Part of Donald's Robin Hood series (King's Man, 2012, etc.), this book is a bloodcurdling tale of medieval greed, cruelty and honor. In A.D. 1194, young Sir Alan Dale is a faithful disciple of Robin Hood. Both serve England's King Richard the Lionheart in his continuous battles across Normandy. Richard wants to recover land lost during his imprisonment, and France's King Philip stands in his way. Richard's warriors fight for king and loot, lopping off heads, disemboweling foes and turning limbs into bloody stumps. Alan does not share Robin's lack of scruples or disdain for religion, but he admires everything else about him. Alan wants to marry the beautiful Godifa, "Goody," for whom he preserves his virginity, but fealty to Robin and to King Richard keep delaying the union. Another obstacle is the hideous and crazed Nur, whom Alan had once loved until a fiend butchered her face. She will curse Alan and Goody should they go through with the wedding. Much of the plot is driven by Alan's desire to identify the killer of his father--could it be the hated Mercadier or even Robin Hood? And might they find the Holy Grail, thought to have once held the blood of Christ? Donald writes in a "Historical Note" at book's end that he has been fascinated with the era since childhood, a claim supported by the richness of detail he provides in every scene. While protagonist Alan is a sympathetic and honorable man, he is also a ferocious and skilled warrior not averse to cleaving skulls before asking for God's forgiveness. Many of the fight scenes show the thrusts and parries in detail, as though the author were a witness. In between are vivid depictions of 12th-century life, but the battles are what make the book thoroughly entertaining. A fast-paced and exciting story unsuitable for the squeamish.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Donald continues to reconfigure a time-honored legend in the fourth installment of his gritty Robin Hood series. As in the previous three volumes, the tale is narrated by Sir Alan Dale, friend and devoted companion to Robert of Locksley (aka Robin Hood), lord of war, master thief, and loyal lieutenant to King Richard the Lionheart. Moving forward in time, this chapter of the ongoing saga is set primarily in Normandy, where Richard, Robin, and company are challenging the encroachment of King Philip of France. As usual, the battle scenes are brutally etched in gruesomely descriptive prose, but the multilayered plot moves beyond the arena of war as Alan plumbs his own personal history in order to unravel the mystery surrounding his father's death. Although the primary focus is on Alan this time, the darkly foreboding visage of a slightly twisted Robin remains, as always, at the core of this imaginative series.--Flanagan, Margaret Copyright 2010 Booklist