So today is a review of Hood, the first book in Stephen R Lawhead's Ravenking trilogy. Because that's the one I've read.
I have to start off by explaining something. I'm kind of a Robin Hood fangirl. It's pretty much my favourite folk tale and I was obsessed with it as a kid. I loved the Disney movie (although I was a wee bit disapointed that they were all animals...but what can you do?). I loved the computer game (I even made my own strategy guide, complete with drawings)...you get the idea. Many hours were spent running around in the forest (or any small grove of trees) pretending to be Maid Marian...
I've never quite outgrown it.
So when I found out that Stephen R Lawhead (who I've loved for almost as long, ever since Mom read us the Dragon King books as kids) had written a Robin Hood book my thought process was pretty much: Robin Hood + Lawhead = obviously the best book ever!
I think I'm trying to say that I might be a wee bit biased here.
Seriously though, this is an excellent book. The idea is that instead of just retelling the story, Lawhead did some research and came up with a theory as to what the origins of the legend could be. So it's not the Robin Hood you're used to reading about. His name is Bran, and he's a Welsh prince. When Normans kill his Father the King and take his land, Bran is forced to decide wether he will take responsibility for his people, or run away to safety.
I found the historical aspect of the book to be really interesting, and the story and characters are fantastic. So in conclusion. Go read Hood! Do it now! (why are you still here?!)
Also, as I was going to mention yesterday...if you want to know more about Lawhead or any of his books, you should check out his webpage. I think it's a fantastic site (and you should know by now that I don't say that about everyone!) and has some information about all his books as well as a bio and a forum :)
Also, you should read Byzantium, which used to be my favourite book by him :P
