Toby Venables
Autor(a) de Hunter of Sherwood: Knight of Shadows (Hunter of Sherwood: Guy of Gisburne)
About the Author
Image credit: via goodreads
Séries
Obras de Toby Venables
Etiquetado
Conhecimento Comum
- Sexo
- male
- Nacionalidade
- UK
- Locais de residência
- Cambridge, England, UK
Membros
Resenhas
Absolutely Brilliant!
I must admit to being enthralled by Venables' Guy of Gisburne novels. He's taken the legend of Robin Hood and turned it on its head. At every step! So what is the truth? I've read so many versions and watched so many movies. In fact Prince of Thieves was screening just as I was reading this. But these--the Guy of Gisburne novels are my far and away favourites.
We have legend and tradition and the need for heroes--but heroes can be used in different ways. As King Richard says to Guy, "I could make use of Hood. Use his legend to bolster my own. And I shall. But I am a practical man. That legend will be easier to control when he’s dead.”
Guy replies, "Legends prosper best when their hero is absent." Cutting both ways--the legend of Richard and that of Hood. So Guy is charged with killing Hood and his leaders. How cunning is the plot that Richard has a mind to set in motion. A masterful stroke by Venables! Machiavellian indeed!
Guy forms a team from those we've met before to hunt the Hood of this series--not the legendary Hood we know, but the vicious, cunning and cruel man he really is. Lady Mélisande, Asif ibn Salah, a resentful and angry Galfrid, and even Tancred are part of that select group.
The elements of Robin Hood are all here--Marion, the Prioress, the loyal followers--but all so different from the popular legend. Hood's trusted companions are so much less than what we love, and so much more vicious. That belief that sees Hood as the man of the people, the Christlike saviour is reduced to a despicable reality here. Hood is a man with his own dark purposes.
For Guy, vengeance will take a different form. At one point Hood says, 'when I die, that is when I am truly born.' At that moment, the true revenge that Guy has in mind is given voice.
At the last Guy decides that, 'the best possible revenge upon Hood—[is] not for him to be lost to posterity, but to become its servant, and an agent for all the good things that he never once believed.' But the story to this moment is paved with hardship, is emotional harrowing and so engaging.
A wonderful novel that brings to the close a thoughtful and fascinating series I have thoroughly enjoyed.
A NetGalley ARC… (mais)
I must admit to being enthralled by Venables' Guy of Gisburne novels. He's taken the legend of Robin Hood and turned it on its head. At every step! So what is the truth? I've read so many versions and watched so many movies. In fact Prince of Thieves was screening just as I was reading this. But these--the Guy of Gisburne novels are my far and away favourites.
We have legend and tradition and the need for heroes--but heroes can be used in different ways. As King Richard says to Guy, "I could make use of Hood. Use his legend to bolster my own. And I shall. But I am a practical man. That legend will be easier to control when he’s dead.”
Guy replies, "Legends prosper best when their hero is absent." Cutting both ways--the legend of Richard and that of Hood. So Guy is charged with killing Hood and his leaders. How cunning is the plot that Richard has a mind to set in motion. A masterful stroke by Venables! Machiavellian indeed!
Guy forms a team from those we've met before to hunt the Hood of this series--not the legendary Hood we know, but the vicious, cunning and cruel man he really is. Lady Mélisande, Asif ibn Salah, a resentful and angry Galfrid, and even Tancred are part of that select group.
The elements of Robin Hood are all here--Marion, the Prioress, the loyal followers--but all so different from the popular legend. Hood's trusted companions are so much less than what we love, and so much more vicious. That belief that sees Hood as the man of the people, the Christlike saviour is reduced to a despicable reality here. Hood is a man with his own dark purposes.
For Guy, vengeance will take a different form. At one point Hood says, 'when I die, that is when I am truly born.' At that moment, the true revenge that Guy has in mind is given voice.
At the last Guy decides that, 'the best possible revenge upon Hood—[is] not for him to be lost to posterity, but to become its servant, and an agent for all the good things that he never once believed.' But the story to this moment is paved with hardship, is emotional harrowing and so engaging.
A wonderful novel that brings to the close a thoughtful and fascinating series I have thoroughly enjoyed.
A NetGalley ARC… (mais)
Hunter of Sherwood: The Red Hand is the sequel to Hunter of Sherwood: Knight of Shadows.
