsible for the death of one fancied rival and the attempted suicide of another. Grandma, who has also fallen into the swamp, enlists Jared and another cousin in a byzantine plot to unmask Annelise by covering her in swamp muck and then distributing copies of her conveniently incriminating private journal. Problems with chronology and unlikely incidents—e.g., Jared drinking swamp water without realizing what it is—make for reader incredulity; the dialogue sounds artificial; and Annelise is a mere caricature of a villain, predictable and two-dimensional. A weak story from an author who's done much better. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-525-45104-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1993
Newly trained shape-changer Susan—despite a law that puts her, and the rest of the green-eyed clan, at risk—is sent on her learning quest. She and her wolf companion Farrun run afoul of a vicious but incompetent shaman who reports her to the real power in the land, Ometerer. This evil mage has bespelled the king to order all green-eyed subjects imprisoned so that shamans can question them and learn the secret of their shape-changing. Together, Susan, Farrun, and Jeffrey (a young and as yet untrained shape-changer) kill Ometerer, releasing the king from the spell, ending the persecution, and freeing Jeffrey and Susan to search for their roots and the true source of magic. Though the story holds attention, it's talky and a little uneven, with black and white magic and mysterious elders mixed together; presumably the loose ends hold a sequel. Susan's other ``natural'' shape is a shewolf, but she and best friend Farrun lope long hours shoulder to shoulder without a hint of estrus- -suggesting a different, and perhaps more intriguing, story than this one. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-395-66612-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1994
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