Hood

3 1/2 stars

Hood is the first book in the new “King Raven” trilogy by Stephen Lawhead. Scarlet, the second book in the series, is also available, but the concluding volume Tuck has not yet been released. Much like the tales of King Arthur, Robin Hood is a story that has evolved over the years and Lawhead wanted to tell the tale set during the time it seems to have first appeared. Thus Hood begins a version of the classic legend set in 1093 during the reign of William II.

Complete Review:
http://fantasycafe.blogspot.com/2008/05/review-of-hood.html

Robin Hood as set in 11th century Wales with the British resisting the French. It really dragged in parts, & the ending was unsatisfying. Robin is kind of interesting but mostly he is mopey & this is the least charismatic band of merry men I've ever seen. I bought the whole trilogy on sale so will at least try Scarlet, the 2nd.

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Hood is the first novel in Stephen Lawhead's latest series, the King Raven Trilogy, which is a historical fantasy based on the Robin Hood legend. Lawhead places his story in Wales after the conquest of Britain by the Normans and during the reign of William the Red. (If that sounds a bit odd, Mr. Lawhead gives several convincing reasons for this at the end of the book – you might want to read that first.)

The Normans are encroaching into Wales, confiscating land, and generally mistreating the Welsh. Bran, a prince of one of the Welsh districts whose father was just killed by the Normans, has been driven from his castle. His people think him dead and have no hope for regaining their former way of life. Not that Bran, an irresponsible womanizing rogue, would have been considered a potential savior anyway, but after the Normans injure him severely, Bran is rescued and nursed back to health by a strange spiritual leader who recognizes his potential. Bran comes a long way (without losing his personality), but things are still unsettled at the end of the book.

Stephen Lawhead's writing and story-telling abilities have steadily improved over the years. I found his Pendragon series tough to stick with (although that was partly due to having read too much Arthurian legend, perhaps), but the Albion series was quite good. This latest book, however, shows that Mr. Lawhead has been steadily honing his story-telling skills to perfection. The writing was perfectly clear and lively, the descriptions aptly set the scenes, the plot was quick and entertaining, and the dialogue was rich and realistic. Lawhead is well-known for performing extensive research before he writes, and it shows in this novel. I really felt like I was back in 11th century Wales!

I've always enjoyed Lawhead's complex characters. In Hood, Bran is the “reluctant hero,” but somehow he doesn't come across as a stereotype – perhaps because we clearly see his flaws as he flies into rages, remorselessly kills people who get in his way, and forgets to pine over the woman he said he loves. Some of the most intriguing characters are the several religious leaders who represent the Catholic Church. Some are devout, some are corrupt, and Lawhead deftly uses their points of view to show us that being religious does not make a person good. There are good religious people, and there are bad people who use religious institutions to bring glory (and riches) to themselves instead of to God. Furthermore, through the points of view of the religious people, we see that there are many gray moral areas. For example, God loves truth, but is it right to tell a lie when the truth would cause innocent people to be harmed? God loves justice and mercy, so should we obey or disobey an unjust ruler? Lawhead never asks us these questions directly, and he certainly never answers them for us, but they are there for the discerning reader to contemplate.

I listened to Hood in audiobook format. Despite some unconvincing accents and a few mispronunciations, the reading was good. The reader was enthusiastic, well-paced, and had a generally pleasant voice. This was a good format for this novel, and I recommend it.
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