ROBIN HOOD – KING OF SHERWOOD Regular posters will recall I've been threatening a Robin Hood novel for some time now. Here it is. It's available from the publisher's website now, on Amazon as soon as they catch up, and via bookshops if they bother to order it. Those who'd like to read the first chapter are directed to http://www.cornerstonepublishers.com/robinhood.pdf You're welcome to post any feedback here, of course. Reviews might well get snatched up and splashed elsewhere though. Here's some of what I have to say about his book in the afterword:     Sometimes, to uphold justice you have to break the law.     That’s a fundamental human belief. We hold that whatever the rules we’re expected to live under say we have an absolute right to defend out loved ones, to feed the starving, to fight for our freedoms. We’ve fought wars and revolutions because of it. And not surprisingly it’s an idea at the root of a good chunk of our literature.     In our stories there’s always a good man – or good woman – who knows this. He’s the maverick. He’s willing to do what others won’t and take on all the forces of authority because something’s wrong. When the law no longer serves natural justice then a hero has to be an outlaw.     Sometimes that hero is a revolutionary. He and his little band of friends take on the mighty Empire and blow up the Death Star. Other times the hero is an avenger. He rides into town with no name and guns down evil men who’ve held it in fear. And sometimes the hero is a trickster, tweaking the nose of authority and making us laugh at it while “they”, the oppressors, are telling us to be very quiet – they’re hunting wabbits.     Robin Hood is the archetypal outlaw. He and his merry men live in an era of injustice, where the law is used to oppress and confine, where the rich and the powerful conspire to exploit the poor and the weak. Sometimes his stories have him be the revolutionary (especially good for movie resolutions) or as the avenging adversary. Sneaky Robin though has always been mostly the trickster who invites us to laugh with him at those in power. I suspect that to the forces of oppression that could be the scariest enemy of all. *** Here's what the publishers have to say: Airship 27 Productions & Cornerstone Book Publishers are proud to announce the release of Robin Hood – King of Sherwood, a brand new full length novel by I.A. Watson. In 1190, two years after resting the crown from his father, Henry II, Richard the Lionhearted departed France for the Holy Lands and the Third Crusade. He left behind regents, Hugh, Bishop of Durham and his chancellor, William de Longchamp. But his younger brother, Prince John, lusted after the crown and saw Richard’s absence as a golden opportunity to seize control. John began a program of heavy taxation that threatened to destroy the social-economic stability of the England. While the royals conspired against each other, it was the people of the land who suffered. Working under inhumane laws, they became no more than indentured slaves to the landed gentry. Amidst this age of turmoil and pain, there arose a man with the courage to challenge the aristocracy and fight for the weak and helpless. He was an outlaw named Robin of Loxley and how he became the champion of the people is a time worn legend that has entertained readers young and old. Now, I.A. Watson brings his own vivid imagination to the saga, setting it against the backdrop of history but maintaining the iconic elements that have endeared the tale of Robin Hood throughout the ages. It is a fresh and rousing retelling of an old legend, imbuing it with a modern sensibility readers will applaud. The book features a stunning painted cover by professional artist, Mike Manley and black and white interior illustrations by the book’s designer, Rob Davis. Airship 27 Productions is extremely proud to present – ROBIN HOOD – KING OF SHERWOOD! ISBN: 1-934935-65-4 ISBN 13: 978-1-934935-65-1 Produced by Airship 27 Published by Cornerstone Book Publishers http://www.cornerstonepublishers.com/books/?page_id=8 Release date: 03/25/2010 Retail Price: $21.95

Congrats on your new novel. When I get the chance I'll peruse the first chapter.

As an aside, is the cover artist Mike Manley the same one who worked for Marvel and DC back in the late 90s and, more recently, did storyboards for The Venture Brothers?

Excellent. I was going to post it here but since Cornerstone did it for me I guess I'd beter direct people there.




I presume so but I don't know for sure.

It's available online at http://cornerstonepublishers.com/robinhood.html -
probably the cheapest source right now until Sunday 28th if you input the promotional code "springsale" for a 35% discount.

I'll probably wait until I can get the book on Amazon.ca; the 35% sale will be negated by exchange rates, shipping, and customs. Thanks for posting the promo though, hopefully some of our US-based PV posters can take advantage of it.

~Hat~

I quite enjoyed your other long works of fiction, and I can only imagine how much more comfortable reading this one will be, what with the whole "book" format. I have a feeling this book thing might catch on yet.

I'll give you some comments on the first chapter as soon as I get the chance to read it. However, I just had a bunch of work dumped on me with a very short window for turnaround, (which is probably for the best anyway, what with my parents arriving tomorrow right after the deadline.)

I enjoyed it quite a bit... The exposition setting up the state of things was delivered in an interesting way as Matilda and her mother sparred in the carriage, but things really took off once the robbery began.

Naturally, I find this "Robin" guy to be a bit of a little punk, what with taking hostages and all... Not that he's without his charms as they begin their march through the woods. I do like that you choose to introduce him in a way that makes him have to earn our sympathy and support by having him rob characters who don't obviously deserve it. We know that the world is unjust as of this point, but since the main character is the focus of the injustice we know about, having her be robbed and kidnapped certainly stack the deck against this cocky rogue.

I'm really looking forward to settling in with the whole thing. I'll try and give you some solid feedback when I do.

Michael Manley's blog detailing the process of creating the cover illustration:

http://drawman.blogspot.com/2010/03/robin-hood-king-of-sherwood.html

...the only thing that disappointed me about the volume - and it REALLY disappointed me - was that the dedication to my mother got accidentally omitted.

On the other hand, the debate about whether or not to "correct" my proper English spelling was amusing.

