The Sable Quean

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The Sable Quean, US Cover
Year Published:	2010
Illustrator(s):	Sean Rubin
US Cover Artist:	Troy Howell
Page Count:	408? 416?
ISBN:	ISBN 0399251642
ISBN-13:	ISBN 9780399251641
Chronological Order:	21
Publication Order:	21

The Sable Quean will be the twenty-first novel in the Redwall series. It is scheduled for publication February 23, 2010. Sean Rubin will be illustrating.

According to Brian Jacques, a "quean" is an old English term for "wicked lady". He also revealed that the title character is a villainess, and there will be a warrior mole.

Read the Redwall Wiki's advance review of The Sable Quean now!

[edit] Book Divisions (English)

• Book One: Travel is an Adventure!
• Book Two: Go Find the Babes!
• Book Three: Escape from Althier!
• Book Four: The Battle of Redwall Abbey

The Library of Congress has posted the following summary for the book:

The courageous Redwall creatures band together as Vilaya, the evil Sable Quean, and her horde of vermin attempt to make off with the young animals of the Abbey.

The Redwall Readers Club mailed out this summary:

Guard the Dibbuns, protect your babes! Vilaya the Sable Quean has Zwilt the Shade and her Ravagers stealing young uns! Who can stop this evil which plagues Mossflower? Where are the warriors ready to face a vermin horde? Buckler & Diggs, two Long Patrol Hares on an errand to Redwall Abbey, are thrown headlong into the struggle. Encountering new friends and old enemies they join forces with gallant Abbeybeasts. Here are the quests, the battles, the ballads and the feasts! So pack your vittles, bring your courage and have your wits about you when you join our friends on a dangerous adventure.

This third summary has also been revealed:

Something is very wrong in Mossflower Country. Dibbuns from all over have gone missing - even those from Redwall. Meanwhile, strange vermin lurk about, eyeing the Abbey covetously. What could they want, and could they be responsible for the missing babes? Vilaya, the Sable Quean, a dark and evil beauty holds the beloved children in her underground lair. And she will only accept one thing in exchange: Redwall Abbey. This time, the stakes are higher than ever for the Redwallers, and they will fight as they never have to save everything they hold dear. "The Sable Quean" is full of suspense and adventure, following in the very Redwall tradition that has enticed and held readers for over twenty years.

A fourth summary was inside the advance:

Guard the Dibbuns! Protect your babes! He appears out of thin air, and vanishes just as quickly. He is Zwilt the Shade, and he is evil. Yet he is no match for his ruler, Vilaya, the Sable Quean. Along with their hordes of vermin, these two have devised a plan to conquer Redwall Abbey. And when the Dibbuns go missing, captured one by one, their plan is revealed.

Will the Redwallers risk the fate of their Abbey and all of Mossflower Wood to save their precious young ones? Perhaps Buckler, Blademaster of the Long Patrol, can save the day. He has a score of his own to settle. And fear not, these Dibbuns are not as innocent as they appear. After all, they're from Redwall.

Pack your vittles, bring your weapon of choice, and join our friends on the dangerous search. But beware of the Sable Quean!

Nothing else is known at this time.

[edit] Release Details

• 2010, US, Philomel Books, ISBN 0399251642, Pub. Date: February 2010, Hardcover