Holy Warrior (The Outlaw Chronicles #2)

Loved the first book! I’ve always loved Robin Hood, but it’s so often done poorly. THIS is done right. Robin is obviously the focus of this series, but the primary character is Alan Dale, whose story unfolds here in a coming-of-age tale that introduces many of the characters we know and that we will come to enjoy as they fight… and die. Alan at first is the perfect mix of crassness and craft, but this book sends him on a lifetime of adventure, for you as well as he. In this book, Alan wins his spurs as Donald cleverly integrates the Robin Hood tale with history.

Alan Dale is the loyal oathman of Robin Hood in the 3rd Crusade. Robin Hood is a much different character than portrayed in movies as he is now in his post bandit stage and a landed nobleman. Robin Hood can be honorable and at times ruthless but always self serving. The story is narrated by Alan Dale looking back on the days of his youth. If you did not know you would think you might be reading Bernard Cornwell as the styles are so alike with one exception: While Angus Donald’s battle scenes are explicit they to not take 30 or 40 pages of reading as is the case of Cornwell. With Cornwell it seems a third of the book is taken up with brutal chopping and hacking but Donald uses more pages to tell the actual tale which I found to be more enjoyable reading. The use of archers as the important part of any military force is also certified and Alan and Robin and other fictional characters fit in with real historical characters and events very well. From historical perspective the story also shows that Crusaders fought, raped and pillaged more cities and people on the way to the Holy Land than they did to Moslems when they got there.

In the second of this five-book series, Robin of Sherwood is now an Earl. He must fulfill his promise to the Templars to accompany Richard Lionheart to the Holy Land as part of the Third Crusade.

But all is not yet well. Robin still has enemies, including one who has been planning his death for a very long time.

The story continues still through the eyes of Alan Dale, who as an old grandfather back in England, is remembering all the past events, trying perhaps to understand the complex former thief and now Earl of Locksley that he served so long.

This Robin Hood is still cruel, and horribly pragmatic–he makes a terrible choice at one point, that leaves Alan stricken, re-thinking his loyalty. Robin however is not simply a product of a wilder, still more visceral and unkind age–his behavior could be too easily dismissed that way, as if we readers are so far distant from such an age that we could be tolerant.

Robin is at heart an honest man. He does not pretend any Christian fervor for the Crusade-he does not hide behind sweet and kind words. He seeks what he needs to ensure survival in a world that does not easily (in fact hardly at all) reward nobility and kindness. He does care for his own, pitilessly and completely, and is loyal to those who give him loyalty.

This Robin really reflects the potential in all of us, to do the ruthlessly pragmatic and practical, or find a way to instead rise above and transcend all that and be better. Robin is us, the part of us that responds to ugliness and violence in ways with which most of us will never be confronted. We today are still capable of ugliness and violence, even if we simply use words instead of swords, daggers and arrows.

This resonance is the continuing power of this novel and one hopes it is maintained in the next novels.

Sharpen your long sword and tuck in behind your shield wall for another blood and guts-filled saga of the legendary Robin Hood in “Holy Warrior,” second in Angus Donald’s rousing tale of England around the turn of 12th Century. Henry II has died, and his warrior son Richard I, better known as Richard the Lionhearted, is wearing the crown. Robin Hood is now the Earl of Locksley, a respected nobleman (kind of) who has given up his outlaw ways (sort of). In payment of a debt incurred Donald’s first installment, “The Outlaw,” Locksley/Robin leaves wife Marie Anne and infant son Hugh behind, gathers his band of not-so-merry men, and trundles off with King Richard to battle the infidel on the Third Crusade. As in the novel that precedes it, “Holy Warrior” is narrated by Alan Dale, Locksley’s troubadour and confidant. From the plunder of Messina to the battle for Cyprus to finally confronting the brilliant Muslim general Saladin on “Outremer’s” deserts, the author spins a tale where the action never flags and the gore never ends; a raucous, vicious, and sometimes poignant tale that falls just short of overdoing the violence to the point of tedium. The story is salvaged by enough historical fact and minutia to provide thoughtful backdrop and context to hacking, slashing, gouging, puncturing, bone breaking and mutilation, while weaving a couple of mystery threads into the plot to keep both Alan Dale and the reader guessing right up to the final chapter.

In “The Outlaw,” Donald builds a complex Robin Hood: an uncommon leader who inspires awe and loyalty in those who follow him, but also a dark and troubled man whose rage is always barely concealed behind a calm surface; a sometimes brutal commander who knew few bounds in insuring his troops obeyed the rules of the tribe. In “Holy Warrior,” this dark side grows, painting a picture of a still brilliant battle tactician who is nonetheless haunted by demons, unsure of his suitability to the life of a gentleman, and not afraid to make horrible sacrifices in order to better the odds of the pack. Meanwhile, Alan Dale is tormented by a sadistic knight, while in between battles he tries to track own a would be assassin who has attempted and failed three times to murder Locksley. I doubt that Angus Donald is a historian by trade, but he does a yeoman’s job of sprinkling his plot with history both common and off the beaten track, like the horrific 1190 slaughter of the Jewish community in York Castle. And if there are better novels to cover King Richard and the Crusades, this, after all, never pretends to be anything but a fictional, swashbuckling romp through a formative period of world history.

In short, while Angus Donald may not be up to the lofty standards set by Edward Rutherfurd or Bernard Cornwell, his chronicle of Robin Hoods makes for entertaining reading and enough history to distance it from simple guilty pleasure. I’ll look forward to catching up with Locksley, Dale and King Richard in volume three, “The King’s Man.”

The second novel in Angus’ superb Outlaw series takes a slightly different direction from the first. While Outlaw drew on the traditional legends of Robin Hood and used them to create a new tale in a very realistic environment, the feel was clearly still a Robin in Sherwood one, for all its grit and realism. Holy Warrior is entirely different, and this to me is the making of the book. It would have been easy enough for the author to revisit the old territory for a sequel, but I think such would only have diminished the impact of the first. Taking the story in a new direction has kept the series fresh and made Holy Warrior as much a great book in its own right as a great sequel.

When the first book ended, given the situation (which I shall not reveal for fear of spoilers), I did wonder how Angus was going to be able to produce a sequel. This tale, still told from the point of view of Alan Dale, with Robin as an objective character rather than the lead, surprised me in a number of ways.

Firstly, the characters have changed subtly due to their experiences. The Alan we see in Holy Warrior is a different man to the boy in Outlaw, more confident, stronger, a little more embittered and thoughtful. Robin also had changed, burdened by so many more cares and difficulties than once beset him. The introduction of a number of strong new characters also injects fresh life into the tale.

Secondly, the story is set to the background of the Third Crusade. This event is one of the few parts of medieval history I’m fairly familiar with and I wondered just how it was going to surprise and entertain me, given my foreknowledge. The answer is: perfectly. The story is not hinged upon the crusade, though the holy war is clearly a large part. It is more a story of struggle, revenge, personal growth and change, orienting specifically mostly around Robin, Alan, their Jewish friends and a new vicious enemy who I shall not name yet. Amazingly to me, there is one event in the 3rd crusade that I consider the most amazing and fascinating and in an unexpected move, this event almost goes unnoticed due to the absence of the narrator. Such wonderful ‘curve-balls’ are what kept me guessing.

Thirdly, as a historian living near York, I was impressed with Angus’ handling of late 12th century York and the events that took place there. These events I know well and yet they were made to fit seamlessly into the tale without a hiccup, as though they had always been linked.

Essentially, while there is so much more I could say, I will simply say bravo, Angus, and I look forward to reading King’s Man, which sits watching me expectantly from the bookcase.

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