Did not finish.

I've read enough Robin Hood lore to know when something isn't sitting right, and while I appreciate Pyle's attempts to bring back the Ye Olde language to his audience, it bored me.

Ah, Robin Hood. So much nostalgia from a childhood of playing pretend. This book definitely delivers on its promise of merry adventures. I admit I choked up a bit at the end.

While this story was good, it could have been great. The narrative was character driven, my favourite being Little John (who is definitely a complete Chad). But a lot of the time it was repetitive and predictable. The story arch of most chapters was similar. It usually involved Robin meeting a stranger, they have a duel, and Robin offers the stranger to join the band of merry outlaws. At other times, the story involves Robin’s conversation with wealthy people like bishops and governors, and deceiving them into giving him money or gold, which Robin shares with his merry men and distributes to the less fortunate. What a cool dude!

The first and last quarters of the novel were the best. In my opinion, a majority of the middle of the book was unnecessarily slow. Most of it had little or nothing to contribute to the plot. A lot of the new characters that were introduced in the middle, save about 3, had little function or relevance later on. It felt like a chore getting through a large chunk of it. But every now and again there were verses of beautiful poetry, which made Robin Hood a special read. By the last quarter of the book, things began to pick up again. It was jolly again. Even the last few pages were moving and melancholy. It was a nice adventure overall.

While I loved the old English, which read a bit like primitive Shakespeare, the old-fashioned vocabulary was hard for me to understand sometimes. It feels good to have finished. Seeing how the violence is very tame, I think it would be a fun book to read to my kids one day. I might have to skip the chapter where Little John disguises himself as a friar and kisses all the lasses and ladies in the marketplace though.

Truly pleasant to read. Quaint escapism at its finest. Like having a little renaissance fair you can dip into and out of whenever you please. Plus, the epilogue made me cry, which is worth extra points.

A bit difficult to wade through because of the language, but otherwise an excellent story. You can almost picture this being read aloud or retold as the family sits around the fire on a cold winter night, listening closely to the adventures of a character so beloved in literature.

We all love this book dearly…except for the epilogue. I read it aloud years ago and decided that next time I would stop short (it’s not like the book is incomplete without it). So this time I skipped it. I don’t normally avoid sadness or hard things in books, even for the children, but the treachery that resulted in Robin Hood’s death was such a sad end for an otherwise happy book. The five stars is for the book without the epilogue.
I’m surprised I don’t see any comments on the epilogue in other reviews. I have a very old edition (late 1800s)…I wonder if some editions just leave it out?

I liked this. I was really bummed about the ending though.