Robin Hood - Paul Creswick

The last time I read a Robin Hood book, I wasn’t happy with it at all (Sherwood). Thankfully, Robin Hood by Paul Creswick is a much better version of the famous Robin Hood tale. This tale is skillfully woven, and is quite unique in its own way, despite the difficult language in which it’s written.

The story, of course, is very familiar to anyone who’s heard anything of Robin Hood, even the Disney movie. This version, however, had certain twists which I had never heard of before. From Much the Miller to Will Scarlett, this book was full of interesting twists. It was cool to read these new (for me) parts of the story while still reading about the familiar Friar Tuck, Little John, and so on. Again, the story’s familiar; I won’t rehash it here.

Creswick’s writing style is deliciously enjoyable. After reading this book, without though, I was able to prattle off sentences such as ‘He essayed, by dint of hard perseverance, to complete the lengthy tome.’ Most of the book is written in this style, and Robin throws around such nice words as ‘Soothly’ and ‘Ells’ that you’ll want to have a dictionary handy. Still, the speech lends a real authenticity to the book, and I wasn’t that annoyed at looking up every other word. Besides, you get to learn a lot of new vocabulary.

I feel that there isn’t a whole lot to write about Robin Hood. It’s a classic tale, enjoyed through the years, and this version takes the classic tale and reworks it well, with its own subtle tweaks. I’d recommend this book for all ages, although difficult vocabulary may hold back some younger readers.