Robin Hood: King of Sherwood
by I. A. Watson
by I. A. Watson
From Airship 27 Productions, Published by Cornerstone Books
So you think you know the story - the bandit king that steals from the rich and gives to the poor - but do you really? What do you really know?
Why did Robin i' th' Hood take up arms against the King?
Where did he come from?
How did he become the King of Sherwood?
Who is Maid Marion?
What drove her to join Robin?
I. A. Watson answers these questions and many others in his "Bold Retelling of a Classic Adventure." (That's what it says on the cover, and it's true.) Watson researched the countryside where the tale takes place as well as the history of the legend.
Watson picked through the literary history and blended the best parts into an exciting, surprising (really!), and romantic tale. The characters you know are all there: Robin, Marion, Little John, Will Scarlet, The Sheriff of Nottingham, and Friar Tuck along with several you don't. He also puts the story into historic context so that the reader understands why Robin had to be.
Under King John (while his brother Richard the Lionhearted was off fighting the crusades) an oppressive serfdom got even worse. John put the screws on the landowners who in turn clamped down on the peasants. The people were taxed into poverty and despair. The people needed a champion and due to a series of circumstances, Robin answered the call.
How Watson ties all the characters together and ends up with the ending we expect is nothing short of astonishing, but at the same time it all feels so right that I don't know why we haven't seen or read this Robin Hood before. The book is utterly charming and nicely graced with a beautiful Mike Manley cover. This Hood is more than worth a read. I give Robin Hood: King of Sherwood a 9 out of 10.
Fortunately, Watson is planning further books in the series. I look forward to them.
I had the opportunity to interview I. A. Watson and ask about the story and his interest in the Robin Hood legend.
So you think you know the story - the bandit king that steals from the rich and gives to the poor - but do you really? What do you really know?
Why did Robin i' th' Hood take up arms against the King?
Where did he come from?
How did he become the King of Sherwood?
Who is Maid Marion?
What drove her to join Robin?
I. A. Watson answers these questions and many others in his "Bold Retelling of a Classic Adventure." (That's what it says on the cover, and it's true.) Watson researched the countryside where the tale takes place as well as the history of the legend.
Watson picked through the literary history and blended the best parts into an exciting, surprising (really!), and romantic tale. The characters you know are all there: Robin, Marion, Little John, Will Scarlet, The Sheriff of Nottingham, and Friar Tuck along with several you don't. He also puts the story into historic context so that the reader understands why Robin had to be.
Under King John (while his brother Richard the Lionhearted was off fighting the crusades) an oppressive serfdom got even worse. John put the screws on the landowners who in turn clamped down on the peasants. The people were taxed into poverty and despair. The people needed a champion and due to a series of circumstances, Robin answered the call.
How Watson ties all the characters together and ends up with the ending we expect is nothing short of astonishing, but at the same time it all feels so right that I don't know why we haven't seen or read this Robin Hood before. The book is utterly charming and nicely graced with a beautiful Mike Manley cover. This Hood is more than worth a read. I give Robin Hood: King of Sherwood a 9 out of 10.
Fortunately, Watson is planning further books in the series. I look forward to them.
I had the opportunity to interview I. A. Watson and ask about the story and his interest in the Robin Hood legend.
Savage Tales: Can you tell us a little about where you grew up and what your reading and pop culture history is?
IW: When I was around seven, growing up in England, going on a family holiday, I bought a second-hand hardbound comics annual called “The Fantastic Four”. It reprinted Lee and Kirby’s FF #84-87. This story blew my mind.
Not only was this the first superhero story I’d ever read apart from Super-Goof, it also featured the coolest villain in the history of cool villains. Victor von Doom ruled a whole country! His own people both loved and feared him! He had a terrible secret in his ruined face, and when he wasn’t villaining he played haunting beautiful music alone in his gothic but high-tech palace! And stunningly, he always kept his word, so that even his enemies the FF trusted him when he gave it, and he let the good guys go at the end because they’d helped him.
I realised then and there what my own future inevitably had to be. I would grow up to be Doctor Doom.
