My personal top five?
Hrrm, lemme see here.

#1: The Legend of Luke.

The Legend of Luke was my first book in the serious and really helped me through a difficult time in my life, so it'll always be my first choice.
I read the original after that one, and then decided to read it all in order of release.
Imagine my surprise when Martin and the gang showed up in Mossflower.


#2: Lord Brocktree.

Taggerung was going to be my second place, for reasons I'll get to later, but I did actually enjoy Brocktree more.
The plot was nice, the characters were memorable, I got Russano in the prologue, which yay for me, I'll go squeal like a fangirl now, which is creepy since I'm a guy.

"SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"

Anyways, Brocktree was a great character, simply because he seemed a bit more humane than the other Badger Lords; except for Russano, 'cause everyone loves Russano.
There wasn't a moment when I didn't want to see the heroes get out alive and the villain get trampled upon.


#3: Taggerung.

Oooooooooh, here comes the hate for this one.
Seriously, I'm surprised that a lot of people dislike or outright hate this book.
I mean seriously, I've talked to a ton of people about Taggerung, and those that don't like it or say it's "okay", usually foam at the mouth about how terrible or stupid it is, all because Deyna didn't start out like a typical vermin.

Aaaaaaaand why is that a bad thing?
People seem to forget that the book was meant for children, and that the author was writing the story HE wanted to write, not what people wanted to hear.

But no, it's always "DEYNA GOOD GUY, TAGGERUNG BAD!!!"; I mean cripes, give it a rest and enjoy the dang book or bugger off, no one is forcing you to read it.

I enjoyed the book thoroughly, because rather than the typical story of self-doubt and gloom, where the hero is always full of angst about this or that, we get a story of a lost young man who finds a friend and searches for his true identity.
That is MUCH better than the whole "I have homicidal issues! Q_Q" plot that people seem to think would have made the book "better".

Also, it's interesting that Brian made Nimbalo's father abusive.
That took me by surprise, and I could instantly relate to Nimbalo at that point; so that was a big risk that Brian took, as child abuse is usually a touchy subject in children's books.
He pulled it off pretty well though, so I respect him for that.

I also love Taggerung because I get to see my two favorite Badgers in it.

Cregga! Russano! WE LOVE YOU!! And by "we", I'm probably just meaning "I".


#4: Pearls of Lutra.

Pearls of Lutra is special to me for the reason that it was the first book that I realized something.
Redwall also had female heroes.
It's rare for Fantasy/Medieval media to have female heroes or protagonists, so Grath was a real treat for me.
I used to watch Xena Warrior Princess with my mother ALL the time, so Grath was kind of like the Lucy Lawless of Redwall in my eyes.

The only thing I can really nitpick at in Pearls of Lutra, is how underdeveloped the relationship between Grath and Inbar was.
Okay, they fell in love during the adventure, but when, and why?
There's really no indication of it, and we don't really have any clue until Grath drops the bomb.
"Oh yeah, Martin, me and Inbar are gonna get married; short notice, I know, but ya'know, love and all."

It just really bugs me when Gorath and Salixa have more development as a couple than Grath and Inbar...And those two had a love at first sight romance.

What kind of planet am I living on?!


#5: Mattimeo.

What's that you say?
I lose credibility as a fan because I don't have the first book anywhere on my list?

Well bugger off, this is my list; I can do whatever the heck I want with it, so there!

What was good about Mattimeo?
It should be incredibly obvious, seeing as everyone loves the book for Slagar the Cruel.
(Well, he's just ONE of the main reasons why everyone loves it.)

Slagar was such a fun villain to read about, and was also the best out of the three villains in the show.
If they revive the series and start from Redwall all over again, they better get Tim Curry to voice Slagar again.
That is now the new law I declare; as Mark Hamill is The Joker, Tim Curry is Slagar the Cruel!

Aside from the fox that obviously just needs a hug, what else was good?

Basil Stagg Hare for one, Constance for two, and the story for three.
Seriously, I don't care about where Slagar is taking the kids, I'm just along for the ride to see what more crazy antics he'll pull off.
I don't care about Ironbeak, (whom totally inspired the Metalbeak Owl) I just want to see Constance slap those silly birds across the face again.
So basically, those three characters stole my attention, rather than the story, hence why it's the third/fourth reason. lol

Mattimeo was the fourth book in the series that I read, and it didn't disappoint.

Though it did confuse me, as I read Legend of Luke, then Redwall, then Mossflower, then Mattimeo.
It was at this point that I began to wonder if this was all some kind of odd time loop or something.
But later on I learned that it wasn't, it was just random chronological order.

So it all seemed like I was worried over nothing and I became so sure that Brian Jacques would never confuse me again.

And then Outcast of the Flying Dutchman.



Welp, those are my personal five favorites.

I can already here the seething rage of someone I've offended by my choices! I must get ready to defend myself!