“Hood” by Stephen Lawhead (the book not the milk)

So I have been looking for the novel Hood for years and could never find it anywhere (I have a problem, I’m aware of it) (also bookstores must have a problem if I couldn’t find this anywhere). I recently finished it, and it’s pretty different from any other adaptation of Robin Hood that I’ve read.

Obviously, the whole thing is not in Sherwood Forest, but in Wales. And everyone’s names and everything are different. They usually get nicknames that correspond to the legend (like Iwan being John), but everything feels very different. (King Raven on the other hand… What, a robin wasn’t impressive enough?)

Lawhead appears to have done his research, at the end he explains his reasoning behind the setting and the characters and everything that seems a little off. What it basically boils down to is that he wanted to recreate the source of the legend, and he thinks it started in Wales and from there minstrels spread it until it was adopted by the English. An interesting theory.

The idea itself I quite like, Bran does retain enough characteristics of Robin Hood to please his fans, but also the scene he’s placed in makes it feel more plausible. And like I said, it isn’t a work lacking in research.

The writing, however, is often pretentious and a little out there. Bran’s vision is clouded in red enough to make it annoying, and the old lady who takes care of him ruins the historical feel with her witchy/otherworldly ways. And the men in the woods already are never really explained. It makes a decent story, but I was hoping for a more historical feel instead of the supernatural.

If nothing else, read it for an interesting story. And a fresh take on the old legend. Because I am quite excited to move on to the sequels now.