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"This feels like Redwall," I thought as I cracked the spine on my copy of Rat's Reputation and started to dig in.

"No," I corrected myself as I flipped through more and more pages. "This feels like Redwall done right."

Many furries, myself included, have fond memories of the Redwall books, but also can recall a lot of issues with the series as well: the repetitiveness of the story arcs and--perhaps more commonly among furry readers--the stereotyping of various species. With very few exceptions, if you were a mouse, badger, hedgehog, hare, hawk, or squirrel person in the Redwall universe, you were a good and virtuous gentlebeast. If you were a fox, cat, raven, weasel of any kind, or a rat, then you were cruel and evil. If you had an affinity for any of the latter species, you probably didn't think much of Brian Jacques's speciesism.

Rat's Reputation_feels like an extended middle finger pointed squarely in _Redwall's direction (or it would if the book was mean-spirited in any way): most every character reacts to the titular Rat as if he were a Redwall-esque scoundrel and the novel covers his journey to attain respect and a place in the world. However, the history of the novel is such that I cannot tell you if this reading was intentional from its author, Michael Payne, or just how I, as a young Redwall fan, interpret it.

Rat's Reputation began its life as a short story, published in the early days of the fandom in FurVersion #16 (1989). It was picked up later by Fred Patten as the earliest printed story in the Best in Show_anthology. Meanwhile, Payne was publishing a variety of other stories inspired by the setting of _Rat's Reputation, several shorts and novelettes published through the years, and a novel, The Blood Jaguar, first published by Tor in 1998 and picked up for later printings by Sofawolf Press in 2012. The full novel of Rat's Reputation came out last year from Sofawolf.

The story of Rat's Reputation begins with Rat himself being rescued from a fire by a band of roaming gypsy squirrels, thanks to the intervention of the squirrel High Ones. He is raised by the squirrels, but distrusted due to his species, and is eventually forced to leave, joining the Nibbler mouse clan of Ottersgate. There he is adopted by the Nibblers, attends school, picks up a trade in being a private investigator, gets embroiled in local mouse politics, and finds himself still distrusted, to the point where one classmate plays a prank on him that nearly gets him killed. Rat eventually sets out, with adventures both in and out of Ottersgate, to find his place in the world and understand the destiny the High Ones have set out for him.

The world of the story is full of mice and rats, hawks and owls, otters, fishers, beavers, and so on, all more animal than anthropomorph, but able to use tools and wear clothes on special occasions. The feeling is similar to The Wind in the Willows. And we see far more than just one village: Rat, like Bobcat in The Blood Jaguar, is a world traveler, working on an otter ship to head downriver and falling in with a bunch of foxes on the way to the meerkat city of Kazirazif. The timeframe of the story is hard to pin down. Various in-universe book, poetry, and pamphlets are included in between chapters and are dated in the 1700's. Although the book reminded me of Redwall, it feels more pre-industrial than medieval (but anachronisms like a Tilt-a-Whirl burst onto the scene on occasion).

One of the unique aspects of this universe is its mythology, which is front and center here just as it was in The Blood Jaguar. Many species acknowledge the twelve Curials, such as Lord Kit Fox or Lady Raven, who take mixed roles as folk tale heroes, deities (although they would be the first to point out they are not), overseers of primal aspects of the world such as the earth or the sky, and meddlers in the roles of mortals. The gypsy squirrels likewise acknowledge twelve squirrel High Ones who take similar roles. Both Curials and High Ones make a few appearances over the book, and Lord Kit Fox steals the show when he shows up, as he always does.

In The Blood Jaguar, the Curials were the instigators of the story, with the eponymous jaguar threatening the world with a cataclysmic plague. Here, though, they still work as instigators, but the stakes are far more personal than world-shattering. Rat's Reputation is an adventure novel where the adventure is Rat's life. He wants to be accepted and loved, but never is. He grows up, fights his battles, works hard, and sometimes runs away. It's a much more grounded work and Rat himself fits well as an everyman (everyrat?).

If it's not clear by now, I liked it. My biggest complaint of The Blood Jaguar is how disjointed it feels, both in the overarching story which flits Hobbit-like from one peril to the next and in the world which felt like a succession of strange lands that had nothing to do with one another. I read through it, but I don't think I'd want to read it again. On the other hand, Rat's Reputation feels like a much more cohesive story and far more realistic, despite the occasional reappearance of the Curials. Payne, it feels, even used his new novel to help patch some holes in the previous one. "Why," I wondered as I read The Blood Jaguar, "do Skink, Fisher, and Bobcat have names after their species while others do not?" That gets answered here. In fact, all three of the main cast of The Blood Jaguar show up again and their backstories expanded upon.

The artwork, done by Louvelex, is also a perfect complement to the Kenneth Grahame-esque creatures of the book. Having seen her work, it is hard to imagine any other artist capturing the spirit of the books as well as she did.

And, of course, it also made my inner child want to stand up, wave the book around and declare, "See? This is what I wanted in a Redwall sequel, Brian Jacques, you jerk!"

My faults with the book are few. Rat's early days in Ottersgate seem to linger a bit too long before more exciting things happen, although most of the events that occur pay off at the conclusion. On the other hand, the end rushes by just a bit too quickly. And while Rat's Reputation has largely improved on the disjointed feeling of its predecessor, a few plot threads feel off-kilter. Rat's investigatory capabilities are hinted once early on, made use of much later, but are strangely absent for much of the middle of the book. And then the introduction of the gypsy squirrels early on seems to serve no narrative purpose but to allow Payne to wax lyrical about the equivalence of the High Ones and Curials later on. And, finally, while I enjoyed the connections between this novel and The Blood Jaguar, a few of the connecting pieces did feel a bit forced. It sounds like I'm making lots of critiques, but this is my internal editor at work. These are nitpicks in an otherwise great story.

I give the book my hearty recommendation. Pick up a copy for yourself and maybe an extra one for that bibliophile younger cousin of yours who read through all your old dog-eared _Redwall_books and still wants more.