Book Review: Hood (Stephen R. Lawhead)

Whee! I'm REALLY on a roll with this Book Review thing, aren't I? Two more months of continuous weekly reviews and I can take off that 'Hopefully-Weekly' tag oledi...

----------------------------------------------------------




Title: Hood (Book 1 of the King Raven trilogy)
Author: Stephen R. Lawhead

Synopsis (From Amazon.co.uk):

Stephen R. Lawhead's Hood brings to life the legend of Robin Hood as never before.

The Norman conquest of England is complete - but for one young man the battle has only just begun. When Bran ap Brychan's father is murdered by Norman soldiers, he flees to London, seeking justice. The journey is long and hard - and the suffering of those he meets along the way fuels his anger.

With his demands dismissed, Bran has no choice but to return home, but a worse fate still awaits him there. His lands have been confiscated and his people subjugated by a brutal and corrupt regime.

Should Bran flee for his life or protect his people by surrendering to his father's murderers? The answer, perhaps, is known only to the Raven King - a creature of myth and magic born of the darkest shadows in the forest.


What I Liked:

• I like the Robin Hood legend, in general.
• I like spotting who is who, especially the familiar characters like Little John, Friar Tuck, and so on.
• Simple enough to read. It IS supposedly a book for 'young adults'

What I Didn't Like:

• Isn't the Robin Hood legend like, been done SO MANY TIMES before?
• For a book for young adults, loads of people seem to be killed, maimed, and chopped down cold-bloodedly. How 'young' does Lawhead think his 'Young Adults' will be anyway?
• I know it's supposed to be a re-telling of the Robin Hood legend, but the story still seems a litte too predictable and one dimensional.
• Bran is a boring hero.
• Do you need THREE BOOKS to retell a story that's been told over and over again before?

Summary:
Well, considering I finished it in two weeks or so, I can't really say I hated the book. (oh wait, I finished Da Vincci Shoecode in three days and I still hated it). But I don't LOVE it either.

I've never read Lawhead's King Arthur books, though I've heard they were good, and I actually DO have those books on my shelves. And now he's retelling another legend - Robin Hood - pulak. Me thinks he needs to get new ideas.

Now, I like Robin Hood. but I didn't like Lawhead's Robin Hood. Somehow, I don't like the idea of Bran being Robin Hood that much, because I thought he was boring, cowardly and nowehre near as noble as Robin Hood should be. (Well, come to think of it, neither was Kevin Costner, for that matter...)

Overall, the book reads easily enough - the story is simple, familiar (it IS A retelling of Robin Hood after all) and As a book for 'young adults', I suppose its a decent enough read. But personally, it's a little TOO one-dimensional and predictable for my liking. A little too "been-there-done-that."

And not only that, it's a damn TRILOGY. You'd think a retelling of an already established legend with a ready-made story could be wrapped up in one or two books at the most...