Hood, by Stephen Lawhead

Lawhead has pulled off a great retelling of the Arthurian legends, yet it remains to be seen if he can do it again for Robin Hood. Hood is the first book of the Raven King trilogy. It starts off the legends of Robin Hood with some familiar characters and some new places and ideas. The Robin Hood character is named ‘Bran,’ and his loyal friend is named Iwan. Instead of the story being set in the typical Sherwood forest near Nottingham, this retelling is set in Wales at a time when it was still surrounded by a massive forest that was very easy to get lost in. In details like this, when Lawhead makes the story his own, the book reads the best and is the most interesting. Sadly, it is when he brings in most of the classic Robin Hood elements that the writing stumbles.

Near the beginning of the book, there is a scene in which two characters meet and nickname each other little John and Friar Tuck. For some reason this felt very clumsy to me, as if Lawhead was trying too hard to identify his story with the typical legends. If it had happened later in the book it would have felt better, but the placing of it seemed poor. I also had an issue with his portrayal of Bran at the beginning of the book. He was such a stereotypical character that I could map out half the story as well as his personal developments. (I mean this in a different way than already ‘knowing’ what the story was going to contain, seeing as it is a retelling of Robin Hood.) The plot seemed laid out before me in big bold letters saying, ‘This is what will be.’ I think this is a death wish for any book, unless the author is going to turn convention on its head.

All this said, Lawhead has managed to turn out another good book. It may not read as smoothly as I prefer, but as the book warms up he shows his particular genius with writing. He has a flair that can be quite realistic and yet mysterious at the same time. The story has the ability to sweep you away to a long ago time when magic never seemed far away, and freedom was a thing worth dying for. The sweetness of life mixed with the pain: a bitter drink that makes you appreciate everything more.

I have high hopes for the next book in this series: maybe Lawhead will manage to avoid the pitfalls he stumbled into in Hood. I know he has the ability to write characters that can knock your socks off, and I hope he manages to apply that to the rest of the Raven King trilogy.