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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
A fascinating take on the Robin Hood legend. Stephen Lawhead has taken the story and set it in 1093 Wales. Bran ap Brychan is heir to the throne of Elfael. After his father's death and after his kingdom is overtaken by Norman invaders and the people enslaved, Bran flees and is presumed dead. He takes refuge in the forest near the Welsh border. Severely injured, Bran is nursed back to health by a mysterious, mystical old crone who convinces him that his duty and honor lie within Elfael. Bran soon finds himself the reluctant leader of those Elfael refugees who fled into the forest when the Normans arrived.
This first installment of the King Raven trilogy takes us through the early beginnings of the man who will be known as Robin Hood. We also meet Little John, Tuck and Merian. I hope that Little John, especially, gets more character development as his role was very minor here. Tuck is delightful and it will be interesting to see how Merian's character evolves as the story continues. A bit of mysticism blended with faith in God brings a richness to the story which I had not anticipated.
I've seen reviews that call the ending abrupt and the story slow, I didn't find this at all. Lawhead mixes English with Welsh and while some of the names, places and words were a bit difficult to understand, it didn't detract from the story. I appreciated the pronunciation guide provided at the end of the book.
Lawhead also provides an epilogue which explains his reasoning for setting the story in Wales and not in England. He provides historical examples of how the legend not only evolved but could have originated somewhere other than Nottingham in England.
Overall, an interesting, compelling story and a relatively easy read. I am anxious to see how the trilogy progresses.
This first installment of the King Raven trilogy takes us through the early beginnings of the man who will be known as Robin Hood. We also meet Little John, Tuck and Merian. I hope that Little John, especially, gets more character development as his role was very minor here. Tuck is delightful and it will be interesting to see how Merian's character evolves as the story continues. A bit of mysticism blended with faith in God brings a richness to the story which I had not anticipated.
I've seen reviews that call the ending abrupt and the story slow, I didn't find this at all. Lawhead mixes English with Welsh and while some of the names, places and words were a bit difficult to understand, it didn't detract from the story. I appreciated the pronunciation guide provided at the end of the book.
Lawhead also provides an epilogue which explains his reasoning for setting the story in Wales and not in England. He provides historical examples of how the legend not only evolved but could have originated somewhere other than Nottingham in England.
Overall, an interesting, compelling story and a relatively easy read. I am anxious to see how the trilogy progresses.
I really enjoy reimaginings of classic tales, and this one was pretty good. I was more disoriented more by the shift in time period (11th century instead of 12th century) than the shift in location (Whales rather than England), but over all, I thought the alternate setting worked just fine. I liked Lawhead's explanation of why he decided to do that almost more than I liked the story itself, though. It was just a little dry.
Recommended by: Jeremy S.
Recommended by: Jeremy S.
I did not get into this one as much as I have some of Lawhead's other books. Still a decent read but I have not decided whether to pick up the rest of the set.
The Robin Hood legend set in Wales. Bran ap Brychan is the heir of Elfael, on the Welsh Marches. His father is ambushed and killed by Norman invaders, and then Bran heads to Lundein for reparation from William the Red, which he does not receive. After nearly losing his life to the very same Normans, who are currently ruling his people with an iron fist, Bran takes refuge in the Great Forest and becomes Rhi Bran--the King Raven--and terrorizes the Normans, giving to the oppressed Welsh when he can.
Mérian is the daughter of a neighbor king and a one-time fling of Bran's. She is being courted by Baron Neufmarché who, although married, seems to be setting his sights elsewhere. Her role in the whole thing is unclear. Friar "Tuck" is a Saxon priest, "Little John" is Iwan, the former champion of Elfael.
Will be interesting to see where it goes.
Mérian is the daughter of a neighbor king and a one-time fling of Bran's. She is being courted by Baron Neufmarché who, although married, seems to be setting his sights elsewhere. Her role in the whole thing is unclear. Friar "Tuck" is a Saxon priest, "Little John" is Iwan, the former champion of Elfael.
Will be interesting to see where it goes.
What did I think? short version? not bad but it took til nearly the end for me to really care much about the hood aka when he was really getting to be the hood aka the backstory which is the point of the book was unnecessary . I'll do a proper review, probably tomorrow. zzzzz time now that I finished it.
Very enjoyable version of the tales. I like that he changed the time and placement of the classic Robin Hood stories.
TGF an audiobook to pronounce Welsh
Superhero Origin Story, extended edition
Breaking down a noble brat and recreating him with myths and legends
In general, I enjoyed this book. I was in the mood to revisit one of my favorite folklores, Robin Hood. I liked the Welsh setting and being set in post-Norman conquest of England. Maybe because it reminded me of similar time period of Parke Goodwin's "Sherwood", I was a bit confused for a while which William the story was set under. I wasn't as familiar with William Rufus and his rise to power as his father the Conqueror. The only thing that annoyed me a bit was that this first book in this series is pretty much an extended origin for Bran/Robin. Since he's a character that is known pretty well, I was becoming impatient as the book went well past the 2/3 point for Bran to fully realize himself as the legendary highwayman. Still, a worthy book in the pantheon of Robin Tales and worth checking out.
Superhero Origin Story, extended edition
Breaking down a noble brat and recreating him with myths and legends
In general, I enjoyed this book. I was in the mood to revisit one of my favorite folklores, Robin Hood. I liked the Welsh setting and being set in post-Norman conquest of England. Maybe because it reminded me of similar time period of Parke Goodwin's "Sherwood", I was a bit confused for a while which William the story was set under. I wasn't as familiar with William Rufus and his rise to power as his father the Conqueror. The only thing that annoyed me a bit was that this first book in this series is pretty much an extended origin for Bran/Robin. Since he's a character that is known pretty well, I was becoming impatient as the book went well past the 2/3 point for Bran to fully realize himself as the legendary highwayman. Still, a worthy book in the pantheon of Robin Tales and worth checking out.
It was a pretty good story, it took quiet a while for me to get actually into the story. I'm intrigued as to what's going to happen next.
A very good and interesting take on the Robin Hood legend; Lawhead makes an excellent case for the "authentic" origin!
Lawhead's retelling of the Robin Hood folklore is at times enthralling, but mostly overly verbose. His Wales setting was definitely engrossing, but the pacing sometimes detracted from my interest in it. It was fun to recognize the traditional characters of Friar Tuck, Little John, etc. in the new era and setting. There is an obvious attractiveness about this book, so I would heartily recommend it to the right person. I am almost tempted to read the rest of the trilogy, but then I think about how long it took me to get through this one...