Thursday, May 21, 2009

Tuck Reviewed

Tuck is the continuation of the King Raven Trilogy, a retelling of the legend of Robin Hood. It sums up the fight that Rhi Bran has been engaged in since the early pages of Hood. It also cleverly explains how the Welsh legend got himself transferred to the woods nearby Nottingham in later tellings. In short, I really enjoyed this book. The writing is clear and compelling, the story resonates with all the trappings of the hero's journey, and the characters are deeply drawn. You root for Rhi Bran and his quest to correct the injustice stemming from his father's death. The princeling who began as a self absorbed cad becomes a leader of men and a true hero. In all, the series is both a clever retelling of the legend and a great story in its own right.

6 comments:

Keanan Brand said...

Amen.

Anonymous said...

"The princeling who began as a self absorbed cad becomes a leader of men and a true hero."

I never picked up on Rhi Bran's character flaw in Tuck, and now I'm eager to see it. Not that I love seeing character flaws, but I want to know how he grew into the Rhi Bran of Tuck.

Another reason for me to read the first two books now!

Jeff Draper said...

That's one of the things that makes him a great hero.

Robert Treskillard said...

Jeff, you had a TOUGH row to how considering you hadn't read the first two books. Great job!

Jeff Draper said...

Actually I did read the first two books. I've loved this series for a while.

Seren said...

You know, Jeff, despite the historian in me cringing at the mucking-about-with-historical-facts feature of these novels, you've almost persuaded me it's worth my while reading them ...

Good PR job!