Hood: Book 1 of King Raven
by Stephen R. Lawhead
Nashville: WestBow Press, 2006, 472 pp., $24.99 hardcover.

Hood has nothing to do with the inner city. Stephen R. Lawhead's latest series, The King Raven Trilogy, begins with eight-year-old Bran ap Brychan hunting a wild boar with his bow and a few arrows. As you may have guessed by now, this series is Lawhead's vision of the Robin Hood legend. Set in eleventh century Wales, the tale captivates with its mythic history, much as his Pendragon Cycle did for the Arthurian legend. Familiar figures such as Maid Marian, Friar Tuck and Little John are introduced, but as believable historical characters rather than as the caricatures we're used to reading about or watching in movies.

Rhi Bran is a prince forced into becoming a freedom fighter for his people after the Norman invasion. We see him grow from a spoiled young rascal unwilling to sacrifice for his people to a powerful leader committed to freedom.

I thoroughly enjoyed Hood and look forward to the rest of the King Raven trilogy. Hood is appropriate for high school and older readers.

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