Brian Jacques uses the full force of his stunning storytelling talent to unravel the mystery and adventure that unfolds in this tale of Redwall as a quiet little mouse refuses to bow down to a tyrant and bids to fight for freedom at any cost. Brimming with cutthroat skullduggery and intellectual intrigue, Martin the Warrior is a mountainous tale that introduces the ethos and passions of Redwall with a host of well-drawn characters, each with their own Achilles' heel, making them feel as real as they are magical. --Susan Harrison

From Publishers Weekly
In a starred review of this 1994 installment in the Redwall series, PW commented that "Jacques's classically inspired plot-weaving achieves virtuosity." All ages.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9-In this sixth book of the Redwall series, Brian Jacques relates the tale of how the mouse warrior of Redwall gained his title and his fame.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
A party for the ears! This is a swashbuckling adventure full of pygmy shrew tribes, valiant mouse warriors, and noble squirrels bent on revenge. The prequel to the Audie Award-winning REDWALL has as its hero its own Martin the Warrior. This is the story of that Martin's father. Imprisoned from childhood at Marshank, a seaside fortress run by that evil stoat Badrang, Martin escapes and sets out to free all the slaves and reclaim his father's sword. Your mind's eye will spin out a full-color motion picture as you listen to these colorfully voiced characters sing, dance, fight, feast and escape countless perils. Chances are good you'll never be able to look at a mouse the same way again. M.C. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

From Booklist
Gr. 5-7. Jacques continues his popular Redwall series in a sixth entry--set prior to Mossflower (1988), which details how Martin brought peace to Mossflower Woods. This tale harks back to the making of Martin the Warrior, whose spirit has encouraged and whose sword has been wielded by later warriors battling threats to the woodlands. "He was only a young mouse, but of strong build, with a glint in his eye that proclaimed him a born fighter." And he has been enslaved by the heartless stoat Badrang the Tyrant, chieftain of a horde of weasels, ferrets, foxes, and rats, who is ruthlessly using slave labor to build a fortress on the Eastern Coast. Once again, various bands of protectors have separate adventures and eventually converge at the fort for the final bloody battle. As usual, Jacques does not gloss over violence and gore, his good guys are really good and the bad ones evil to the core, and there's a great deal of humor and camaraderie and good eating. Particularly poignant in this episode is the death in the culminating battle of the mousemaid Rose, whose namesake rose later blooms and flourishes in her memory on the Redwall Abbey grounds. Another winning tale for the saga's many fans. Sally Estes --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews
The generic Jacques yarn features an intrepid mouse aided by a stalwart squirrel, a bumbling, country-accented but doughty mole or hedgehog, and a seemingly foppish but actually steely hare; these precious few face a monstrous warlord (here, a weasel) and his motley crew. Overcoming all vicissitudes, they storm an evil hold, scale cliffs, and invoke the spirit of animals past while keeping up their present spirits with nature's bounty--endless cordials, nut-breads, and berry comfits. Lately, a heroic maid, too, appears, a leader of animals yet sweet to the core. The unmelancholy Jacques follows the pattern to the dot with this current offering, a tale of the origins of Redwall Abbey's founder. The language may be hackneyed, but it works; young readers love the derring do, and only a churl would reject this morality play in fur. Enjoy. (Fiction. 8-12) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

The New York Times Book Review
Wonderfully imaginative in [its] variety of plot and... larger-than-life characters. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Book Description
On the shore of the Eastern Sea, in a cold stone fortress, a stoat named Badrang holds dozens of innocent creatures as slaves, part of his scheme to build an empire where he will rule as unquestioned tyrant. Among those slaves is a mouse named Martin who has a warrior’s heart and a burning desire for freedom—freedom not only for himself, but for all of Badrang’s victims. There is no risk he will not take, no battle he will not fight, to end the stoat’s evil reign and in the process regain the sword of his father, Luke the Warrior—the sword that Badrang stole from him when he was but a lad! --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Card catalog description
Captured and enslaved by the corsair stoat Badrang, young mouse warrior Martin vows to end the evil beast's plundering and killing. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Inside Flap Copy
Read by the author and a full cast
10 hours 4 minutes, 8 cassettes

A shadow has fallen on the shore of the Eastern sea, a shadow called Marshank. In this cold stone fortress a stoat named Badrang holds dozens of innocent creatures as slaves, part of his scheme to build an empire where he will rule as unquestioned tyrant.

Among those slaves is a mouse named Martin who has a warrior's heart, and a burning desire for freedom?freedom not ony for himself, but for all of Badrang's victims. There is no risk he will not take, no battle he will not fight, to end the stoat's evil reign, and in the process regain the sword of his father, Luke the Warrior?the sword that Badrang stole from him when he was but a lad.

Once again master storyteller Brian Jazques has crafted an epic advewnture and filled it to the bursting point with unforgettable characters, including villians so hilariously evil you'll barely be able to keep from hissing them, and loveable woodland creatures so brave you'll want to stand and cheer as they fight for their freedom. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

About the Author
Brian Jacques has had many professions, including longshoreman, truck driver and folk singer. In addition to a vast international readership, he has acquired a devoted army of listeners with his weekly radio program on BBC Merseyside. For this recording Brian himself leads a full cast of actors he personally selected for their ability to bring his characters to vivid life.