User blog comment:Argulor/Why the subplots?/@comment-1298206-20130723011824

Subplots? In all actuality, upon further inspection, the examples you gave have a good deal of relevance. In your essay, you say,"Jacques seemed unwilling to not give his abbey characters screentime." The series isn't called Redwall for no reason. Perhaps the main events are those happening at Redwall Abbey and not beyond its walls due to having such great importance. By showing the happenings within Redwall while the "main plot" happens elsewhere, Brian Jacques is able to:

A) Prevent monotony by alternating from the "main plot", which would otherwise become monotonous due to offering little variation in scenery and characters.

B) Develop the characters by giving readers a taste of their personalities and the occurrences of the setting they are located in, as well as how they adapt to each threat, be it villains, disease, etc.

Instead of questioning the importance of whether or not the subplots have a payoff, have you stopped to wonder if you these subplots have actually been enjoyable to you?

"What do you think?" Well, I think that Brian Jacques is a talented author. While not perfect, his novels were much higher grade than the generic writing you make them out to be.