The Rogue Crew by Brian Jacques
This is the last book in the epic Redwall series. The author Brian Jacques passed away this year, which of course means that he will not be writing any more books. This book is definitely different from past books in this series. It is darker in respect to the villain, a villainous Wearat named Razzid. Razzid is a sea vermin who mercilessly attacks the coasts. He is finally defeated and nearly killed by the sea otters. He is taken back to his island where he slowly heals and builds a colossal ship with wheels, the Greenshroud. He then takes his ship on wheels to attack by sea and by land. He and his crew kill everybeast in his path, whether burning an unarmed old sea otter or crushing unaware hares under the wheels of his monstrous green ship.
In this book, Redwall Abbey is not a main scene. Razzid Wearat does not reach the Abbey until the very end of the book. The Abbey is briefly mentioned here and there, but the action is centered more around the shores of Mossflower with the Long Patrol hares and the sea otters, led by Skor Axehound. This book is also darker because a visitor to Redwall dies by accident. In the other Redwall books, I cannot recall someone dying by accident, especially not in Redwall and especially not near the beginning of the book. The villain is not killed by a warrior either, but by a brave Redwall maid who never held a sword before in her life. There are a few other books where the main villain is not killed by a warrior or is even killed by one of his own, but it does not happen often in this series.
As to be expected of the author, the book is filled with the usual excitement, bravery, battles, food, death, and finally victory and peace. There are not many riddles, as is characteristic of most of the books. Overall, it is another great Redwall book, the last of these great books.
