Review - Scarlet
I still find the setting of this trilogy infinitely more engaging than the actual story. I really want to like it -- a Welsh Robin Hood? -- but it just doesn't grab me. It's not hard to read: I managed most of it in one day. On the other hand, the prose doesn't come to life, I certainly don't savour every word. Robin Hood stories are supposed to be all adventure, and I guess this shows a more realistic, difficult side of it, but I just don't like that as much.
This book gives the reader a more outside view of Bran: we hardly ever know what he's thinking. Instead we have Will Scarlet, who has a reasonably realistic backstory and a kind of narrative voice of his own. I did hear his voice in my head somewhat, those bits aren't badly handled. The thing that did annoy me about them was the "and we trudge on..." bits. So contrived and dry, especially when they come over and over and over again. Will's capture does let us meet Odo, who is a halfway interesting character, especially considering his defection. I kind of liked him.
I didn't feel the romance, either. Not Mérian and Robin, and not Will and his lady. I guess I'm not engaged enough with the characters for that. There continues to be a problem with those, too: they're all painted in broad strokes, good or bad -- but particularly the bad guys. Guy and the Sheriff are particularly bland.
This trilogy is worth reading, though, if only for the fact that it does something new with the old story, and puts it into a new context that might actually be closer to what the original context was. It's nice to see that these stories aren't set in stone, because originally they weren't.
This book gives the reader a more outside view of Bran: we hardly ever know what he's thinking. Instead we have Will Scarlet, who has a reasonably realistic backstory and a kind of narrative voice of his own. I did hear his voice in my head somewhat, those bits aren't badly handled. The thing that did annoy me about them was the "and we trudge on..." bits. So contrived and dry, especially when they come over and over and over again. Will's capture does let us meet Odo, who is a halfway interesting character, especially considering his defection. I kind of liked him.
I didn't feel the romance, either. Not Mérian and Robin, and not Will and his lady. I guess I'm not engaged enough with the characters for that. There continues to be a problem with those, too: they're all painted in broad strokes, good or bad -- but particularly the bad guys. Guy and the Sheriff are particularly bland.
This trilogy is worth reading, though, if only for the fact that it does something new with the old story, and puts it into a new context that might actually be closer to what the original context was. It's nice to see that these stories aren't set in stone, because originally they weren't.