The book opens with King Brychan and his war band being killed by Norman soldiers. One of the Norman barons seeks the advice of his priest and attends Church. Several monks appear, as does Friar Tuck, who are all willing servants of God and pray regularly. However, it is made clear that above all she serves God. The Normans also behave quite violently, seeing the Welsh not as people, but as animals that must be ordered about and forced to submit to superiour Norman will.Īngharad is a Banfaith, or Prophetess, and tells Bran many stories involving magic and the gods from Celtic Mythology. They do, however, give some of the loot they obtain to starving families. None of the characters in Bran's band seem to have a problem with this.

To achieve this he will rob Normans who pass through the woods. When his attempts to gain Elfael back lawfully fail, Bran takes to the woods and eventually decides to take the land back by force. While it is clear that Count De Braose has taken Elfael unlawfully (King Brychan was on his way to swear fealty to the King and it is later discovered that the land should be managed by the Baron De Braose, not his nephew), Bran's reaction is also quite dubious. Unlike Lawhead's other books where who is good and who is evil are very clearly defined, in this story the lines are a lot more blurry. Here he meets Angharad, the last Banfaith of Britain, who reveals to him his true destiny - to save Elfael by becoming the mysterious King Raven. When his father is killed on his way to swear fealty to King William Rufus, Bran ap Brychan becomes the new King of the Welsh Cantref of Elfael.only to discover that his land has been taken over by Count Falkes De Braose, the man who murded King Brychan.Ĭaught up in the ruthless world of Norman politics, Bran takes refuge in the primeval forests of the Marchlands. An exciting but complex tale, with moral issues.

Hood by Stephen R. Lawhead