The Silver Horn of Robin Hood

by Donald E. Cooke

The last adventures of Robin of Locksley.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Classics

238 pages, Hardback

First published January 1, 1956

Reviews

[R. G. Nairam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny story about this book: I'm pretty sure I first started it when I had completely maxed out what was available at my local library and tried some through inter-library loan (so when I was something like 13). Unfortunately I couldn't have it long and didn't finish it.

Many, many years later a friend I'd made through an writing curriculum and online forum sent it to me for Christmas, as it was one of her favourite Robin Hood renditions (we'd both done atypical rewrites of the legend). It took me ages to read it, but here I am, finally!

I quite enjoyed this one. The dedication slayed me. ("To all the Robin Hoods--past, present and future--who battle tyranny and defend justice.") The author mentions in the introduction that he was hoping to get across a bit more of a "movie" and novel fluidity to the story, rather than the traditional episodic nature of Robin Hood books. Sometimes he does manage that (which is cool), sometimes it still feels a bit episodic. He does combine and portray events in different ways in pursuit of this goal that make it a bit of a refreshing read for someone who has read so many. It also has funny narration and dialogue that I really liked.

Overall it wasn't a huge standout against many others that I have read and probably won't be joining the first tier of my favourites, possibly because they got there first. But it is definitely solid and I'm glad to have read it.

[Josiah Harlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first discovered this book in a dusty forgotten corner of my high school library in the mid 90's and saw that it hadn't been checked out in over 30 years. After reading it and falling in love with it I decided the book deserved a better home than to be purged from the library collection and sent to an unknown fate. In an act that would have made Robin Hood proud I liberated this book and gave it a new home. I haven't regretted the decision since as the library had 2 copies and I'm sure the book would have suffered a terrible fate by now. I have since acquired a second copy and I am always on the lookout for copies at used book stores but this book seems to be quite rare. One of my favorite all-time movies is the 1938 Adventures of Robin Hood and this book is my favorite literary depiction of the hooded outlaw.

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered this book when I was about 12 and read it six times in a row, it was so good. After 45 years, I can still recite some of the lines. "If looks could kill, thou wert dead and buried on the spot." I was so enamored with the story of Robin Hood that I took up archery, and every time I shot at a target, I was pretending to be one of the 'merry men.' The ending was always heartbreaking. I think I cried the first couple of times I read it. It's still my favorite narrative of the life of Robin Hood.

[Joshua Gimenez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Normally, Robin Hood is not a true gentleman, as they call him, but rather a ROBINg HOODlum. This book was excellent and showed that it's wrong to steal from the rich, no matter how poor. This book shows good morals and encourages readers to work for money and not to steal it.