Brian Jacques RIP: Top ten Redwall characters

​Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall series, died over the weekend of an aortic aneurysm. He was 71 years old. Jacques, who also wrote short stories and the Castaways of the Flying Dutchman series, holds a special places in the heart of a certain type of nerd who grew up reading the Redwall books. We count ourselves very much among that group, having made it all the way through 2002's Triss before we started to feel like we'd already read this story. A 23rd and final installment in the series will come out in May. In honor of the man who created one of the more awesome fantasy worlds of the past twenty-odd years, we present the top ten Redwall characters.

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10. Tansy
Species: Hedgehog
Appears in: Pearls of Lutra, The Long Patrol
Reminds us of: Mary Poppins
Why she's on the list: One of the better good-natured matronly characters in the series.

9. Grath Longfletch
Species: Otter
Appears in: The Pearls of Lutra
Reminds us of: Matt Damon's character in the Bourne series.
Why she's on the list: The revenge-bent loner was our favorite Redwall character trope, and Grath was particularly badass. This was the best of the non-core story books.

8. Basil Stag Hare
Species: Hare
Appears in: Redwall
Reminds us of: Winston Churchill
Why he's on the list: The rabbits seem like the species you'd want to get a beer with, and Basil most of all.

7. Cluny the Scourge
Species: Rat
Appears in: Redwall
Reminds us of: Napoleon
Why he's on the list: First villain written, and Jacques never topped him.

6. Bella of Brockhall
Species: Badger
Appears in: Mossflower, The Legend of Luke, Outcast of Redwall
Reminds us of: Shaq
Why she's on the list: The badgers are the most kick-ass species in the world of Redwall, and Bella's probably the most likeable of the bunch.

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