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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
First book of the King Raven trilogy. This is an adaptation of the tale of Robin Hood set in Wales. The "rob the rich to feed the poor" element is changed to a yong Welsh prince's efforts to save his people from oppression and colonization. The second and third books of the trilogy are "Scarlet" and "Tuck" respectively. The series is very adventurous, gripping, and touching.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m a sucker for a Robin Hood retelling. This one was a good story though a little bit more Batman than I’m used to in a Robin Hood story. I wasn’t all that into how the characters were done here though. Bran especially was just annoying as he was supposed to be the eventual hero here. Really his only saving grace was how absolutely terrible the Franks were.
A fresh look at Robin Hood, I like that he did his research and put Hood in the time frame and place that he thought best. I will definitely continue the series to see whether I like it. I don't know why it was in the Christian Fiction section though.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
I loved this book! It took me a while to get through it because of it's size and somewhat slow pacing in my opinion. But it was worth every second! I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys retellings and good old-fashioned adventure!
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I kept reading hoping that the plot would pick up and it didn't until the very end of the book. I was very excited to pick up a Robin Hood retelling. It seemed like a novel idea and I greatly enjoyed the Robin Hood animated film as a child (I watched it more times than I could count). However, this book was a disappointment. From the entire middle 300 pages of the book is simply filled with political machinations and the main character being ill. Until the very end of the plot we see nothing of the mysterious band of thieves lead by prince of the conquered realm that we are led to expect. If the last 150 pages had been the entire novel, I would have given it a much higher rating.
Whilst I enjoyed the story of this book, I found it a bit difficult to understand in some places. I found it jumped around a bit too much and took me to almost the end of the book to work out who all the characters were and then even more ones would be introduced. However, the twist in the Robin Hood legend is good.
My favorite author Stephen R. Lawhead has tackled the retelling of the story of one of my childhood heroes, Robin Hood. He set the story back further than the usual telling, and makes Robin Hood into a Welsh Prince, at a time when Normans have taken over and are bullying the Saxon and the Welsh. Really good book, am looking everywhere for a mass paper back copy of the next one, Scarlet. The problem with buying new books is that they always come out in that big paper back size first, and that is just not the right size to cuddle up and read all day with.