Outcasts of the Wildwood
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
This second novel of a historical fantasy series that reexamines the Robin Hood legend in medieval England.
Nick, an orphan raised at Locksley Abbey has made friends with the Wildfolk: the Greenman, Robin Goodfellow, dryads, water sprites, and other paranormal creatures. He often hides in the nearly forgotten abbey crypt, where he found Elena, the goddess of sorcery, crossroads, and cemeteries. He carries her vessel and tries to learn from her wisdom.
Robin Goodfellow lives with a curse. Half of each day he must spend as a hideous gnome with a bit of magic and near immortality. The other half of the day he can live as Robin Hood, archer of legend. At the time of his curse sixty years before, an insane magician trapped Robin’s love, Marian in a secret chamber that keeps her in perpetual sleep. The only way Robin can break the curse is to awaken Marian in his gnome form and have her recognize his true face.
But the magic is breaking down. Marian will die if Robin doesn’t break the curse soon. He needs Nick’s help, his affinity for dark underground places, and Elena’s whispers to find Marian’s secret chamber and decipher the clues to breaking the curse.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sherwood Forest is in danger in Atwood's enchanting sequel to Walk the Wild with Me. Little John's time as the Green Man is up and he's passing the mantel to his youngest son, Verne. During the year Verne takes to prepare, the forest will be without a protector, even as, outside the forest, John's oldest son, banished by his father, plots with Sir Phillip Marc, the Sheriff of Nottingham. Meanwhile Nick, an orphan at Locksley Abbey, befriends the forest's mystical inhabitants, including Robin of Locksley, who has been cursed to spend half of each day in the gnome-like form of Robin Goodfellow. The rest of the time he's Robin Hood, desperately searching for his love, Marian, who lies hidden in a cursed sleep. As Marc gears up his attack against Sherwood, there's a shift in the forest's magic, and Robin's time runs short. Atwood makes it easy for new readers to get up to speed, though her prolific, hand-holding exposition may frustrate fans who are likely to feel as if they're being told things they already know. Still, it's a fun take on a familiar legend, and lovers of Robin Hood stories are sure to enjoy Atwood's reimagining.
