If you've ever read or heard the stories of Robin Hood it's possible that you've never known that the stories of this legendary figure stem back farther in time and beyond the traditional Nottingham Forest setting.

Stephen R. Lawhead has written a number of novels that have won him critical acclaim internationally as an author of mythic and imaginative fiction and history.

I've previously read the Pendragon Cycle books, Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon, and Grail. I found them enjoyable. He's written several other trilogies as well other novels and children's books.

However, I very much enjoyed this latest offering of "Hood." It is the first book of the "King Raven" series. His second, Scarlet is being worked on at present.

I've been in the vicinity of Nottingham Forest, and it is indeed a very small portion of what it once was, spreading across the land in a sea of green. The traditional stories about Robin Hood are always set in Nottingham Forest, in England.

Lawhead's research shows that the stories of Hood stem from a Welsh figure, and therefore his tale is set not in Nottingham, but in Wales.

I found it thoroughly enjoyable. I'll be keeping an eye out for Scarlet's debut.

Stephen Lawhead