Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

So, I've read another Robin Hood book.  I'm rather fond of Robin Hood, and it's really interesting to look at all the different varieties of stories there are about him.  I love how he, and other central characters, can be subtly or significantly recast, depending on the author, and how the incidents chosen and the era used to set the story in all alter the books to make many of them quite distinct.

This one, by Simon Green, is definitely one of the better versions I've read.  I like the opening, with Robin in prison in the Holy Land, breaking out with the aid of a Saracen, only to return home and find his father executed for devil worship and his house burned down.  I'm not entirely sure whether there was still much paganism in England at this point, but it does make a good addition to the story, and unlike in Angus MacDonald's 'Outlaw', Robin isn't involved in it at all.

All the characters you'd expect are there, from the evil Sheriff to Robin, Friar Tuck, Little John (in this one married and with children, which I don't recall seeing in the others, or at least, not as a major plot point), and with the addition of Azeem the Saracen who's vowed to remain by Robin's side until he can save his life and thus redeem himself of that debt.  Azeem may be in one of the other versions I've read, but not as a major character like in this one.

It's a good read, there's plenty of action, stirring defences of liberty, and of course the romance between Robin Hood and Maid Marion, which isn't made a great deal of.  Also, Maid Marion is nice and competent, which is always good :)

My only criticism is that it felt a bit short, and the ending almost read as if the author had been ordered to keep it under a certain word count, and had to rapidly cram in the last few bits of action in order to meet the target.  Other than that, it was certainly an enjoyable version of the legend.

Hereward

I was browsing through Fantastic Fiction, looking at new authors (as you do, when you really can't face doing any more uni work and it's the holiday so there's not a whole lot to do), and happened to spot this one.  The cover, I confess, grabbed my attention.  Let's face it, we all judge books by their covers, or you'd never be able to make a decision about what you wanted to read.  Anyway, clicking on it, I discovered that this was based on an old English legend I'd never heard of...  Well, as a great lover of Robin Hood (I'm up to six different interpretations of it at the moment, with another on the way from ebay), I thought it was well worth a go.

Ah, before I go any further, I should perhaps say this version is by James Wilde, and should be easy enough to distinguish from others as it seems to be the only recent one.

Anyway, this is a fascinating read.  I'm going to be doing the period in which it's set next year at uni (and I can't wait!), so it was interesting from that perspective.  The sources from that period are so scanty that you can basically make up what you will, but it did feel fairly solidly based.  I'm not an expert yet, probably never will be an expert expert, but I would hope I'll know a bit more this time next year.

Hereward is a brilliant hero, though not without his flaws and darker side, and I love the monk, Alric, who becomes his constant companion after a chance meeting.  Alric is also portrayed very sympathetically, which often isn't the case with churchmen in historical novels (you only have to look at Angus Donald's version of Robin Hood, called Outlaw, which has a horrendous priest).  Mind, the early church is not completely safe from attack.  A rich cast of characters, and a great 'feel' to the story keep it compelling, along with some great sword play and action scenes.  I'll definitely be keeping my eye out not just for anything else by James Wilde (this is a debut novel, but he's definitely left space for a sequel--perhaps a Hereward trilogy is in the making?) but also anything else about Hereward.  The story's brilliant, and I love the fact that Hereward isn't portrayed as perfect, and also the way the story manages to cover a fairly long time span without feeling contrived.

This is a fantastic book, I thoroughly recommend it.  Rescues a great hero from obscurity (or reinvents a great hero), and provides a brilliant adventure/historical novel too.