The Pearls of Lutra (Redwall, Book 9) (Paperback)

by Brian Jacques (Author) "Though Tansy was still only a young hedgehog, she was known to be a veritable rock of good sense by the elders of Redwall Abbey..." (more)
Key Phrases: toogle doo, warm nettle broth, corsair ferret, Sister Cicely, Abbot Durral, Friar Higgle (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
On the Isle of Sampetra, Emperor Ubla, better known as Mad Eyes, sends his lizard army on a mission to capture Redwall. Meanwhile the inhabitants of Redwall are on a mission of their own--to solve the six fiendishly difficult riddles that will lead them to the rose-colored gems, the Pearls of Lutra. As they get closer to solving to riddles, the lizards get closer to Redwall and a battle to the death begins.

One of the excellent fantasy adventure series about the mystical Redwall, Pearls of Lutra is a magical, mind-blowing adventure that never disappoints. Brian Jacques expertly weaves his web of intrigue through the pages, capturing the imagination with a stroke of a pen as if he were a wizard with a wand. Challenging, colorful, and, most importantly, readable to the point of addiction, The Pearls of Lutra is an absolute must. --Susan Harrison

From Publishers Weekly
In this hybrid mystery/adventure, the latest Redwall saga, six beautiful pearls are hidden in Redwall Abbey. A marauding mob of corsairs seeking the jewels kidnaps the Abbot as a bargaining chip, thereby setting the plot off in two distinct directions. In one, the denizens of the Abbey, led by the young hedgehog Tansy, must solve a series of riddles to find the pearls; theirs is a fun- and food-laden search that harks back to a similar hunt in the series opener, Redwall. Chapters of this quest alternate with a more epic tale, as the warrior mouse Martin leads a small band on a great chase across the open sea to rescue the Abbot. After an intriguing meeting with "sealfolk," the rescuers snatch the Abbot off an island in a bloody-and implausible-battle with the corsairs. The triumphant return of Martin and his cohorts diminishes the importance of the hunt for the pearls, a disappointing loose end; in Redwall, Matthias puts the sword he has quested after to good use. The pearls do allow Tansy, one of a number of strong female characters in key roles, the chance to prove that she is fit to be the first Abbess-but only by throwing them away. The incomplete meshing of the two story lines, and the recycling of a plot from a previous installment, suggest that even though there is plenty of adventure left, this well-loved series may finally be running out of steam. Ages 6-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Ace; Reprint edition (February 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044100508X
• ISBN-13: 978-0441005086
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (165 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #45,613 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 9 in The Redwall Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pearls of Lutra, a good read, February 27, 2001

By	Zach Dunseth (Bangkok, Thailand) - See all my reviews

This book, by Brian Jacques, is one of the many Redwall series books using animals as the main characters. In this particular Redwall book vicious pirates stole six priceless pearls from Lutra, an otter settlement. All otters, save one were murdered. The remaining otter vows vengeance; and sets off to track down the sea pirates that killed her family. So along the way, she meets a group of Redwallers, who are searching for their abbot, and the story goes on from there. Most of this book I liked, and there were great scenes of food and feasts that made my mouth water. Another thing I liked was that the characters weren't always peaceful. Martin, the Redwall warrior actually went into rages of war lust, which is unusual in fantasy books, for the main characters often will only fight in self-defense. That made the characters seem more real. The one aspect of the book I didn't like were the parts when the characters would start a ballad or talk with poems. Those parts seemed to go on forever. I usually skipped those parts (which sometimes went on for more than a page) and went on to the action scenes usually soon after. Overall, this book was interesting, and if you're a fan of the Redwall series, or just like fantasy stories, this will be a good read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great story overall !, October 2, 2002

A Kid's Review

This tale from the redwall series is
about an evil pine marten named Ublaz who send out a group to steal six mysterious pearls. In the group, there were two traitors who end up escaping from the ship with the pearls. The pearls finally ends up at redwall.Then the story unfolds from the captured abbot to the riddles of the pearls to the journey of a warrior mouse. Would they find the pearls in time to exchange them for their abbot or will Martin do something about it? you'll just have to find out by reading this amazingly well written story.

First of all this was a great book, the way the story is written kept me coming back for more. The suspense found in the extremely clever riddles is only one of many factors that made this book a real page turner. Overall i think this book is great, but not the best compared to the other Redwall books i've read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A swashbuckling tale!, August 14, 2003

By	N. Bernadsky "ski429" (Conway, AR United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Pearls of Lutra (Redwall, Book 9) (Hardcover)

The Pearls of Lutra revolves around several central characters. First and foremost is Tansy the hedgehog. It is she who undertakes the quest to find the hidden pearls, and her sections of the book are filled with the usual enderaing Redwall dialects, characters, and riddles. The riddles were fun without being incredibly difficult to solve...children would have a good time thinking them over to see if they can figure it out before Tansy and her friends.
Martin the second makes a return appearance, this time setting out to rescue kidnapped Redwallers. He proves to be his dependable self, protecting the innocent and bringing the vilians to their knees.
Grath Longfletch is an otter bent on bringing vengeance on the corsairs that slaughtered her family.
I could go on and on about so many of the characters in this book: owls, hares, the Guosim shrews, seals, and more!

I enjoyed this book for the most part. The only drawback is that I found the varying storylines more distracting than usual. There are always a lot of things going on in Redwall books, but it was difficult to keep things straight this time. Perhaps the similarity in the names of several characters was part of it.