Mouse Guard

You could think of this as “Lord of the Rings” with mice instead of magic. It’s a miniature medieval adventure with cute furry beasts in adorable little houses—but the violence is quite graphic, and the conflict pretty intense. In a nutshell: the mouse civilization, perpetually besieged by countless predators, is now threatened by a secret traitorous coup brimming within their own military ranks. If this premise does not cause chills to run up your spine, then frankly we have nothing to talk about.

The book’s greatest success (aside from the wonderful, lush artwork) is its constant simmer of excitement. Conflict, secrets, and adventure keep the pages turning at a brisk pace, and the characters never have a moment to slow down and wonder what to do next—this is an adventure, by gum, and this is no time to let our adrenaline drop. In particular, a creative battle with a snake and an undercover mission elicit real gasps.

But this constant in-the-moment-ness is also a shortcoming. While it’s a great delight to scramble with heros into town as they stage battles and secretly infiltrate the rebel army, a tiny bit of backstory would be helpful, too. We get a brief, rewarding peek at one character’s legendary past; this flashback establishes his role in the fight, creates suspense, and immediately elevates our interest. So why not connect his history to that of the other heros? At times, it is clear that we SHOULD care about what’s happening, but less clear WHY.

In particular, the Big Surprise Twist is a let-down. When the identity of a conspirator is revealed, our response is more of a shrug than a gasp: “wait, who was that guy? Why is that a big deal?”

But that one stumble in the rhythm of the story is forgivable. Even with less context than we’d have liked, it’s difficult not to get swept along with these memorable characters—I was afraid at first that I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart, but the strength of their dialogue, posture, and attitudes draws the reader into each one’s struggle.

A terrific, brilliant story; weeks after reading, I still find myself daydreaming about it.