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Robin Hood and the Heretic Prince
‘Your Excellency,’ said the knight, ‘there may also be Christians in there. How can we tell which is a heretic, and which a good Catholic?’
‘Kill them all,’ said the papal legate. ‘God will know his own!’
AD 1209: When a robbery in Sherwood goes wrong, Robin Hood, Sir Alan Dale and a handful of their outlaw friends are forced to flee their homes to escape the wrath of a vengeful King John and his iron-hearted Sheriff of Nottinghamshire.
After travelling to the Languedoc, a land of good food, fine wine, elegant love poetry and religious tolerance, the Sherwood men find themselves caught up in a blood-soaked crusade launched by Pope Innocent III. Robin Hood and his band become mercenaries in the employ of the Count of Toulouse, tasked with protecting his people, whom the Pope has condemned to death as Cathar heretics.
At the Castle of Béziers, besieged by an army of fanatical Catholic crusaders, the Sherwood heroes vow to hold its walls against these northern French knights until the Heavens fall. But one member of their company has other ideas . . .
Praise for the Outlaw Chronicles
‘Joyous writing full of verve and control’ – Conn Iggulden
‘Excellent, well-researched and full of detail’ – Ben Kane
‘A glorious, violent, fast-moving recreation of an English legend’ – The Times
‘Kill them all,’ said the papal legate. ‘God will know his own!’
AD 1209: When a robbery in Sherwood goes wrong, Robin Hood, Sir Alan Dale and a handful of their outlaw friends are forced to flee their homes to escape the wrath of a vengeful King John and his iron-hearted Sheriff of Nottinghamshire.
After travelling to the Languedoc, a land of good food, fine wine, elegant love poetry and religious tolerance, the Sherwood men find themselves caught up in a blood-soaked crusade launched by Pope Innocent III. Robin Hood and his band become mercenaries in the employ of the Count of Toulouse, tasked with protecting his people, whom the Pope has condemned to death as Cathar heretics.
At the Castle of Béziers, besieged by an army of fanatical Catholic crusaders, the Sherwood heroes vow to hold its walls against these northern French knights until the Heavens fall. But one member of their company has other ideas . . .
Praise for the Outlaw Chronicles
‘Joyous writing full of verve and control’ – Conn Iggulden
‘Excellent, well-researched and full of detail’ – Ben Kane
‘A glorious, violent, fast-moving recreation of an English legend’ – The Times
305 pages, Paperback
Published June 20, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 5, 2025
You can tell how good a series is when the fans keep demanding more.
Here we have #11 in Angus Donald’s excellent series to feature Robin Hood and his companions, including Sir Alan Dale who narrates this tale for us.
Robin and the gang are forced to abandon their lands when a robbery goes wrong and hope for easy money seeking the source of spice thefts and a rest in the Languedoc region. Unfortunately Pope Innocent III decides it is time to launch a crusade to wipe out non Catholics and seize land and Robin’s crew are caught in the middle, but seek advantage in using their skills as mercenaries. Cue bloody battle, fearsome foes, city sieges all set within a fascinating era of European history.
Of course it is a brilliant read, but we’ve come to expect to expect that.
Here we have #11 in Angus Donald’s excellent series to feature Robin Hood and his companions, including Sir Alan Dale who narrates this tale for us.
Robin and the gang are forced to abandon their lands when a robbery goes wrong and hope for easy money seeking the source of spice thefts and a rest in the Languedoc region. Unfortunately Pope Innocent III decides it is time to launch a crusade to wipe out non Catholics and seize land and Robin’s crew are caught in the middle, but seek advantage in using their skills as mercenaries. Cue bloody battle, fearsome foes, city sieges all set within a fascinating era of European history.
Of course it is a brilliant read, but we’ve come to expect to expect that.
July 14, 2025
I wanted to give this book a 5-star rating because I enjoy Angus Donald's books and all that implies. However, this one appears as if it were never edited - this happened in one of his other books as well - there were spelling mistakes, incorrect words, partial sentences that meant nothing and on and on. I quit counting at 100 and was only a little over halfway through. Was this book never proofread? My God, how did it get released?
Here's an example (I've made this up to get the point across) "Robin of Locksley was made because when he came upon me at the in, I was drinking wine like the gentlemen I was supposed to bee would drink. "So you're to good to drink ale," said Lockley placing my knife under his throat....and on and on). Sentences that make no sense, names misspelled, the list is endless.
If you don't mind correcting those mistakes as you read along, you have an interesting tale featuring narrator Alan Dale (known as Alan a Dale in many stories) in which this version of Robin hires out the remnants of his merry men to - among other things - serve as mercenaries. If you've read the earlier books in this series, you know this Robin Hood did not rob the rich and give to the poor, he robbed the rich and kept what he took.
