Novel & Cerita Redwall Book Order

Man, figuring out the internal chronology for the 'Redwall' books can be a project. Brian Jacques jumped around the timeline a lot. If you want the story order, it goes like this: 'Lord Brocktree' is the absolute earliest, then 'Martin the Warrior', 'Mossflower', 'The Legend of Luke', 'Outcast of Redwall', and 'Mariel of Redwall' all happen pretty close together. After that, it's 'The Bellmaker', 'Salamandastron', 'Redwall' (the first published, but set way later!), 'Mattimeo', 'The Pearls of Lutra', 'The Long Patrol', 'Marlfox', 'The Taggerung', 'Triss', 'Loamhedge', 'Rakkety Tam', 'High Rhulain', 'Eulalia!', and finally 'The Sable Quean'.

I tried reading them this way once, and it's a different experience. You see the abbey's history unfold, but you miss the charm of discovering the lore backwards, the way most of us did. Honestly, for a first-time reader, publication order still wins. You get the foundational mysteries of 'Redwall' first, which makes the prequels more rewarding later.

The biggest gap in the timeline is between the early founding era and the 'Redwall' novel. So many generations pass, it’s almost a reset.

The most straightforward way I can explain it is that the internal timeline of Mossflower country is wildly different from how Brian Jacques wrote and published the stories. If you follow publication order, starting with the iconic 'Redwall', you get this great introduction to the world through Matthias's quest. You see the abbey, meet the core characters, and the style is fully formed. The chronological list, which starts with 'Lord Brocktree' and goes through the early building of Redwall, feels like a prequel series you'd tackle after you're already invested.

What you lose in chronological order is that sense of discovery Jacques intended. He wrote each book as a standalone adventure, with hints at legendary figures from the past. Reading 'Mariel of Redwall' after knowing her full history from a prequel book changes the mystery. The publication order has a rhythm to it—a mix of epic founding tales and cozy abbey mysteries—that the strict timeline flattens out. I tried chronological once and missed the little 'aha!' moments of connecting historical dots myself.

Fans of the Redwall series often ask about chronological order, but I think sticking with publication order is actually the way to experience the 'earliest events.' That's because while some books like 'Lord Brocktree' and 'Martin the Warrior' are prequels detailing the founding of Redwall Abbey and Martin's early life, they were written with the assumption you'd already read the earlier-published books. You'll catch more references and appreciate the world-building more if you start with 'Redwall' itself.

If you absolutely must focus on timeline, 'Lord Brocktree' is the furthest back, showing how the badger lords came to Salamandastron. Then 'Martin the Warrior' and 'Mossflower' cover the legendary mouse's youth and how the Abbey was founded. 'The Legend of Luke' jumps around but fills in more backstory. Honestly though, reading them in this order first can make the prose style shifts more noticeable, since the later-written prequels have a different feel. I tried chronological once and found it a bit disjointed.