Thank you for Redwall
As many of my fellow fantasy literature lovers know Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall series as well as many other stories, died on Saturday February 5th 2011. For some reason this news hit me strangely, it actually affected me and I felt really bad even though I haven’t read a Redwall book or even thought about one in many years. I realized that even though its been so long, Brian Jacques introduced me to fantasy literature with his book Redwall.
Over the last few days I have been thinking about how much this event influenced my life and still does. Redwall was the first real “big book” (novel over 100 pages) that I read. I was given the book as a Secret Santa gift in fourth grade and read it with zest. It was key to unlocking my love of reading and my love of great fantasy literature.
This small, seemingly insignificant book marked a turning point in my life. As I explored the works of other fantasy authors I came upon JRR Tolkien and RA Salvatore, my two favorite fantasy authors. I drank in these books and relished their content.
These books made me a much better writer as well. As I read I realized the might of the pen and the power of the written word. I have written articles, papers, essays, poetry, and my own short fantasy works, looking all the time at the fantasy novels that I had read.
Another facet of my life that this love of fantasy literature has unlocked is my love of the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons. While I have been ridiculed and made fun of just for playing the game, I knew inside that a good majority of the people that played this game were the more intelligent parts of society. Granted some of the players are socially awkward at times, these people have become some of my best friends and most are people I stay in contact with over the years.
While I could write much more, most people have probably stopped reading already. So I will begin the end with a quote:
“My values are not based on violence. My values are based on courage, which you see time and time again in my books. A warrior isn’t somebody like Bruce Willis or Arnold Schwarzenegger. A warrior can be any age. A warrior is a person people look up to.” -Brian Jacques
So in ending I will say, thank Brian, for your endless contribution to my life and the lives of many others. You are a true warrior. You will be missed.
