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Hood (King Raven book 1) by Stephen R. Lawhead
02/02/2008 . Source: RJ Barker 
pub: Atom/Little Brown. 438 page enlarged paperback. Price: £ 5.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-904233-71-8). Buy Hood in the USA - or Buy Hood in the UK  check out websites: atombooks.co.uk www.littlebrown.co.uk and www.stephenlawhead.com
William the Conquerer is dead and his son, William the Red, needs to finance his ruinously expensive wars in France. To do this, he has sold the lands of Wales to his rapacious barons. First to fall is Elfeal, its king and warband are ambushed leaving only the feckless young prince, Bran, alive. Bran travels to London to see the representative of the King and is told he can buy back his lands for six hundred marks, a massive amount. Bran is happy to try the legal route to get back his land from Baron de Broase. However, de Broase sees Bran as little more than a troublesome peasant and is forced into outlawry and eventually into becoming, the Hood.
I'm familiar with Stephen Lawhead's work from his Arthurian trilogy, although its good I found that it lacked the gritty realism that Bernard Cornwell brought to the same subject. 'Hood' is a much grittier book and has a lot less magic in it than Lawhead's Arthurian books. What magic there is could easily be seen as fever dreams or mental trickery and as such I found this a lot more satisfying. This isn't the Robin Hood that we're familiar with. Lawhead has done a lot of research and gone back to what he believes, probably quite rightly, to be the roots of the story in Norman Wales. You won't find any lincoln green in this or much derring-do, this is the story of a guerilla fighter trying to oust an invader. It's also quite slow. We don't get much action and this is about the becoming of the Hood rather than the being. We're following Bran as he goes through a physical and mystical journey to become the Raven King or in the local tongue, Rhi Bran Tha Hud (King Raven the Enchanter).
Lawhead captures the world of Norman England well. There's a real feeling of hopelessness among the native Britons when confronted with the overwhelming power of the Normans. The characters are well-rounded, too. There's no black and white. Although we're on the side of Bran, we understand the Normans. They're not hateful, they are conquerors doing what they do. They may be brutal and at times act in an extremely underhand manner but their actions make sense.
Bran's journey is well-handled, too. As is the mixture of Christianity and more ancient beliefs that mix to lead him on his mental journey at the hands of the bard, Angharad. There were times, especially towards the end, where I found this impossible to put down. Bran himself is incredibly well-drawn, as is his journey. At times I wanted to shout at him to listen to what he was being told and that's always a mark of good writing.
There is, of course, another star in this book and that's the forest itself. It weaves itself through the book like ivy, is succour to Bran and his men and a forbidding obstacle to the Normans. It's the source of the mighty warbows Bran and his men use and an ally in their impressive first attack on the Normans.
The only real criticism I have of this book is that it ends just as the real action starts. If I hadn't had the follow up, 'Scarlet', ready to read I would have been incredibly frustrated. 'Hood' doesn't feel like a complete book but as long as you have the sequel at hand then it's a satisfying and incredibly enjoyable introduction to Lawhead's reworking of the Robin Hood myth.
RJ Barker
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