ated books, includes more than 20 volumes so far,
and while there is some tendency to repetition,
most of the titles are surprisingly fresh and innova-
tive. The first to see print was Redwall(1986), in
which a nation of peace-loving mice is forced to
take up arms when they are invaded by a migrant
population of aggressive rats. Martin the Mouse, a
recurring character, helps overthrow the rule of the
wildcats in Mossflower(1988). Foxes steal the local
children in Mattimeo(1989), and their rescue is
complicated by the arrival of a flock of annoying
ravens. These first three novels set the tone and
background for the volumes that followed.
The best of the later novels are Mariel of Red-
wall(1991), in which seafaring mice encounter pi-
ratical rats, Salamandastron(1993), which involves
the arrival of a sinister weasel who nearly precipi-
tates a terrible war, The Outcast of Redwall(1995),
whose ferret protagonist is cast out by his own
people but who still feels ambivalent loyalties
when he is befriended by the mice whom his own
kind plan to conquer, and The Legend of Luke
(1999), set very early in Redwall’s history, an ex-
citing if somewhat offbeat pirate story. Jacques has
only recently begun a second series, this one with
human characters. A boy and his dog are kid-
napped by the legendary Flying Dutchman in
Castaways of the Flying Dutchman(2001) and en-
counter pirates and ghosts in the sequel, Angel’s
Command (2003). At least one more title is
planned. Jacques is the only major writer in recent
years to make use of talking animals in such a
consistent and effective manner.
Jakes, John(1932– )
Although John Jakes is known mostly for his his-
torical novels, he wrote mysteries, science fiction,
and fantasy novels early in his career. The major-
ity of his fantasy fiction features Brak the Barbar-
ian, a crude warrior in the tradition of the CONAN
SERIESby Robert E. HOWARD. The Brak stories
first began to appear in 1963, and included several
short stories and three novels by the time Jakes
abandoned the character. The short stories were
collected in Brak the Barbarian(1968) and The
Fortunes of Brak(1970). Although certainly not up
to Howard’s standard, Jakes was one of the first
writers to openly pattern a series after Conan, and
despite their crudeness, several of them are effec-
tively told.
The novels are considerably better, providing
more room for the author to develop both charac-
ters and setting. In Brak the Barbarian vs the Mark
of Demons(1969), Brak takes a job as a caravan
guard in order to gain passage across a desert, and
his skills are tested when the travelers are attacked
by supernatural rather than human enemies. Brak:
When the Idols Walkedwas serialized in 1964 but
did not appear in book form until 1978. The wan-
dering warrior finds himself in the middle of a war
fought with magical as well as mundane weapons.
The least interesting in the series is Brak the Bar-
barian vs the Sorceress(1969), a rather routine en-
counter with evil magic.
The Last Magicians(1969) replaces Brak with a
world weary warrior who vows never to wield his
magic sword again but who recants when the
woman he loves is in peril. Although somewhat bet-
ter written technically, the story itself lacks liveli-
ness. Paradoxically, Jakes’s best fantasy novel is a
spoof of the form, Mention My Name in Atlantis
(1972), in which a typical barbarian warrior finds
himself washed up on the shores of Atlantis in more
ways than one. The jibes are clever and biting. With
Gil Kane, he later wrote Excalibur!(1980), a long,
conventional retelling of the story of King Arthur
and the Knights of the Round Table. It is the only
fantasy title he produced after 1972 and a rather
nice rendition, but he is now remembered in the
fantasy field only for the Brak series.James and the Giant PeachRoald Dahl
(1961)
One of the difficulties in writing fiction for young
readers is that adults generally have forgotten how
children think, how they can find even the most
unlikely situations plausible, and how they can mix
frightening and funny images without seeing any
conflict. For exactly that reason Lewis CARROLL
and L. Frank BAUMare often imitated, but rarely
well. One of the few modern writers to successfully
adopt the viewpoint of a child was Roald DAHL,
who also wrote startling and acerbic adult fiction.
Dahl’s most famous children’s book is CHARLIEJames and the Giant Peach 181