Saturday, August 05, 2006

The Outlaws of Sherwood

By Robin McKinley.

Well-crafted, as you would expect from McKinley, but my heart wasn't in it. Even so, there were several pleasantly surprising plot twists.

While reading it the story seemed even more familiar to me than the Beauty and the Beast, perhaps since I remember reading other versions of it as a child or perhaps because this retelling is not so original as, for example, Rose Daughter was.

You'll probably like it if you like Robin Hood, or ancient English politics. This telling certainly adds more of a political element (between the Saxons and Normans) than I remember from my childhood, and which certainly isn't in the Disney version.

Update (8/7): As Martin LaBar mentions in the comments, this book also features women more prominently than other versions of the Robin Hood myth, and more women than just Marian, too. This is certainly a prominent detail for those of you considering reading it.

2 comments:

Martin LaBar said...

There's also more about the women in the story (not just Marian).

Joshua said...

Yes; I should have mentioned that, but wanted to avoid spoilers. Only two or three of the women really stand out from the background.

Obviously, I was a little too impatient to mention this book and move on to the next. Thanks for your contribution!