Pearls of Lutra by Brian Jacques

A book in the Redwall series (not necessarily to be read in a specific order, but I suggest at least reading the book Redwall first).

Plot: a group of Redwall creatures go on a treasure hunt following some clues written in the form of riddles. The treasure? Six priceless, rose-colored pearls! Unfortunately, an evil warlord named Ublaz is also searching for the pearls, and will do anything to get them, including murder an entire village of peaceful creatures, save one. This grudge-holding warrior searches for Ublaz to get her revenge.

Comments: I like this book and the entire series (there's a lot of books) very much. This would be counted as fiction, but partly fantasy, I suppose, because the main characters are all animals. Mice, hares, moles, and squirrels are some of the people at Redwall, and the pirates and thieves of the land are generally ferrets, rats, and foxes. This is a creative way to write stories, and you forget after a while that the characters aren't human. The descriptions and imagery makes me imagine humanized animals. Strange, but very interesting. The plot's strong and easy to follow, especially if you've already read books from the Redwall series.

I sometimes get annoyed at the lack of some human traits in the characters, though they aren't exactly characteristics to envy. For example, the Redwall creatures apologize for saying things I hadn't considered rude, or for interrupting. I understand that they are meant to be good, kind people, but it gets annoying when they always are completely gentle, respectful, and unreal. I have a really hard time imagining anyone THAT polite, and it makes me feel weird.

Rating: I'm rating this book a six out of ten.