The story line moves fast and there are some characters you come to like and some you don't, many of whom will not see the end of the book. There's the almost-obligatory big battle near the end and it will prove to be interesting.
If you mentally correct the errors, the book will read fast and prove to be entertaining. Let's just hope that before the next book comes out in August, 2025 (it's not a Robin Hood story), that the publisher hires an editor to proofread the story and correct the mistakes that make the book read more like it was written by an AI program.
Here's an example (I've made this up to get the point across) "Robin of Locksley was made because when he came upon me at the in, I was drinking wine like the gentlemen I was supposed to bee would drink. "So you're to good to drink ale," said Lockley placing my knife under his throat....and on and on). Sentences that make no sense, names misspelled, the list is endless.
If you don't mind correcting those mistakes as you read along, you have an interesting tale featuring narrator Alan Dale (known as Alan a Dale in many stories) in which this version of Robin hires out the remnants of his merry men to - among other things - serve as mercenaries. If you've read the earlier books in this series, you know this Robin Hood did not rob the rich and give to the poor, he robbed the rich and kept what he took.
The story line moves fast and there are some characters you come to like and some you don't, many of whom will not see the end of the book. There's the almost-obligatory big battle near the end and it will prove to be interesting.
If you mentally correct the errors, the book will read fast and prove to be entertaining. Let's just hope that before the next book comes out in August, 2025 (it's not a Robin Hood story), that the publisher hires an editor to proofread the story and correct the mistakes that make the book read more like it was written by an AI program.
August 10, 2025
I believe this is something like book #11 in Angus Donald;'s 'Outlaw Chronicles' series about Robin Hood and his companions, all told from the point of view of Alan a Dale.
And, for those not in the know, this version of Robin is not so much the 'goody two shoes' that may be familiar from the movies and TV series', but is instead a ruthless mercenary who would not hesitate to kill for his own ends, but who is also very loyal to to those he sees as his own.
In this instalment, Robin and several of his companions are forced to abandon their lands following a robbery gone wrong, travelling to the French Languedoc region just in time to get caught up in the Cathar heresy, and (in particular) the ruthless response to the same from the ruling Roman Catholic church who viewed their beliefs as a threat to themselves.
As before, what follows is a very enjoyable tale, full of action, with plenty of plot threads left dangling for the inevitable sequel which I am sure I will pick up!
And, for those not in the know, this version of Robin is not so much the 'goody two shoes' that may be familiar from the movies and TV series', but is instead a ruthless mercenary who would not hesitate to kill for his own ends, but who is also very loyal to to those he sees as his own.
In this instalment, Robin and several of his companions are forced to abandon their lands following a robbery gone wrong, travelling to the French Languedoc region just in time to get caught up in the Cathar heresy, and (in particular) the ruthless response to the same from the ruling Roman Catholic church who viewed their beliefs as a threat to themselves.
As before, what follows is a very enjoyable tale, full of action, with plenty of plot threads left dangling for the inevitable sequel which I am sure I will pick up!
July 6, 2025
Love Angus Donald’s latest Outlaw Chronicles! Robin of Locksley and his sworn man, Alan Dale, along with other Sherwood outlaws, must once again turn to their old ways. When a robbery goes wrong and a churchman accidentally dies, the Robin and his group must leave Nottingham or suffer severe consequences. They travel to London and take on the job of finding a thief among a friend’s employ. After traveling to the Languedoc, Robin hires his band out to the Count of Toulouse to fight as mercenaries in a crusade that the Pope started to get rid of all heretics not of the Catholic faith. After the Count turns to the enemy’s side, Robin and his band seek refuge with the Count’s nephew, where one castle is lost and one is besieged. Many innocent lives are lost, as Robin and his band fight to survive. Once the nephew gives his lands to the church, the siege is finally over. Once the way home to England, Alan finds the thief and solves the mystery of the missing peppercorn. But the outlaws still can’t go home…
July 24, 2025
The Heretic Prince
The Outlaw Series Book 11 – Angus Donald
The Heretic Prince is set in Languedoc against the background of the Cathar Wars/ Albigensian Crusade and sees the return of Robin Hood, Little John, and the narrator of this tale, Sir Alan Dale (Robin’s sworn man).
My grammar isn’t brilliant at the best of times (just ask my bestie, she’ll gladly confirm this), yet I almost had the urge to take out my red pen and go to town on the many spelling mistakes and half structured sentences in this novel. It felt like the author was so desperate to get his story into print that he evaded his editors. Alas, thankfully, this didn’t get in the way of Angus Donald telling a compelling story filled with strategy
, blood thirsty berserker rage and those loveable Little John euphemism “
There has not been a new Outlaw adventure since 2020, which isn’t surprising since the series came to a very bloody conclusion in 2016. However, the last two interim novels were incredible. So, it was a pleasant surprise when I found out about the sudden release of The Heretic Prince, which gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling. From the very first page, I felt like I was being welcomed back into the Sherwood Outlaw fold with open arms, drinking ale with the lads and terrorising Prince John and his army of brutes.
