Mossflower (Redwall)

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Cats Are Mean: Most of the cats that appear are evil, but they're also one of the few "vermin" species to have good individuals shown. Clean Food, Poisoned Fork: Swartt uses this trope so he can convince Bowflegg that the wine isn't poisoned by drinking some of it straight from the bottle (the poison is smeared on the goblet which they drink from). He tries it on three separate targets, though the third would-be victim catches on, forcing him to find a different method of disposal.

Big Damn Heroes: Lots. The biggest one that doesn't come off as an Ass Pull occurs in Eulalia!, when Orkwil abruptly disappears, then reappears a few chapters later with hundreds of Redwall soldiers at his side so they can rescue Gorath, Rangval, Maudie, Salixa, and the Guosim. You would think Mattimeo would end between a big showdown with Slagar and Matthias—or even Mattimeo himself. Instead, Slagar runs and falls down a hole. And dies. Ancestor Veneration: Downplayed in that it stops short of outright worship, badger lords often see their ancestors in visions or when at death's door, asking for advice and getting cryptic results in return. The secret forge in Salamandastron contains carvings of past badger lords, of heroes and their great deeds (some of which have yet to happen), which can be added to when a badger is working in a fugue state. People say that Tagg could just have been a very rebellious teen with a bad case of Values Dissonance. After all, what's the most horrifying thing one can do when one's authority figures are evil? And that the same book featured a not-so-nice woodlander in the form of Nimbalo's father. In Rakkety Tam, Freeta wanted both to conquer Redwall and to get revenge on Gulo the Savage on behalf of her mate, Shard.Badass Adorable: From a human point of view, most of the major cast members. For example, Matthias is a complete and utter dork who got beaten up by Warbeak for a brief moment yet is able to kill Cluny the Scourge with a bell.

Although the surrounding story featuring the adult Martin comes after Martin the Warrior and Mossflower, the central tale of Luke predates both. Content: Sizeable amount of violence, but I don’t recall anything graphic; perhaps some mild language. There was a slight “prophetic” feel in the Salamandastron part where things were written on the wall that were foretold (someone’s coming + a death) but the characters didn’t make it out to be magic, just didn’t try to explain it. Since they’re animals and this is a made-up world, though, it didn’t bother me too much. A few mentions of dying & “going to the Dark Forest” and being admitted/explaining why they should be admitted. 2 mentions of someone’s sprit hanging around/being present. Barbarian Tribe: The Painted Ones, the Flitchaye, the Darat, and the Sparra (though they get better after King Bull is killed and Warbeak takes over.) The Gawtrybe might also fall into this category; although they're more articulate than the others on the list, they're basically a tribe of sociopathic children.The Bellmaker has Urgan Nagru, the Foxwolf. He fights with his wife, Silvamord, which causes problems later down the line. But it's an important story in the whole Redwall series, I get that, and I did get a sort of little crush on Martin who knows how to wield his sword. (That's not a euphemism, btw, because that would be gross. No, he really does have a sword.)

Veil Sixclaw ravenously devours any food put in front of him. Bella remarks, "Some creatures are always hungering after one thing or another." Cluny. Every chapter has him adapting his Evil Plan to exploit some new development or preceived weakness. Gulo the Savage, who's above the size and weight of a badger, but with sharper claws and teeth. When the heroes lead him through a crow-infested grove, he actually loses interest in pursuing them to continue the slaughter.The novel Mariel of Redwall has Mariel, when she was regaining her memory and remembered Saltar and Ledder throwing her shipmates off the boat in retaliation for her resistance.