Orphans of Mossflower (Redwall)

Redwall Opens Its Gates Again

Orphans of Mossflower brings Brian Jacques' animal-fantasy saga back with a 23rd novel, 15 years after The Rogue Crew appeared shortly after his death. The new book is credited to Jacques and arrives alongside a boxed set of the preceding 22 novels, tying the return to Redwall's 40th anniversary.

A Long-Suspected Story Comes to Light

Readers have wondered about an unpublished 23rd adventure since a 2010 Penguin contest promised that its winner could name a character in the next Redwall novel. When that character failed to appear in The Rogue Crew, the missing name became a clue that another manuscript or story plan might exist. The announced title gives that old mystery a real destination at last, even though an official synopsis has not yet been released.

One Map Hints at Trouble for the Abbey

The contest winner later identified the character as Reisa Kartwell, a cartographer whose map helps the Redwallers travel quickly to Salamandastron while the Abbey is under attack. That detail offers the clearest glimpse of the adventure, but it does not yet establish where the book sits in the series chronology or how complete Jacques' original work was. For longtime readers, its importance is already plain: Mossflower Wood has another tale waiting after more than a decade of silence.