No sooner had I started reading ‘Robin Hood: Wolf’s Head’ than I had to stop and experience the moment. I had just read an extraordinarily beautiful sentence: “The forest clearing was a web of moonlight and shadows.”
What perfect imagery! It is simple and direct, but powerfully evocative at the same time.
In that moment, I was there. I had been transported to that forest clearing and drawn into the world of the story, even before I knew anything else about it.
This is the magic a writer works when wielding the wand that is their pen.
At times, such images can be consumed at speed. Others, like this one, demand more thoughtful digestion to fully appreciate the skill in Tanafon’s craft:
As a writer, I lost count of the times I read a sentence or two and thought to myself, “I wish I had written that!”
Tanafon’s genius in reinventing the story of Robin Hood as a paranormal adventure is equally as enchanting as his writing. The stories of Robin Hood, his band of followers and of their enemies are interwoven, not as a braid but as a rich tapestry. Thus the old stories are retold, stripping back the gloss of legend and hero worship and offering the reader a far more thought-provoking and deeply engaging retelling of the famous tales.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It’s not just a fantastic read: this is literature absolutely worthy of the top shelf.