The Legend of Luke
UK first edition cover
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| Author | Brian Jacques |
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| Cover artist | Chris Baker |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Redwall |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Hutchinson (UK) & Philomel (US) |
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Publication date
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1999 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 374 (UK Hardback) & 374 (US Hardback) |
| ISBN | (UK Hardback) & (US Hardback) |
| OCLC | 41645963 |
| Preceded by | Marlfox |
| Followed by | Lord Brocktree |
The Legend of Luke is a fantasy novel by Brian Jacques, published in 1999. It is the 12th book and fourth chronologically in the Redwall series.
A young hedgehog maid visits Redwall Abbey and sings a half-remembered song recounting the adventures of a warrior called Luke. This chance meeting begins a tale of two quests: that of a son to find his father and that of a father to avenge the murder of his beloved wife.
The son is Martin the Warrior, founder of Redwall, who sets forth from the Abbey seeking the truth about the father he barely knew. His journey takes him home to the northland shore, meeting friends and enemies, old and new, and leading him to an extraordinary shipwreck. The wreck, the Arfship, is home to three ancient veteran warriors who have in their possession a dusty old volume.
The book begins during the construction of Redwall Abbey, when a roving female hedgehog named Trimp visits the abbey and sings a song to help the workers lifting a beam. Martin the Warrior recognizes his father, Luke the Warrior, mentioned in the lyrics and asks Trimp more about him. He decides to go on a quest to learn more about his father. Martin, Gonff the Mousethief, Dinny, and Trimp befriend an orphaned woodlander squirrel named Chugger, the bird Krar Woodwatcher, as well as two brother otters, Folgrim (who is very close to becoming feral, having filed his teeth to points, and even eating vermin after he kills them) and his older brother Tungro. When they reach the northlands, Martin meets his father's friends: the old mouse, Vurg, and Beauclair Fethringsol Cosfortingham, an exuberant old hare. They show him a book titled In the Wake of the Red Ship, an account of Luke's life.
The plot then flashes back to Martin's birth to Luke and Sayna. Luke was the leader of a tribe of mice who lived an idyllic life for many seasons until Vilu Daskar, the murderous captain of the pirate ship Goreleech, attacked the settlement and killed Sayna, as well as many others with his Sea Rogues. Luke vowed revenge upon Daskar and soon had an opportunity when Reynard Chopsnout, master of the Greenhawk, sailed in, hoping to fix his broken vessel. Luke and his tribe slew Chopsnout and his crew and captured the ship. Together with Vurg, Beau, and others, they sailed off. Martin, now older, wished to accompany his father, but Luke declined, giving Martin his sword, and the chance to name the ship, which he dubbed Sayna.
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