Essay:Redwall's future
Yeah...
Many of you may have been asking yourselves this question: Is there any evolution in the Redwall series? Rather not. From the earliest book, to the latest, the primary weaponry (e.g.) consists of blade weapons, BowAndArrow- weapons, and slings. The farthest they technologically made it, was an oversized prototype of a crossbow.
So, what do we conclude of that? Middle Ages, perhaps? Not even that is certain! The Long Patrol, to give an example, seems to be stuck in the modern era (Renaissance to/or Napoleonic; In the end, it depends on the in-book descripions and the illustrators lol). Sure, they have sabres, and fancy uniforms. Yeah, that's it. Strange, that not many others ever brought it to that cultural stage.
My biggest argument though, is: Guns. Yes, Guns! Oh, how you are shivvering at the very thought of guns in the Redwall series! Aint I right? When you think of guns, you probably think of the Wild West, or Pocahontas, or Medal of Honor.
JFYI, neither am I ready to go THAT far into the future. When I think of guns, I mean Matchlocks, Snaphances, Flintlocks, canons and hand cannons; guns, who were in fact used already at the time. You must know, the firearm is older than the saber.
So, my opinion is, that it is time, to introduce guns (albeit primitive and rarely used in combat) and to popularise the crossbows in the series. This might not only balance the level of realism in terms of combat (by the time sabres reached europe, the Bows were abandoned long ago), but actually enable the series to evolve technologically historically realistically as well. One of my biggest wishes, is in fact that the (largely primitive) world of Redwall reaches at least some stages of the age of enlightenment).
>>Conversation between two Long Patrol hares<<:
1: Er, sarge...
2: Wot, m'lad?
1: Have you also got the feeling at times, that the outer world, is somewhat... y'know...
2: No, what?
1: Well, ...legging behind?
(embarrassed silence)
Commentator: Sad, isn't it?
>><<
Well, I've said my piece. If anybody has anything to say to this, then you are free write a re-essay.
ps: Mr Jacques, please, try to restore your level of sarcasm and irony from your first books ("and she swiftly took cover behind the tree she had conquered." Mf), and don't let the antagonists always be so nasty, or ending up in a nasty way.