Countdown to the Cover

#5 Hodd by Adam Thorpe

This was my least favorite of the Robin Hood retellings, for a couple of reasons. First, Robin Hood appears in less than 30% of the book, which really tells the life story of the narrator—a boy called Much. (It’s not a happy story.) Second, this Robin Hood is over the top evil—cruel, violent, selfish, delusional. There isn’t even a seed of the “steal from the rich and give to the poor” tradition, yet we’re supposed to believe the people of Nottingham hail this evil Robin Hood as a hero.

#4 Nottingham by Nathan Makaryk

Nottingham by Nathan Makaryk is a sweeping epic that begins in the Holy Land during the Third Crusade and ends in Sherwood Forest. It has a cast of thousands—or rather, it felt that way—and I had a hard time keeping track of some of them. There were two aspects of this story that I really liked. One, that there is no single Robin Hood. Instead, Robin Hood is a persona created to win the support and loyalty of the local residents. At different parts of the story, different characters assume the persona. Second, there are no moral absolutes in the story. The Robin Hoods are not always good or right. The sheriff is not always bad or wrong. I found this sheriff to be one of the more sympathetic ones I’ve encountered in Robin Hood lore, a man torn between a rock (the king) and a hard place (the people). Having said all that, I did struggle with this one. I found it be plodding, and between that pace and the massive number of characters, I sometimes struggled to stay engaged.

#3 The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley

I enjoyed this traditional take on Robin Hood. It has the expected cast of characters—main and supporting—and the expected plot lines. The Robin Hood character seemed rather passive. He hid in his cave for much of the book, letting the others do all the work. He didn’t get involved in anything until near the end. But this book is meant for a younger audience and had I read it at a younger age (and without my writer experience), I might not have noticed or cared about that.

#2 Travelers Along the Way by Aminah Mae Safi

I adored this book. Of all the retellings I read, this one did the best job of capturing the humor of the Robin Hood legend. It also was the most imaginative of the retellings. Set during the Third Crusade, Travelers Along the Way imagines Robin Hood as a young Muslim woman defending the Holy Land against the Christian invasion. The Merry “Men,” who are mostly young women, are a diverse group: Robin Hood’s warrior sister, a Mongolian horsewoman, an Andalusian Jew, a chaplain, and a spy. It was a fun read. (And yes, it feels weird to say that about a book set during such a brutal event in history.)

#1 Hood by Stephen Lawhead

This was the first Robin Hood retelling I ever read-decades ago-and it is still my favorite. This one is the first in a trilogy that transplants Robin Hood to 11th century Wales, where Robin Hood and his Merry Men are Welsh freedom fighters resisting the Norman invasion. It is depth; it has humor; it has danger and adventure.

The Best Book I Read This Month: Lady Macbeth by Susan Fraser King

The best book I read this month was a truly satisfying work of historical fiction, Lady Macbeth by Susan Fraser King. As King makes clear in her cover blurb, this not the Lady Macbeth of Shakespeare. Instead, this is a fictionalized account of the historical Lady Macbeth, and she is far more sympathetic figure than the play’s version.

The story takes placed in medieval (12th century) Scotland, and Gruach (Lady Macbeth’s given name) is the daughter of Scottish warlord. The kingdom is torn, facing threats from both the Danes (Vikings) and the English while the elderly king clings to power. What follows is, if you’re familiar with the play, the expected machinations but with nuance and depth. Even Macbeth is more sympathetic in this account.

In addition to creating two sympathetic lead characters, King also does an excellent job of immersing the reader in an unfamiliar world. We see that Scotland’s Celtic traditions under threat from growing Christian and English influence. It affects everything from how Gruach mourns to how the Scottish crown is handed down. Everything about Gruach’s way of life is at risk, and it’s hard to read this story and not feel empathy for her. If anything, this made me love the story of Macbeth even more.

The Best Book I Read This Month: The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne

The best book I read this month was a retelling of classic fairy tales. Mary McMyne’s The Book of Gothel reimagines the story of Rapunzel, while also weaving in retellings of Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood. Specifically, the book tells the story of the witch who took Rapunzel and, as you might expect, it’s not the fairy tale that has been handed down over the generations.

Set in the twelfth century in the Black Forest region of what is now Germany, The Book of Gothel follows the life of a young woman named Haelewise. We first meet Haelewise in the frame story, in the words she left behind in a manuscript being studied by a modern scholar. Ostensibly, the chapters that follow are the story that Haelewise recorded in her manuscript.

Haelewise lives on the outskirts of her town, physically and socially. Her mother is the town midwife and once followed the old (read: pagan) religion, both of which put her and her daughter under suspicion. Compounding this, Haelewise herself suffers from spells, signs of demon possession to the Christian townspeople. Haelewise seeks safety in a place she’d only heard about in legend: a magical tower in the woods where women are offered care and protection.

The story is a mix of social commentary, political intrigue, fairy tale magic, and historical fiction. (Hildegard of Bingen makes a guest appearance.) It is a story of women struggling for respect and autonomy in an increasingly patriarchal society. It is a story of love and adventure. It’s everything I look for in a retelling—imaginative, inventive, yet rooted in the source material. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Best Book I Read This Month: The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson

The best book I read this month packed quite a gut punch. The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson imagines a second pandemic on the heels of COVID-19, one in which people are prone to inexplicable bouts of homicidal violence. For Chelsea Martin and her daughter Ella, the Violence becomes a way to escape domestic violence.

I have to admit, I almost did not finish this one. I found it hard to stomach the scenes of abuse early in the story. Some just hit too close to home, and all of them were visceral.

But I’m glad I stuck with it. Watching Chelsea and Ella find themselves and remake their lives was worth it. Even more rewarding was seeing their abusers get their comeuppance or change their ways. Such arcs rarely happen in real life.

Meeting the support cast was another reward, especially the crew that Chelsea takes up with. Mensches, every one, and each colorful in their own way.

I normally recommend books whole-heartedly, but this time I recommend The Violence with a caveat: add this to your TBR only if you can handle scenes of explicit violence and abuse.