The whipping of the disobedient squire Lambert and the humorous tit for tat between the not so friendly giant Little John and our narrator (the musically gifted knight) Sir Alan Dale, were the key highlights for me. Although this is the 11th entry into the Outlaw collection, it wasn’t the best novel in the series to lead into what will be the 12th book, but it was definitely worth the adventure.
Fear not for Robin Hood and Sir Alan Dale as they will return in 2026 for another thrilling adventure that may lead them back to an old friend.
3/5 Long Bow Arrows
The Outlaw Series Book 11 – Angus Donald
The Heretic Prince is set in Languedoc against the background of the Cathar Wars/ Albigensian Crusade and sees the return of Robin Hood, Little John, and the narrator of this tale, Sir Alan Dale (Robin’s sworn man).
My grammar isn’t brilliant at the best of times (just ask my bestie, she’ll gladly confirm this), yet I almost had the urge to take out my red pen and go to town on the many spelling mistakes and half structured sentences in this novel. It felt like the author was so desperate to get his story into print that he evaded his editors. Alas, thankfully, this didn’t get in the way of Angus Donald telling a compelling story filled with strategy
, blood thirsty berserker rage and those loveable Little John euphemism “
There has not been a new Outlaw adventure since 2020, which isn’t surprising since the series came to a very bloody conclusion in 2016. However, the last two interim novels were incredible. So, it was a pleasant surprise when I found out about the sudden release of The Heretic Prince, which gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling. From the very first page, I felt like I was being welcomed back into the Sherwood Outlaw fold with open arms, drinking ale with the lads and terrorising Prince John and his army of brutes.
The whipping of the disobedient squire Lambert and the humorous tit for tat between the not so friendly giant Little John and our narrator (the musically gifted knight) Sir Alan Dale, were the key highlights for me. Although this is the 11th entry into the Outlaw collection, it wasn’t the best novel in the series to lead into what will be the 12th book, but it was definitely worth the adventure.
Fear not for Robin Hood and Sir Alan Dale as they will return in 2026 for another thrilling adventure that may lead them back to an old friend.
3/5 Long Bow Arrows
July 26, 2025
4.75!!!
I am so glad there are a couple of bonus books for this amazing series!!
Another fast-paced fantastic historical adventure! everything you know and love about this series and its characters leaps off every page!!
The only thing I missed in this book is it was Angus history essays at the end of the story that tell the inspiration for the book, as well as the historical sources, he consulted.
I am so glad there are a couple of bonus books for this amazing series!!
Another fast-paced fantastic historical adventure! everything you know and love about this series and its characters leaps off every page!!
The only thing I missed in this book is it was Angus history essays at the end of the story that tell the inspiration for the book, as well as the historical sources, he consulted.
June 26, 2025
Really enjoyed this instalment in the adventures of Alan Dale and Robin Hood set in the Languedoc against the background of the Cathar Wars/Albigensian Crusade. It was nice to catch up with old friends of Alan in and around Toulouse.
The story kept me engaged and was a fun read. A great addition to the other books.
The story kept me engaged and was a fun read. A great addition to the other books.
July 21, 2025
Another great story
Another entertaining novel. However, I was shocked by the lack of editing in the novel. There are a number of grammar mistakes and left out words. I have never read an Angus Donald novel with any mistakes until now. very disappointing.
Another entertaining novel. However, I was shocked by the lack of editing in the novel. There are a number of grammar mistakes and left out words. I have never read an Angus Donald novel with any mistakes until now. very disappointing.
November 24, 2025
Another winner!
This is the 11th book in the bestselling Outlaw Chronicles – and one of its best, in my humble opinion. Very proud of this exciting Robin Hood novel set mostly in the south of France.
This is the 11th book in the bestselling Outlaw Chronicles – and one of its best, in my humble opinion. Very proud of this exciting Robin Hood novel set mostly in the south of France.
July 6, 2025
Another amazing Robin Hood book from Angus. It was a page turner that I couldn’t put down. A lovely story, expertly told.
August 9, 2025
Another great story, despite some poor editing and lack of proof reading some wrong words missing words, Eg 'so sign of any foul play, save for' and 'I believe know the answer to that one'
December 16, 2025
This was another excellent read in The Warrior Chronicles by Angus Donald, plenty of action is the Hallmark of this author and this title certainly doesn't disappoint.highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews