r/eulalia

Let’s say that Brian wrote one more book, and he decided that one of the major characters would be an animal that isn’t normally featured in the series (like the hamster in Triss, for example, or the wolverines in Rakkety Tam). Which animal would you want it to be?

For my part, I’d want to see a coyote. And specifically, I'd want that coyote to be a morally grey character whose best friend is a badger. I've always been fascinated how badgers and coyotes have been seen working as a team in the wilderness, and it'd be so cool to see that dynamic translated to the world of Redwall. Especially how they'd be perceived by the good and bad creatures of Brian's universe. And maybe the coyote does have some vermin tendencies, maybe they're a sly and clever creature with a mean streak, but they're also determinedly loyal to their badger friend, fearless and ferocious when cornered, with a personal code that they don't break.

My brother worked a bookstore in 2007 and bought me this 19 years ago

Mattimeo 1st Uk edition 1st printing, now is time to search for Mossflower 💪🏻

Enjoyers of Redwall! With the recent cancellation of Netflix's Redwall series, I was thinking about what makes it hard to bring a book to film, or in general, a story from one medium to another. I've been having some related challenges as I continue writing Capyhero.

I have a critical and invested reader, a pre-alpha reader I suppose you could call it, who is reading chapters as soon as I write them for Capyhero. She comes from a literature background and is highly educated in that field. But she has no video game experience and I think a lot of my challenges come from the fact that Capy (my main protagonist) was initially concepted as a silent protagonist for an action RPG. She has reminded me more than once to "stop making Capy your soulless avatar." lol

I recently finished drafting a chapter that was especially problematic for her (the one with the rough sketches in the images above). Capy walks with a knowledgeable elder character and is given a lot of information that he (and the reader) would not have known otherwise. My reader felt that this was too convenient and too passive for the main protagonist, but this type of moment is quite common in fantasies, especially games (escort mission, anyone?)

I suppose my issue is that Capy is set up as a fish-out-of-water character, learning a strange new world through the intriguing characters he meets, who have been in this world a long time. I realize, Capy's journey throughout the beginning of Book 1 is quite similar to Chihiro's in Spirited Away.

Which brings me to storytelling for different target audiences: folks that were excited about Netflix's Redwall, were you expecting the film medium to feel like the books? What major changes do you think needed to happen between the way the books tell the story vs the (now cancelled) animation?

I personally enjoy the cinematography and composition decision-making that goes into good visual storytelling and I find that I write as if I am "playing" as Capy, similar to how I might play Link in the Legend of Zelda series. This probably explains why I think Capyhero needs so many illustrations. But maybe this isn't "good writing?"

To be fair, a lot of my test readers really enjoyed the chapter, but I have to take my friend's criticism seriously, especially with her more bookish background.

Anyways, folks here were really supportive last time I shared something about Capyhero. Redwall mostly features noble creatures from the rodentia order, so please enjoy some character art from Capyhero that belong to that order. Thanks for you time!

Hi everyone! I shared this with the folks on the other Redwall sub and the feedback was super positive so I was thinking you all might enjoy it too! Please let me know if this doesn’t belong here and I can take it down/modify it right away.

My name is Tyler and I'm the author of Capyhero. What is it and why am I sharing it with this group? Capyhero is an illustrated fantasy about a young capybara who finds himself in a strange world called Stratum settled entirely by animals. I'm currently writing Book 1: The Blue Blanket, which introduces our hero, Capy. He awakens with only a tattered blue blanket and the fading memory of a boy named Reed.

It definitely takes inspiration from Redwall, especially for its deep worldbuilding in an anthropomorphic fantasy. There are villages and communities of animals, each with distinct cultures, architecture, history, beliefs, etc. The vibe is a bit different though. Growing up, I really loved Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away and when I was even younger, The Neverending Story. More recently, works like Undertale and Outer Wilds have really stuck with me. Capyhero explores some heavier underlying themes through one hero's heartfelt journey.

The story of Capyhero has been on my mind for about 10 years. I actually tried to turn it into a video game back then, a top down action RPG like Zelda from classic SNES, but the technical ambition was too great while I was working full time at a "real" job. So I shelved it for like 7 years. Then I had my own kids recently and I revisited Capyhero. The story held up, and actually felt more emotionally resonant to me, after becoming a father. So I decided to turn it into a middle grade fantasy series. My hope is by the time my kids are about 10 years old, I'll have 2 or 3 books in this series published! One can dream, right?

I'm about 70% through the manuscript and Jennifer Rees will be editing Capyhero in July (can’t mention her biggest project, but look her up!). Then I hope to release it via Kickstarter in 2027.

Anyways, I wanted to share some of the page spreads from the book. I've been working with u/NickThaGreek on the illustrations. I had a brief stint in commercial art production, but Nick is the super talented traditional artist behind all of these pieces. The process has been amazing in a very simple way. I provide a sketch and the written scene of what I want illustrated, Nick draws with a fountain ink pen on real paper, scans it, and I place it into the book, wrapping the text in a way that I hope will create a joyful reading/viewing experience. The finished book will have about 100 illustrations spread across 250 pages or so. I think, when this is all done, it will be a beautiful thing to have on the bookshelf.

We want to keep all of the art traditionally done (even stuff like the ink wash at the top of the page), which definitely complicates the brainstorming and revision process, but in an age of ai-slop, this is something I think is non-negotiable. We want to make sure we can proudly say Capyhero is made by humans.

Super thrilled to be finally sharing this publicly! But thanks for letting me and please feel free to ask me anything.

This is meant to be about the book version, not the tv show, btw. It's just that the screenshot was too good not to include.

Anyway, I get that Sela is a deeply untrustworthy character, but from what I can recall, she made her deal with Constance in good faith. It's not like she proposed a meeting where Cluny and his rats would ambush Constance the minute she arrived. And it's not like she was offering fake plans, either, as far as she knew anyway. This was her offering Redwall some genuine help in their fight against Cluny. All she wanted was a reward for her services, which anyone would surely find reasonable to ask for, no?

And it's not as if she was asking for the sky, either. She left the ball in Constance's court to decide what a sufficient reward might be for these plans. For all we know, Sela would have been content with a handful of silverware or some trinkets to sell down the road. And instead, Constance takes the plans and then cold-cocks Sela so that she's left unconscious in the forest. For all Constance knew or cared, Sela would be eaten by Asmodeus, or else she'd be killed by Cluny when he found out what she'd been up to.

Even when I was a kid reading the book, I thought that was really cold and unjust of Constance.

Hi everyone, just sharing the first book (Spring) of a four part animal fantasy series I wrote inspired by and dedicated to the memory of Brian Jacques and my brother who I grew up with reading Brian's beloved series.

I get a free Ebook promotion to use every once in a while so wanted to share with you all if you'd like to read it, here's the link to it all you need is the kindle app for IOS or Android

Last of the Wild Days: Book One - Spring eBook : Loney, Daniel J: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

I’m binge reading all my redwall books I finished loamhedge and I’m just about to finish outcast of redwall now I can’t decide which 1 of these I should read next

I write a substack where I connect literature to problems of today. I recently wrote about Lord Brocktree, one of my favorite Redwall books. I looked at how the book presents a picture of a great warrior as someone who has all kind of traits beyond lethality. Although Brocktree is a great fighter, he doesn't actually fight that much. Instead of just focusing on fighting, Brocktree cares for others, mentors younger creatures, and shows mercy.

Check it out if you're interested. https://oldbooksfornow.substack.com/p/lord-brocktree-lethality-and-restraint?r=6yfkfj