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Jump to navigationJump to searchHood by Stephen R Lawhead (view source)
Revision as of 15:59, 26 August 2020
, 15:59, 26 August 2020no edit summary
I didn't really fall for Bran - he was a little bit too reluctant a hero for me, but as ''Hood'' is the first of a trilogy, Lawhead has the time yet to allow him to chisel his way into the reader's heart. And perhaps this is a good thing. We don't want it all straight away - and the narrative provides a satisfactory start. Enough happens and is resolved to be happy finishing the book, but there's enough going on to be able to look forward to the next one. Inevitably, a trilogy based on sketchy details such as this will be too wordy for some. ''Hood'' is a book that will appeal mostly to the genre fan - it gets a bit stodgy in the middle section if all you're looking for is a speedy narrative progression. But we myth and legend buffs don't mind that. In fact, we like it.
''Hood'' is nicely written with some wonderful descriptive passages and a host of multi-dimensional characters and it paints an evocative and well-researched picture of eleventh -century life. It's published under the young adult Atom imprint and is perfectly pitched for this audience, but it would also make a great holiday read for adults (me) or provide an accessible staging point for keen-reading tweens of about twelve and up.
Roll on book two!
My thanks to the very nice people at Atom for sending the book. We have a review of the [[Scarlet by Stephen R Lawhead|next book in the series]].
Slightly younger children interested in historical fantasy will love Michelle Paver's [[Chronicles of Ancient Darkness]].
