Where’s Redwall in 2006?
With the news that the latest book in the Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series, Voyage of Slaves, will see release on September 21st, 2006, fans are left to wonder at the fate of The Redwall Series.
For the past six years, September has been reserved for the latest Redwall novel. Lord Brocktree, Taggerung, Triss, Loamhedge, Rakkety Tam and High Rhulain all saw release during the month of September and there was no indication that the situation would change.
However, it is very rare for publishers to release two novels by the same author within the same timeframe. Generally, they prefer to space new books a year apart, although they have settled for as short as six months. But rarely do they release two new books in the same month. (Picture books, such as A Redwall Winter’s Tale, and companions, such as The Tribes of Redwall: Mice, are different stories.)
So, with Voyage of Slaves locked in for September 21st, where does that leave Redwall?
In all likelihood, it means that we won’t be getting a new Redwall novel this year. That the earliest we could expect one is in the March/April ’07 window. This would mark the first year since 1989 that Brian hasn’t given us a new Redwall book.
Of course, this doesn’t necessarily have to be viewed as a bad thing. A vocal faction of fans has long cried for Brian to take more time with his books, so that he could correct (what they see as) an apparent decline in quality. While one need not agree with their thesis concerning a quality decline, fans should be able to agree that the more time Brian spends on the book, the better it will be.
While everything here remains speculation and no official word has been given, it does seem increasingly likely. Redwall is on vacation for 2006.
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