The Taggerung - Softcover

Jacques, Brian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099409283 ISBN 13: 9780099409281

Publisher: Red Fox, 2002

Synopsis

The Vermin Clan of Sawney Rath has long awaited their Taggerung-the chosenbeast who will lead them to victory against any foe. Now at last the seer Grissoul has foretold the Taggerung's birth: they will find him by the river, and know him by the birthmark on one paw. But the marked beast that they discover is neither stoat nor fox nor rat, but an otterbabe! Nonetheless, the vermin take and raise him. It is only when the young otter steps into his famed and fearsome role that he senses something is wrong. Very wrong! Is he the Taggerung after all? And if he is not, who is he? In this, the fourteenth novel of the best-selling Redwall epic, Brian Jacques has created yet another unforgettable adventure tale, with a hero so surprising that even Redwall fans will come to expect the unexpected. For ages 9 and above.

About this title

Review:

Brian Jacques's 14th fantasy in the popular Redwall series exceeds expectations in this suspenseful tale of good versus evil where the nefarious vermin seek to destroy the peace-loving mice, moles, shrews, and otters of Redwall Abbey. The villainous Sawney Rath clan of rats, weasels, foxes, and ferrets believe Deyna, an otter born of the community at Redwall, is their Taggerung, a great warrior destined to lead them. Members of the Sawney Rath clan kidnap Deyna from his home as a young otter, but to no avail. As Deyna grows, he embarks upon a search for his true family at Redwall.

As ever, the master storyteller's language lends his swashbuckling adventures a mysterious and magical quality, as well as a hint of the Old World as the characters address each other with thees and thous. Hearkening back to medieval times, Jacques presents a tale of courageous warriors and grotesque evildoers alike, each group journeying toward conflicting ends. Danger, fear, action, heroism--Taggerung is an intense page-turner with startling plot twists that will keep readers on their toes. (Ages 9 to 15) --Yvonne Schindler

About the Author:

Brian Jacques was born in Liverpool, England on June 15th, 1939. Along with forty percent of the population of Liverpool, his ancestral roots are in Ireland. A well-known radio personality in his native Liverpool--as well as an actor, stand-up comic, and playwright--Brian was the host of "Jakestown" on BBC Radio Merseyside. Ever the performer, Jacques applied his acting and entertainment background to his lively presentations to legions of young fans at schools across the United States and England.

His interest in adventure stories began at an early age with reading the books of: Daniel Defoe, Sir Henry Rider Haggard, Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Thomas Malory, Robert Michael Ballantyne, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Kenneth Grahame. He attended St. John's School, an inner city school that had its playground on the roof. On his first day at St. John's, at the age of ten, he had an experience that marked his potential as a writer. When given an assignment of writing a story about animals, he wrote about the bird that cleaned a crocodile's teeth. The teacher could not, and would not, believe that a ten year old could write that well. When young Brian refused to falsely say that he had copied the story, he was caned as "a liar". He had always loved to write, but it was only then, that he realized that he had a talent for writing.

Some teachers at St. John's proved to be good role models. This interest in poetry extended to Wordsworth, Tennyson, and Goldsmith. It was also at St. John's that Brian met a teacher, Alan Durband (who also taught two Beatles, Paul McCartney and George Harrison), who, more than thirty years later would bring about a major change in his life.

After Brian finished school at fifteen, he set out to find adventure as a merchant seaman. He travelled to many far away ports, including New York, Valparaiso, San Francisco, and Yokohama. Tiring of the lonely life of a sailor, he returned to Liverpool where he worked as a railway fireman, a longshoreman, a long-distance truck driver, a bus driver, a boxer, a bobby (Police Constable 216D), a postmaster, and a stand-up comic.
 
Penguin mourns the passing of celebrated children’s book author Brian Jacques

About this edition

• Publisher: Red Fox
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0099409283
• ISBN 13: 9780099409281
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 437