Guy of Gisburne is a knight and agent to Prince John. Gisburne is returning to England after having saved Jerusalem from going up in flames. But he has hardly landed on England’s shores before he is “summoned” to a meeting with Prince John. Someone has killed a knight and it seems that more will be killed by the “Red Hand”! Now it’s up to Gisburne to find out who the killer is and stop him.
When I read a book that has over 500 pages it better be good, it better not have a lot of fillers. This book hasn’t a lot of fillers. When I was somewhere in the middle I thought back to everything I had read and realized that every scene I had read was important to the story. That’s a good feeling. So I just plowed through the book enjoying the adventure, the action, the humor and the very well written story. And of course, tried to get my brain to grasp the fact that it’s Gisburne and Prince John that are the heroes in this book, not Robin Hood and Richard the Lionheart (damn you movies)!
But I must admit that I had a soft spot for Robin Hood and some of my favorite scenes involved him and Gisburne. And somehow it was really nice to see a darker side to Robin Hood (can be because I‘m more of fan of antiheroes than heroes)
This a terrific book, perfect for anyone that likes adventure, action and humor all in one!
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!… (mais)
Guy of Gisburne is a knight and agent to Prince John. Gisburne is returning to England after having saved Jerusalem from going up in flames. But he has hardly landed on England’s shores before he is “summoned” to a meeting with Prince John. Someone has killed a knight and it seems that more will be killed by the “Red Hand”! Now it’s up to Gisburne to find out who the killer is and stop him.
When I read a book that has over 500 pages it better be good, it better not have a lot of fillers. This book hasn’t a lot of fillers. When I was somewhere in the middle I thought back to everything I had read and realized that every scene I had read was important to the story. That’s a good feeling. So I just plowed through the book enjoying the adventure, the action, the humor and the very well written story. And of course, tried to get my brain to grasp the fact that it’s Gisburne and Prince John that are the heroes in this book, not Robin Hood and Richard the Lionheart (damn you movies)!
But I must admit that I had a soft spot for Robin Hood and some of my favorite scenes involved him and Gisburne. And somehow it was really nice to see a darker side to Robin Hood (can be because I‘m more of fan of antiheroes than heroes)
This a terrific book, perfect for anyone that likes adventure, action and humor all in one!
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!… (mais)
Extraordinary medieval thriller!
A longtime fan of the various takes on Robin Hood, this foray into the legend took my breath away.
Venables has turned the legend upside down and given Guy of Gisburne a completely new and believable place.
A medieval thriller. A rich, tightly woven plot that never falters and takes us from England to the mercilessness of the Crusades and back, complete with religious artifacts and renegade, fanatical Templars.
A longtime fan of the various takes on Robin Hood, this foray into the legend took my breath away.
Venables has turned the legend upside down and given Guy of Gisburne a completely new and believable place.
A medieval thriller. A rich, tightly woven plot that never falters and takes us from England to the mercilessness of the Crusades and back, complete with religious artifacts and renegade, fanatical Templars.
Estatísticas
- Obras
- 6
- Membros
- 98
- Popularidade
- #193,038
- Avaliação
- 4.3
- Resenhas
- 4
- ISBNs
- 14
- Idiomas
- 1
Guy of Gisburne is a knight and agent to Prince John. Gisburne is returning to England after having saved Jerusalem from going up in flames. But he has hardly landed on England’s shores before he is “summoned” to a meeting with Prince John. Someone has killed a knight and it seems that more will be killed by the “Red Hand”! Now it’s up to Gisburne to find out who the killer is and stop him.
When I read a book that has over 500 pages it better be good, it better not have a lot of fillers. This book hasn’t a lot of fillers. When I was somewhere in the middle I thought back to everything I had read and realized that every scene I had read was important to the story. That’s a good feeling. So I just plowed through the book enjoying the adventure, the action, the humor and the very well written story. And of course, tried to get my brain to grasp the fact that it’s Gisburne and Prince John that are the heroes in this book, not Robin Hood and Richard the Lionheart (damn you movies)!
But I must admit that I had a soft spot for Robin Hood and some of my favorite scenes involved him and Gisburne. And somehow it was really nice to see a darker side to Robin Hood (can be because I‘m more of fan of antiheroes than heroes)
This a terrific book, perfect for anyone that likes adventure, action and humor all in one!
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!… (mais)