    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Quite safe,” Robin assured her. He gave her a wicked smirk. “I don’t need to force myself on girls.”
    Matilda blushed. “Can I have my knife back, then? So I feel safe.”
    Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’m not sure how safe I’d feel then. Will you give your word only to use it to defend your virtue, not to try and escape?”
    Matilda hadn’t expected so positive a response to her request. “I’ll swear it by the Virgin,” she promised.
    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Go on then, swear,” Robin prompted her. When she made her vow he handed her blade back to her.
    She received the knife with a puzzled frown. “You are a very unusual outlaw,” she admitted.
    Ã¢â‚¬Å“Really?” Robin grinned again. He seemed to do that a lot, and when he smiled his whole face lit up like a little boy getting a treat. “What kind of outlaws are you used to, Lady Matilda?”




Pretty much the whole book cascades from that one encounter.




As I proofread the story I realised that Matilda had turned out to be a "Vizh" heroine - trampled by adversity and still fighting back against the odds.

Anyway, her captor's not really Robin Hood yet, not as he should be. She's got her work cut out.




That's very helpful of you. I'm looking forward to seeing a copy of the book myself, so I can find if there were any major editorial changes.

Placed the order on Sunday, got the shipping notice on Monday, and received the order on Tuesday, all with their super saver shipping. I think I presently don't live very far from one of their warehouses.

In any event, I plan to read some as soon as I'm done here. Sadly, I was also given a new assignment today (well, not sadly, as I need the work), so I'm not sure how quickly I'll be able to get through it all. I'm looking forward to it though.

>...the only thing that disappointed me about the volume - and it REALLY disappointed me - was that the dedication to my mother got accidentally omitted.

That's a real shame. Maybe they can amend it for the second print run.

> On the other hand, the debate about whether or not to "correct" my proper English spelling was amusing.

ha ha, I'll bet.

Anyway, I printed off and read the preview chapter today, very nice beginning and set up, obviously before Robin Hood became the famous outlaw of lore. It's an interesting place to set your story, lots of potential.

I enjoy the young wolfshead as you have presented him. Cocky, roguish, yet with a hint of chivalry and nobility. He'd be a great character to play in a DnD game come to think of it.

And Matilda of course has all the gusto of many of the women we see you write here (hints of Lisa, Dancer, Kerry) yet a charm and resilience all her own - I'm looking forward to reading more on both her and Robin.

Speaking of which, the publisher doesn't seem to ship to Aus. Guess I'll wait for Amazon. I will be bringing it to the UK next time I go there though and tracking you down to sign it for me. I’ll add it to my Adam Diller signed artwork.:)

I was interested in the choice of the name you used for the noble family. Fitzwarren. Any reason or history behind it?

The footnotes were an interesting and unexpected find in a pulp novel too, though what I’d love to read is the last chapter “On history” so looking forward to doing just that eventually.

Anyway, great show Ian, you have me piqued and wanting to read more. Well done.

I hope you enjoy it. I at least has one "Vizh-favourite" candidate in there. Sadly there are relatively few robot fleas and the girls only dress in green.

It surprised me that there's so little done usually around Robin's origins and motivation. We often get a set-piece event that spurred him but not much more. I felt that the creation of such a remarkable person really deserved a story arc of its own. Why miss out on the most interesting part of the character's journey?




About fifth level ranger/thief, I'd say. Chaotic Good.




It's her story as much as his.




Fair enough.




The endnotes explain this fully, but without spoilers I can't really go into it. Suffice for now to say that Fitzwarren and Robin Hood are linked back a very long way. One of the very oldest tales, Robin Hood and the Knight, features a character that could be old Fitzwarren - although the events of that story aren't reflected until Book 2 of my tale. Elizabethan drama, which first identified Robin as the Earl of Huntingdon, also intimately linked Robin with Matilda Fitzwarren.

And just to complicate things further, Fitzwarren really existed in history. He really had daughters. John probably fancied one of them. Fitzwarren really did fall out with Prince John. In fact he was forced into exile by John and he was one of the architects of the Baron's Revolt that beat John and forced him to sign the Magna Carta.

Oh, and the prefix "Fitz" on any name means "bastard of". Fitzroy is "bastard of the king" and there were several around in Robin's time, including the Archbishop of York. Warren's a Norman name but Matilda has Saxon red-blonde hair. Go back around 120 years to the Norman Conquest of England and draw your own conclusions.




I'm a big fan of George Macdonald Frasier's Flashman novels and his format and penchant for adding additional historical information probably influenced me.

Besides, so much of the Robin Hood legend is culturally and historically rooted that for non-English folk to really catch the full flavour they need information they wouldn't get in their own schooling. The feudal systems of villein, peasant, freeman, and lord are particularly baffling to outsiders; it's hard to imagine now an England in which 80% of the population were in many ways as much slaves as the Negroes of the American south. It's also difficult for modern readers to comprehend how different an economy without money was - many villeins never possessed a coin and traded entirely by barter; and how pervasive the influence of the church was in the lives of people who believed that their immortal destinies depended on the approval of their priests.

And more central to this novel was the role of women, and particularly noble women, as strategic and economic assets. Women were traded in the way a farmer might sell his horses and few had any rights over the wishes of a father or husband. It's telling that the medieval laws about rape have less to do with the woman's trauma or ordeal and more to do with how much compensation is due to her family for her loss of value. Indeed, often the woman was expected to marry her rapist if proper asset transfer could be negotiated. Marriage by force majeure was recognised in court, and was an easy way for an ambitious landless knight to gain wealth if he could kidnap and ravish the right landed maiden.

In a society that viewed women as docile assets you can see why a spirited girl like Matilda might actually find some use in being kidnapped by Robin Hood.




Thanks.