Nottingham by Nathan Makaryk

 

The year is 1191, the time of the Crusades.  King Richard is half the world away, leaving his country with a dearth of leadership and impoverished by the massive funds needed to support the overseas campaigns.  Robin and Will, battleground friends, come home to Nottingham to try to find out what has become of a shipment of arms sorely needed overseas.  What they find will change their lives forever.

As the king calls for more money, that demand falls on the nobles, They in turn try to raise the money from their serfs and servants, causing hunger and misery.  These individuals on the bottom of the heap are starting to think about fighting back.  Some have run away and gathered in Sherwood Forest where they have become highwaymen to support themselves.  These are the folks who have stolen the arms shipments.

When Robin and Will meet up with the forest folk, a skirmish ensues and Robin is wounded.  Will escapes back to Nottingham while Robin remains behind in the forest and soon becomes the leader.  Now the two former friends are pitted against each other.  Each pursues their goals, being forced into actions they never thought they would do.  Along with them, others aligned with them suffer.  Arable is a servant girl who had been Will's lover before he joined the army while Marion was a lady who had been in love with Robin.  Both will play a part in the struggles to come.  Guy is the leader of the guard that protects Nottingham which makes him an enemy of the folk in the forest.  Along with Robin, these include Will Scarlet and his woman, Elena, along with John Little and the Friar.  Which of the two groups will succeed?

This is a debut novel which is difficult to believe.  It is an epic retelling of the Robin Hood story most are familiar with but it is a retelling that changes the viewpoints of the reader.  There is a second book in this series, Lionhearts, that readers will want to check into after finishing this one.  Nathan Makaryk is a writer and playwright and the novels are based on his plays about the Robin Hood legend.  This book is recommended for fantasy readers as well as those interested in the Crusades period.