Mouse Guard, Volume 1: Fall 1152 by David Petersen, David Petersen (Artist)

From the Publisher

In the world of Mouse Guard, mice struggle to live safely and prosper amongst harsh conditions and a host of predators. Thus the Mouse Guard was formed: more than just soldiers that fight off intruders, they are guides for common mice looking to journey without confrontation from one hidden village to another. The Guard patrol borders, find safeways and paths through dangerous territories and treacherous terrain, watch weather patterns, and keep the mouse territories free of predatory infestation. They do so with fearless dedication so that they might not just exist, but truly live. Saxon, Kenzie and Lieam, three such Guardsmice, are dispatched to find a missing merchant mouse that never arrived at his destination. Their search for the missing mouse reveals much more than they expect, as they stumble across a traitor in the Guard's own ranks.

S.R. - Library Journal

First-time graphic novelist Petersen scores right away with this anthropomorphic medieval fantasy. After the war with the weasels, the Mouse Guard, headquartered at the fortress of Lockhaven, turned their energies to protecting travelers from predators in between the mice's hidden villages. When three of the Guard-Lieam, Kenzie, and the brash, young Saxon-are sent to find a missing rice merchant, they uncover a plot to overthrow Lockhaven's mistress, Gwendolyn, and replace the aid and support she provides to the villages with tyranny. Worse, they discover that rebellion's leader is himself a Guard member. The key to victory or defeat for the Guard rests in the legend of an ancient mouse hero, the Black Axe. Petersen's characterizations could be more fleshed out, but his world-building is impressive. His greatest strength is his gritty, gorgeously colored renderings of local flora and the animals themselves, including a fearsome snake and attacking crabs. His mice can be considered cute, but they're fierce warriors. Some blood in the battle scenes will keep this out of the hands of the youngest children, but audiences ages ten to adult will likely be drawn in and eagerly await future volumes. Recommended for all collections.

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