King's Man

Robin Hood and Alan Dale have returned from The Holy Land after serving with King Richard on crusade.  Robin's wife is under siege at their castle by Sheriff Ralph Murdac, lackey of John Lackland.  A surprise attack in the middle of the night on the besiegers by Robin and his men relieves the castle.

The following months are ones of relative peace.  Alan is sent by Robin throughout England to gauge the situation.  At Pembroke, he hears from William the Marshal that there are people in England who want to bring Robin down.  There is also a Templar Knight there who tells Alan that Robin is going to be summoned to an inquisition into his ungodly behaviour.  Shortly after this news is received of the capture of King Richard by Duke Leopold.  A summons comes from Queen Eleanor to Westminster.

While in London, Robin's son, Hugh is kidnapped by the Knights Templar.  He must submit to them in order to get the child back.  Will Alan's own testimony at the inquisition condemn Robin to a fiery end?  But before Alan can know Robin's fate he and his German friend, Hanno, set off to Germany in search of King Richard on behalf of Queen Eleanor.  While in Europe, Alan hears a rumour that Robin had escaped custody and was back in Sherwood Forest.

Having found King Richard a prisoner of the Holy Roman Emperor, Alan and Hanno must now take that news back to England.   It is a trip filled with jeopardy.  Knowing that he would be unwelcome with Robin, Alan is convinced to swear allegiance to Richard's brother, John.  He and Hanno travel to Nottingham to do this.  There Alan is assigned to be a tax collector.  Ostensibly the taxes were to pay for the king's ransom, but everyone seemed to skim off some, except Alan.  Then Robin started to hit the tax collectors.

Will Robin steal enough from John Lackland's tax collectors to free King Richard?  Can Alan ever earn the trust of Robin again after condemning him at the Templar inquisition?  Author Angus Donald has written a rollicking novel of the times of Robin Hood.  It is full of exciting adventures and battles, a fun read for the fan of historical fiction.