Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Morgan Sheppard (1007 KP) created a post

Jan 19, 2022  
‼️ NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER ‼️

Cabbages & Kings by Morgan Sheppard
A Robin Hood Origin Story

A HERO. HONOURABLE THIEF. LOVABLE ROGUE. SCOUNDREL. BLACKGUARD.

Everyone’s heard of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men, with big, bad Sheriff of Nottingham and evil Prince John trying their best to thwart Robin at every turn. But what if things were different to what you’ve been told? What if Robin wasn’t as altruistic as history portrayed?

In the late spring of 1198, the hamlet of Girton is razed to the ground. Newly married eighteen-year-old Will Scathlock and sixteen-year-old Alana move to the larger village of Blidworth to start their lives anew. In his new job as a forester for the Royal Palace of Clipstone, known to the locals as King’s Houses, Will hears tales of a good thief, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. But in her role as Seamstress for the Manor House, Alana hears a different story.

Find out what it was like for the peasant folk Robin was supposed to be helping, before his well-known adventures in Nottingham. Meet Alana Dale and read her story of what it was really like, and how it all began.

Available for pre-order - https://books2read.com/CabbagesKings

#YoungAdult
#ComingofAge
#HistoricalFiction
#RobinHoodOrigin
     
Short prequel to the first of Angus Donald's <i>Outlaw</i> series about Robin Hood.

Whereas the books proper are all presented as an ageing Alan-a -Dale remembering his time with Robin and were told in the first person, this is told in third person and is not 'book-ended' in such a manner. While there are a few other characters than the already-living-in-the-woods Robin and John, it also does not have such a wide range of characters as in the novels proper, and feels maybe a little bit rushed.

In short: an OK entry for anyone who hasn't read any of the novels proper, but I would still advise the reader to start with the first book rather than this novella.
  
Robin Hood (2018)
Robin Hood (2018)
2018 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
The most recent cinematic take (at the time of writing) of the Robin Hood legend, this is an extremely generic actioner - akin to the recent King Arthur, legend of the sword movie - that attempts to bring the tale to modern audiences.

As such, it touches all the key points - Robin of Locksley, the Crusades, Marian, the sheriff of Nottingham - while also attempting to be more inclusive (John is now a Moor, for example) than that legend.

I'm also not sure about some of the set design or costumes, and Ben Mendehlson (the sheriff) is no Alan Rickman!
  
Robin Hood (2018)
Robin Hood (2018)
2018 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A Lacklustre take on the legend
I’d expected this to be very similar to the recent King Arthur adaptation, and sadly I wasn’t too far off. Never before have I seen such a dull and lacklustre adaptation of the story of Robin Hood - even the Kevin Costner version was better than this!

The action was dull, the script cheesy and even some decent actors couldn’t make this likeable. I like Taron Egerton, but even he doesn’t come off well in this. His Robin comes across as a love sick puppy and i cringed every time him and Marian are on screen together. A lot of the slow motion was unnecessary (slow mo shots of the Sheriff getting dressed?) and I didn’t understand the costume design and makeup on this. Some of the costumes seemed in keeping with the time this is meant to be set, but a lot, especially Marian’s, just seemed quite inappropriate. Even the script wasn’t quite “of the times” and some of the language didn’t fit in.

If you want to watch a decent film about Robin Hood, choose the Disney version. Or even Men in Tights, they’re far superior to this mess.
  
Show all 3 comments.
40x40

Erika (17789 KP) Dec 5, 2018

The costumes were really annoying to me because they were strangely inaccurate. I felt like it was a big, dumb action film with a smidge of the Robin Hood story.

40x40

Sarah (7800 KP) Dec 5, 2018

I'm glad it wasn't just me then getting annoyed with the outfits. Definitely a big dumb action film ... without much action in it ?

Robin Hood and the Caliph&#039;s Gold
Robin Hood and the Caliph's Gold
Angus Donald | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The 9th entry in Angus Donald's Robin Hood Outlaw series of books, although chronologically I think this is the third (set after Holy Warrior).

As such, this starts with Robin and his men trying to make their way back to England from the Holy Land, with the entire story told (as are all the others) in first person narrative, and from the point of view of Alan a Dale, the true protagonist of these stories (let's face it, Robin isn't always a very nice man...)

Shipwrecked on the way home, this sets off a series of circumstances and encounters that sees Robin and his men hatching a plan to steal the Caliph's Gold (it's all there in the title!), with many a ferocious battle and deeds of derring do throughout.

Having recently just having read one of Angus Donald's other historical works (the Blood series: last one I read was Bloods Campaign), I have to say: I think I prefer the medieval setting of these novels better, with Alan a Dale coming across as a more relatable character than Holcroft Blood.
  
Robin Hood (2018)
Robin Hood (2018)
2018 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Great pacing (2 more)
Exciting
Simple yet likeable characters
Historical inaccuracies (0 more)
Batman & Robin Begins...
Contains spoilers, click to show
This movie is bonkers. History, costume and set design are just thrown to the wolves when it comes to any form if accuracy.

But the film was well paced, action packed and great fun. Like any Robin Hood folk tale should be. Granted, it would have been much better and probably better received if they had taken more care to stick to the time and place which it was set, but as it was, it was a work of pure fantasy.

As long you suspend your disbelief at the door and let this wash over you then you are in for great time. Simply enjoy.