I have a thing about any series of books.  Before I read the sequel, I must always read the preceding book again.  Over the last few months I’ve been longing to read the new book, Scarlet.  It’s the second in a trilogy of books called the King Raven trilogy only released a few months ago.  This of course meant that I needed to reread the first book in the trilogy, Hood.  I finished it this evening.

Hunted like an animal by Norman invaders, Bran ap Brychan, heir to the throne Elfael, has abandoned his father’s kingdom and fled to the greenwood. There, in the primeval forest of the Welsh borders, danger surrounds him—for this woodland is a living, breathing entity with mysterious powers and secrets, and Bran must find a way to make it his own if he is to survive.

All in all, reading Hood for the second time, I have been impressed at how this mythic tale has twisted through the ages from the retelling of it.  Lawhead takes this tale and dissects it back to it’s roots and gives it flesh.

In reality, Hood was probably a reckless brigand who kept most of what he stole, but it’s nice to have a hero who down through the ages has remained the underdog who continues to steal our hearts.