The Outlaw Chronicles
This is a series of novels that are set around the time of Richard the Lionheart and rework the legend of Robin Hood.
I was first informed about these books by a fellow archery judge, Jay Ben-Ari, who saw me reading a novel one evening while we were both attending an Archery Tournament in Trakoscan, Croatia.
Jay had read most of the books in the series published at that time and wondered if I had read them also, which I hadn't, in fact, I didn't know they existed.
Jay strongly recommended them to me, stating that they were well written and action-packed. Also, with me being English and an Archer as well, he thought I would find them interesting.
I received two books from the series as Christmas presents from my brother, but unfortunately, he had only been able to find books two and three, leaving me to find book one, which I would have done when I was getting close to reading them. However, before I reached that point I emigrated and these books, like the majority of the rest, were donated to the local British Heart Charity shop.
In 2021 I came across the first four novels of this series, online in Epub format on special offer, so I of course couldn't resist and acquired them.
Being an Englishman, a Longbow archer and having seen many TV shows and films about Robin Hood, I thought I was familiar with his story.
However, on reading the first book and the events that unfold, these are a completely fresh take on the legend while still retaining the well-known characters, all of whom are brought vividly to life in a gripping and engaging tale that imparts a real feeling of the era and the local it is set within.
It depicts a much more gritty and hard, even brutal version of the characters while keeping the camaraderie between them.
Holy Warrior: Outlaw Chronicles: Book 02
Sphere Arrows will fly. Swords will swing Heroes will fall. Legends will survive. And the Holy Land will never be the same. 1190 AD: Richard the Lionheart has launched his epic crusade to seize Jerusalem from the cruel Saracens.
Marching with the vast royal army is Britain's most famous, most feared, most ferocious warrior: the Outlaw of Nottingham--the Earl of Locksley - Robin Hood himself. With his band of loyal men at his side, Robin cuts a bloody swathe on the brutal journey east.
Daring and dangerous, he can outwit and outlast any foe, but the crimson battlefields of the Holy Land are the ultimate proving ground. And within Robin's camp lurks a traitor-- a stealthy enemy determined to slay Christendom's greatest outlaw before the trumpets fade. Blazingly paced and richly imagined, featuring a cast of unforgettable character . . .
Format
PaperbackDate Acquired
25th December 2014Retail Cost
£8.99Number of Pages
512Year Read
Unread
Kings Man: Outlaw Chronicles: Book 03
THE THIRD CRUSADE IS OVER Richard the Lionheart is bound for England. But with all the princes of Europe united against him ...can the greatest warrior in Christendom make it safely home?
THE LION IS CHAINED Captured. Bound. Imprisoned. King Richard's slim hope of salvation rests on one man - a former outlaw, a vengeful earl, a man who scoffs at Holy Mother Church: ROBIN HOOD
For King and country Robin and his loyal lieutenant, Alan Dale will risk all - from blood-soaked battlefields to deadly assassins - to see the Lionheart restored to his rightful throne.
Format
PaperbackDate Acquired
25th December 2014Retail Cost
£6.99Number of Pages
512Year Read
Unread
Outlaw: Outlaw Chronicles: Book 01
When he's caught stealing, young Alan Dale is forced to leave his family and go to live with a notorious band of outlaws in Sherwood Forest.
Their leader is the infamous Robin Hood. A tough, bloodthirsty warrior, Robin is more feared than any man in the county. And he becomes a mentor for Alan; with his fellow outlaws, Robin teaches Alan how to fight - and how to win.
But Robin is a ruthless man - and although he is Alan's protector, if Alan displeases him, he could also just as easily become his murderer....
From bloody battles to riotous feast days to marauding packs of wolves, Outlaw is a gripping, action-packed historical thriller that delves deep into the fascinating legend of Robin Hood.
Format
MobiDate Acquired
25th May 2021Retail Cost
£8.99Number of Pages
326Year Read
2022
Holy Warrior: Outlaw Chronicles: Book 02
King Richard the Lionheart has been crowned, and his loyal subject Robin Hood is preparing an army to take on the Third Crusade with Richard's forces to free the Holy Land from the grip of Saladin and his victorious Saracen army.
In Sicily, en route to the Holy Land, the crusaders sack the town of Messina and Alan rescues and then falls in love with a beautiful Muslim slave-girl. But someone is trying to assassinate Robin - possibly the duo's old enemy Sir Richard Malbisse, who joins King Richard's army in Sicily and very soon has the royal ear as a favoured courtier.
As Alan and Robin fight their way through the conquest of Cyprus, the siege of Acre and the climatic carnage of the battle of Arsuf near modern-day Tel Aviv, Alan discovers that Robin's motive for coming to the Holy Land is not as honourable as he had imagined...
Format
MobiDate Acquired
25th May 2021Retail Cost
£8.99Number of Pages
371Year Read
2022
King's Man: Outlaw Chronicles: Book 03
THE THIRD CRUSADE IS OVER
Richard the Lionheart is bound for England. But with all the princes of Europe united against him . . . can the greatest warrior in Christendom make it safely home?
THE LION IS CHAINED
Captured. Bound. Imprisoned. King Richard's slim hope of salvation rests on one man - a former outlaw, a vengeful earl, a man who scoffs at Holy Mother Church:
ROBIN HOOD
For King and country Robin and his loyal lieutenant Alan Dale will risk all - from blood-soaked battlefields to deadly assassins - to see the Lionheart restored to his rightful throne.
Format
MobiDate Acquired
25th May 2021Retail Cost
£8.99Number of Pages
384Year Read
2022
Warlord: Outlaw Chronicles: Book 04
May 1194. Finally released from captivity, Richard the Lionheart is in Normandy engaged in a bloody war to drive the French out of his continental patrimony. Using the brutal tactics of medieval warfare - siege, savagery and scorched earth - the Lionheart is gradually pushing back the forces of King Philip of France. By his side in this epic struggle are Robert, Earl of Locksley, better known as the erstwhile outlaw Robin Hood, and Sir Alan Dale, his loyal friend, and a musician and warrior of great skill and renown.
But while the battles rage and the bodies pile up, Robin seems only to be interested in making a profit from the devastation of war, while Alan is preoccupied with discovering the identity the man who ordered his father's death ten years earlier - and the mystery is leading him to Paris, deep in the heart of the enemy's territory ...
Format
MobiDate Acquired
25th May 2021Retail Cost
£3.99Number of Pages
451Year Read
2022