The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley

I do have one complaint: I find many of the peripheral characters more engaging than Robin Hood himself. I liked the language and tone a great deal, but I think some people might find it tough going, depending both on how fast they generally read and what they’re looking for at the time. Unfortunately, the complex dialog means that it isn’t the fastest read the word density may come as an unpleasant shock for someone who wants a book to breeze through in one evening, or to read while doing housework. Also, the book has an omniscient narrator, something that seems to have fallen out of popularity somewhat, and that may add to the old-fashioned tone. It’s a matter of sentence structure, I think, plus a somewhat formal tone. The language in the story is worth noting it somehow manages to feel like Old English without using archaic vocabulary. All in all, these outlaws sometimes feel more like a small, benevolent guerilla group than a legend. The band even develops something of an intelligence network to find homes and jobs for such refugees. In addition to his traditional “rob the rich and give to the poor” activities, this Robin goes to a great deal of trouble to relocate desperate people who end up in Sherwood, but are totally unsuitable to live there. There’s also a lot of thought put into how an outlaw group could help the general populace. During his downtime, Robin is usually seen whittling tableware or fletching arrows. Some thought is given to how the outlaws keep watch around the main camp and perform ambushes from trees. In between adventures - the book has a somewhat episodic feel, although it’s building up to a definite climax - there are plenty off details that highlight the problems and solutions to maintaining a covert community in a tangled forest.Ĭlose to the beginning of the book, Robin himself gives a memorable rant on the difficulties of such a lifestyle what are they supposed to do when they run out of arrows? How to get clothes for the winter? Mostly, the solution is to maintain contacts in civilization, people who aren’t particularly fond of their taxes and carefully don’t ask who could possibly want that streaky green wool from the bad dye lot.

This is a good story for people who like a touch of logistics in their fiction. It also feels extremely real, despite the historical issues mentioned in the author’s note. The Outlaws of Sherwood is, of course, a retelling of the Robin Hood legend. I did, however, wish to write something that was, let us say, historically unembarrassing.” I’m no historian either, but I’d say she succeeded. “I am no historian,” Robin McKinley writes in the author’s note to The Outlaws of Sherwood, “and never flattered myself that I would write a story that was historically accurate.

The Outlaws of Sherwood, by Robin McKinley

The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley