The Legend Lives

How many of you are fans of the Robin Hood legend? As a kid I enjoyed watching the Robin Hood series on TV. I also made sure I caught any new films on the Robin Hood legend from the Robin and Marian movie with Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn to the Kevin Costner production. Well now the literary tale of Robin Hood has been revived by Stephen Lawhead with his trilogy, The King Raven Series. The first of the three novels is Hood. But Lawhead does not place Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest during the reign of King Richard the Lionheart. Instead Lawhead sets Robin in the time of the Norman invaders of England and under the reign of King William II or William the Red (William Rufus) in 1093. Instead of Sherwood Forest, Robin (Bran ap Brychan) is in Wales.

Steeped in Celtic Mythology and political intrigue, all the characters are gradually introduced: Little John (Iwan), Friar Tuck, Marian and Will Scarlet, Guy de Gisbourne and the Sheriff. This trilogy is a fun read.

First in the Trilogy. Introduces you to Bran, heir to his father's kingdom and forced to flee to the greenwood, after the Normans attack and kill his father and his knights as they are traveling to Lundein (London) for an audience with King William II.

Second in the Series, introduces Will Scatlocke (Scarlet). After losing everything at the hands of the Normans, forester Will Scarlet becomes a refugee and embarks on a search for the now legendary King Raven (Hood).

According to a synopsis of the series, Lawhead conjures up the ancient past and holds a mirror to contemporary realities.

I am waiting for the paperback copy of Tuck, the third book in the trilogy, to come out.