"Hood" has only a passing similarity with the story we might think of as "Robin Hood". The very basic premise, some of the characters, era and politi..Show More »cal landscape were much the same, though different enough I did not feel I could predict where the story might lead.
I had trouble "putting the book down". It flows very well; the narrator does an excellent job maintaining the characters and mood of each scene. I often found myself closing my eyes, transported to a different time and place, able to visualize the story as it was read. Very nicely done!
On the negative side, it felt as though the novel’s theme was closer to some of Lawhead's other books than it was to Robin Hood. The only choppy scene transitions in "Hood" were where the author chose to include references to “Albion”, or to try and weave in the story of the princely warrior who could save the world - beautiful maiden/old hag and all. These allusions weren't needed - "Hood" stands very well on its own. I caught myself wondering, albeit rarely, if Lawhead was “plagiarizing” some of his previous works in order to fill out the book, which detracted from its overall quality. It occasionally felt/read as if "Hood" was written simply as a sequel to one of Lawhead's other series.
All in all, still an excellent book that I highly recommend. I can’t wait to see what the next one holds!


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