My First Robin Hood Retelling [Review]

Robin is an apprentice forester in the woods of Nottingham. The arrows he makes and sells earn barely enough extra coin to retain the title to his father’s small lands. The sheriff of Nottingham’s jealousy toward Robin’s father is just as fierce towards his son, and the sheriff’s men take every opportunity to harass the young woodsman. But when Robin defends himself by accidentally killing one of the sheriff’s men, he flees to Sherwood Forest, knowing that he has not only lost his father’s land and good name forever, but that he will live the rest of his days as a hunted man.

But his friends Much, the miller’s son, and Lady Marian, Saxon daughter of the half-Norman lord who despises his Saxon blood, believe the disaster that has befallen Robin is also an opportunity: An opportunity for a few stubborn Saxons, cast out or outlawed in ways equally unjust, to gather together in secret under Robin’s leadership and strike back against the arrogance and brutality of the Norman overlords.

Review ✍🏻

I chose to read The Outlaws of Sherwood last month for Wyrd & Wonder because it was one of the few books on my fantasy TBR that was quickly available through Libby. But surprise! There’s no fantasy here. I have learnt my lesson. Legend ≠ fantasy.

Reading McKinley

The Outlaws of Sherwood was my second McKinley novel. I added it to my TBR when a Goodreads friend suggested it after I read The Hero And the Crown. I found Sherwood far more to my taste than Hero: the plot more easily followed and digested; the characters more relatable and entertaining. (Please forgive the grammar of the previous sentence.) Something about McKinley’s prose, however, made hard for me to fall into the story. It took me ages to settle into the style. I thought I encountered lot of long sentences in an old fashioned (or maybe must plain awkward) style. See quote below for example of what I struggled with.

But whether he wished to acknowledge it or not, the price on his head gave him an aura; however accidentally he had gained it, and however greatly he wished he could be rid of it, in their eyes because of it he was the real thing, and thus they would follow his lead.

The Outlaws of Sherwood, 12%

Pace

I thought it took me about 12 years to read this book. I actually read it over six days. (This drawn out impression might have something to do with a diminished sense of time due to my pandemic lifestyle.) It was a strange experience that I also had with The Hero and the Crown. The book felt sooooo slooooow while I was reading it, but I found it interesting and enjoyed the setting, historical context, characters, etc. I will definitively say that the beginning of the book is slower than the remainder. Roughly the first third consists of origin stories, introducing the legendary characters one by one. The story moves into the primary plot with the introduction of Cecil, a character of McKinley’s own creation, Cecil.

Young Adult Fantasy

Mini rant incoming: Publishing generally considers McKinley’s novels children’s or YA. Nothing about this novel suggested that to me. (I was also shocked to think The Hero and the Crown won the Newbery.) Just because something doesn’t contain explicitly ‘adult’ themes, doesn’t mean it’s for and about youth? I can see this having YA crossover appeal, similar to Stardust, though it’s even less adult that Stardust so I suppose that’s why it’s easily considered YA… Along with the fact that the characters are young adults themselves, though they aren’t dealing with uniquely ‘young adult’ concerns. I saw a piece of a discussion a few weeks back about how women writing fantasy often get automatically categorized as YA. I’m sure The Outlaws of Sherwood is more YA than other fantasy novels written by women but it still irks me a bit.

Gentle Romance

There are a handful of romances, including of course that between Robin Hood and Marian. Each romance is written in the way I prefer – endearing yet no nonsense, relevant to the characters but not the entire plot. These romances are not overt or particularly romantic. Written in McKinley’s style, even I can enjoy them.

Amusing Dialogue

Although I struggled initially with McKinley’s narrative style, I quickly fell in love with her dialogue. Plenty of exchanges made me laugh and appreciate the sharp wittiness of the characters. I imagine this is one of the characteristics of the book that distinguishes it from other retellings. Here is a final quote, not from any dialogue, but a line that made me smile anyway.

Robin would have been astonished at the amount of philanthropy he was responsible for at several retellings’ remove.

The Outlaws of Sherwood, 23%

The Bottom Line 💭

I haven’t read any Robin Hoods legends before, so it’s hard to say how The Outlaws of Sherwood compares. However, it seems to me a good introduction to the Robin Hood mythos with enough of McKinley’s own creative deviations to keep the story fresh.

Further Reading 📰

🍂 Read an excerpt (scroll down)
🍂 Interview @ Bold Outlaw
🍂 The Works of Robin McKinley and Why Fantasy Should Seem Real @ Tor.Com
🍂 Reviews: Katie @ Doing Dewey, Alan @ Bold Outlaw, Fantasy Literature
🍂 Related: I also read and reviewed The Binding, which is the other book I read and reviewed for Wyrd & Wonder, was also less ‘fantasy’ than I expected.

What’s your favourite retelling of an old legend or myth?