Released: June 2020
Publisher: Macmillan-Tor/Forge
Pages: 112
Rating: 4/5
Carrie Vaughn’s The Ghosts of Sherwood revisits the Robin Hood legend with a story of the famed archer’s children.
From the publisher:
Everything about Father is stories.
Robin of Locksley and his one true love, Marian, are married. It has been close on two decades since they beat the Sheriff of Nottingham with the help of a diverse band of talented friends. King John is now on the throne, and Robin has sworn fealty in order to further protect not just his family, but those of the lords and barons who look up to him – and, by extension, the villagers they protect.
There is a truce. An uneasy one, to be sure, but a truce, nonetheless.
But when the Locksley children are stolen away by persons unknown, Robin and Marian are going to need the help of everyone they’ve ever known, perhaps even the ghosts that are said to reside deep within Sherwood.
And the Locksley children, despite appearances to the contrary, are not without tricks of their own…
My only complaint about The Ghosts of Sherwood is that it was far too short. I didn’t realize when I began reading it that it was essentially a novella- otherwise I probably would have slowed down my reading so I could have enjoyed it for longer. As it was, I ended up reading it in just one sitting because it’s only a little over 100 pages.
Despite its short length, though, it still managed to fully set the scene and develop the characters, aided by the fact that many of the characters were ones most readers will already know well. I felt fully transported to Sherwood Forest, almost as if I were there following along with the familiar and new characters alike.
Reading about Robin’s children carrying on his legacy within Sherwood Forest was a fascinating spin on the legends of one of the most famous literary outlaws. No longer fighting injustices, Robin Hood & Co. are simply trying to enjoy a life of relative solitude on their land with their loved ones. However, that tranquility soon becomes jeopardized because, well, this is a story about Robin Hood after all.
I think this book is probably aimed more for younger readers, but as an adult I still had fun reading it. I’m glad to see that this is the start of a series because I can’t wait to read about what comes next. Bring on more Locksley adventures, please!
Robin Hood, Maid Marian, and the Merry Men are well known and loved fictional icons so it was a delight to be able to read a story that posed, “Okay, but what happened afterward?” Set several years after the events most of us are familiar with, the story focused on Robin and Marian’s precocious children.
Several fan favorites make appearances throughout the story, adding delightful little kicks of nostalgia. The fate of some of the others is hinted at so I hope this will be explored further in later installments. Either way, this was a charming read that all fans of Robin Hood should pick up for a bit of a getaway to Sherwood Forest.
A Little Nerd Told Me 