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72 of 73 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Now this is a Robin Hood Story!, August 30, 2006
Stephen Lawhead is doing for Robin Hood what he did for King Arthur in The Pendragon Cycle. You have heard the legends, you have watched the movies, now you can see a realistic portrayal.
It seems that Lawhead is at his best when talking about the Britons of Wales and in this book he takes Robin Hood and puts him in Wales in the 11th century. It works! In an afterward Stephen Lawhead explains his reasoning for this, but I just like that he is able tell a familiar story in a totally unique and different way.
The story pulls you in right away, though it takes it a while to resemble the Robin Hood legends you have heard. The characters are real and even the villains are shown as real people and you even see them questioning their actions. I received the book about a week ago, devoured it, and it left me wanting more. Thankfully, this is the first book in a trilogy.
What else can I say. This is Lawhead at his best. It is remeniscent of the Pendragon Cycle in that it is re-defining legends we already have heard, but it bases them in a real world that comes alive. It is remeniscent of "The Silver Hand" as the main character works from a hidden base, a place he lives with a group of followers. And, like the best of Lawhead, the spirituality doesn't beat you over the head but rather becomes a part of the fabric of the world you are reading about. I highly recommend this book.
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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
He Lets This Arrow Fly, October 29, 2006
Lawhead's books are arrows in his quiver, and he has let fly over the years with some remarkably true weapons. "Byzantium" was a shot to the soul. The "Song of Albion Series" and "The Iron Lance" stopped me in my tracks. On the other hand, I barely got the point of "Patrick."
When I heard there was a retelling of Robin Hood in the works, I thought: What better man for the job than Stephen Lawhead! And, thankfully, the book confirms that idea. "Hood" gives us the story of Bran ap Brychan, a reluctant prince who tries to buy back his dead father's land from corrupt English rulers, only to find himself running for his own life. At the hands of an old crone, he discovers a connection to legend and a calling to his people. Along the way, he meets Friar Tuck (a wonderfully memorable character) and Little John (given less stage time than I would've liked). We also see the maiden Marien. Although some reviewers seem to have found the story's religious and political intrigues to drag, I enjoyed them. And some of the fight scenes and spooky forest encounters are magical.
"Hood" is told with Lawhead's attention to detail, yet with a streamlined style. My chief complaint, if any, is the hurried resolution and epilogue. Yes, there's a lot of material here for the continued trilogy, but I still would've liked a more complete ending in this first volume. That said, I'll be rushing out for the sequel when it arrives. This is perfect material for Lawhead's gifts, and he let's this arrow fly.
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46 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Reading, August 28, 2006
Having read fifty or sixty nonfiction books already this year, I began to crave some lighter, easier reading. And, in a case of great timing, an Advance Reader Copy of Stephen Lawhead's Hood arrived in the mail just a few days ago. Lawhead, known for writing fantasy and historical fiction, has set his sights on the greatest of the English heroes, Robin Hood. But rather than simply retelling the oft-told story, he has re imagined Robin Hood and has attempted to arrive at the source for this great story. This is a "completely re-imagined epic of the man known as Robin Hood--told in a far more earthy, eerie and elemental way than ever before." In a lengthy appendix to the book, the author explains his belief that the story of Robin Hood may well have originated in Wales and provides ample proof that this just may be the case.
And so it is that the story of Hood is set not in Sherwood Forest, as we might expect, but in the dense, primeval forests of Wales. The son of a minor Welsh king, Bran ap Brychan finds his world torn apart when his father and his father's army are massacred, leaving the young prince to ascend the throne. But, fearing for his life, Bran is forced to flee. He eventually wanders into the forest and establishes himself as king of those who have fled before him into the safety of the woods. He is a disturbed and flawed hero, but one who begins to grow into his legend as a hero who fought on behalf of the poor, displaced and persecuted. The usual cast of characters, Marian, Little John and Friar Tuck are all worked into the story, though once again, not in the way we've come to expect. The villains, also different from what we've seen in book and film, are well-crafted and not so evil that they are unbelievable.
This novel, which is due for publication in September of this year, is very well-written and tells a very intriguing story. It is difficult to do justice to as well-known and enjoyable story as Robin Hood, but Lawhead does so successfully. To tell the truth, I can't think of the last time I enjoyed a novel as much as this one (though I'll have to admit that this may speak more to the quality and quantity of fiction I read than the quality of this particular book!). Still, I found Hood to be a fun, exciting take on a great story. And what's more, this is only the first novel in a series of three, so there will be much more to enjoy in the future.
While I am glad to recommend Hood I feel it necessary to point out that the book should probably be considered PG. There is a very small amount of rough language (words such as "[...]" and a handful of French equivalents), a few hints toward sexual activity, though certainly nothing graphic or voyeuristic, and a fair bit of violence, though nothing too graphic. And, of course, Robin Hood could not be told without at least a few people being impaled with arrows. Still, this is probably not a version of Robin Hood one would want to read with the family. But again, I enjoyed it tremendously and am already eagerly anticipating the sequels.
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