When you take such a well-known and well-loved tale as Robin Hood and his Merry Men, it would be only too easy to go down that well-trodden path so familiar to all who know the legend. “Hail fellow and well met!” greetings between rosy-cheeked outlaws who dress in green tights and short tunics like medieval transvestites swinging through Sherwood Forest, laughing like giddy schoolboys. It was therefore a delight to discover that Steven A. McKay has taken the legend, given it a good shake, and let this thoroughly enjoyable version fall out.
From the very first page of Wolf’s Head, you find yourself in Yorkshire rather than Nottinghamshire, in the village of Wakefield rather than Loxley. Here Robin is a common man who, through a moment of anger, is forced into fleeing his home, his family, and his lover Mathilda. These changes add a genuine, fresh twist to the tale which adds so much to the book, and indeed the entire series.
While most of the regular characters appear here, they seem new, believable, and above all true to their period. Their language is robust and not for the easily offended, but will be familiar to anyone who has worked with other men as part of a team. The violence is frequent, bloody, and merciless, but again reflects how hard, unrelenting, and brutally short life could be then.
In book two, The Wolf and the Raven, the reader is plunged headlong into the carnage and chaos of medieval warfare as Robin and his men (lovers of the legend can rest assured that they will find all the regular characters here: Little John, Will Scarlet, Friar Tuck, Much the Millar’s son, et al) fight to win a promised pardon, a promise not fulfilled. Once again our band of less than merry men are cast aside as men outside the law.
To find and crush these so-called outlaws, the Sheriff of Nottingham calls on the services of a man who will become Robin’s nemesis. His name: Sir Guy of Gisbourne. The Gisbourne of this book quickly becomes one of the great villains of fiction: a man of twisted desires and dreams who has suffered heartbreak and betrayal himself through the actions of his adulterous wife. Her betrayal, coupled with his childhood fascination with the tales of King Arthur, have convinced him he is almost the reincarnation of Lancelot, and while he is a brutal, ruthless killer you can’t help but feel that there is a weird sort of chivalry at the dark heart of everything Gisbourne does. Women are to be protected (despite his wife’s adultery) while the enemies of the king can be killed without thought or mercy!
The climactic scene of this book is almost Arthurian itself as Robin faces Gisbourne, a self-created modern Black Knight in single combat on a bridge. Blood will be shed and the result is not what most will hope for, but does leave things wide open for the story to continue in book three, Rise of the Wolf, where we return once more to the leafy expanse of Barnsdale Forest rather than the green trees of Sherwood. The change in location, a nod to the earliest ballads of where Robin lived, gives plenty of scope for the author to explore new avenues for Robin and his band of merry (and miserable) men. This is something which readers should be grateful for.
Here we have a version of Robin Hood probably closer to how a real outlaw would have lived than that familiar from TV and movie adaptations. While Kevin Costner’s portrayal looked more like a 1990s AOR music video star who liked nothing more than relaxing in a trendy bar sipping Pinot Grigio and listening to George Michael, McKay’s Robin Hood is the sort of man who kicks open the door of a rough pub, orders a pint of real ale in a dirty glass, then cranks the juke-box up to eleven and blasts out “Ace of Spades” till the windows shatter! He is so much the better for that!
Sir Guy of Gisbourne, after being horrifically disfigured by Robin in the previous book, is out for blood. Already dangerous, his injury has only made him all the more reckless in his quest for vengeance. Aided by the vile turncoat Matt Groves, nothing and no one is safe from their relentless pursuit to see Robin, and his men, die as painfully as possible.
This is a story for adults; the action and language are as robust as we would expect from a band of outlaws, but it is not all doom and gloom. The book is laced throughout with a wonderfully dark humour that will have you smiling one moment and grimacing the next. The Sheriff’s tournament, designed to lure Robin out of hiding with the prize of an arrow of solid silver, had me laughing out loud at the hissed conversation between the Sheriff and Gisbourne as each enjoys the other’s discomfort in turn.
The focus on Robin’s family is also a welcome addition to the scenes around the outlaws’ campfire, and the developing character of Robin’s young sister, Marjorie, is a worthy addition to the tale. From being the runt of the litter, she will grow to become a vitally important factor at a crucial point later in the book. Which leads, in time to the final instalment of the series, Blood of the Wolf.
Reaching the end of this book, and indeed the Forest Lord series, is like saying farewell to a dear friend, having followed Robin Hood from his earliest days when, due to the actions of another, he is forced into the life of an outlaw – a man with a price on his head, who can be killed by anyone, at any time without fear of legal punishment.
The previous books in the series have led us through the trials and tribulations Robin has to endure until now, finally, it seems that he has achieved all he could wish for. A pardon for himself and his loyal band of men, and a new lucrative career working for the man who had hunted him for so long. It seems that he has it all.
In reality, his life is far from happy. Old friends now look at him as a turncoat, and his own wife can barely stand to be near him. The people who had sung ballads in his honour now see him as the enemy. In achieving his dreams, has Robin destroyed the happiness he has always sought?
Steven A. McKay delivers a riveting, edge of the seat page-turner. There are times you want to look away from the sheer brutality of medieval life – a cruel, blood-soaked time where life is short, and the violence is unflinching in its intensity – but it is to the author’s credit that the brutality never overwhelms the reader. The action may be blunt, but it is never gratuitous.
Blood of the Wolf sinks its fangs in early, and from the first page, you are taken on a helter-skelter ride through the forests of Barnsdale. From mass insanity in Holmfirth to cruel murders on the dusty tracks of Yorkshire, you are invited to saddle up and join the merry band in the hunt for the cruellest, most heartless, and deviant foe that Robin has ever had to face. This enemy has but one aim, and that is to see Robin Hood dead! To achieve that aim, there is nothing he and his growing band of murderous villains are not prepared to do – and be warned, there is literally nothing they are not prepared to do!
For those who have even a passing knowledge of the Robin Hood legend, his ultimate fate is known long before you reach the end of the tale. That knowledge lends a dark cast to the closing chapters of this wonderful story; people will die, and the blood will flow in torrents. Yet even now, in this darkest of times, you are still rooting for there to be some possibility of a happy ending for Robin and his young family.
Does that possibility exist? Is it simply wishful thinking on the part of the reader?
This is a series perfect for a mature reader who enjoys engrossing stories and believable characters. Highly recommended. And alongside the main series are several spinoff novellas, all of which are just as rewarding and enjoyable to read.