Mark of the Black Arrow - James R. Tuck and Debbie Viguié

A vast darkness is spreading. If left unchecked, it will engulf the world, and so Richard the Lionheart must depart England on a holy mission. In his absence, the safety of the realm is entrusted to his brother, Prince John.

When the king departs, black sorcery begins to grip the land, threatening noble and peasant alike. Horrific creatures stalk the forests, yet the violence they commit pales when compared to the atrocities of men. A handful of rebels fight back, but are doomed to fail unless they can find a hero to lead them. 

My thoughts:

This book takes history and changes it. Richard the Lionheart still leaves for the Holy Land, Prince John still takes over. But, he has a dark sidekick, dunno what the Sheriff is, but it is not good. They have dark magic, dark beings, and will cover the land in darkness. After of course they have taxed the people to death. Grrrrr, I hate prince John.

So there is the story. I must say, I was not that keen on Robin. He was never really in focus before the end. Yes, he was there, but it was like his POV was limping along. Maybe he was meant to grow into the role as a hero (well duh), but I would still have liked to like him before more.

We also have Marian, who to me has a much bigger part. I liked her. And will Scarlett, liked him too. Friar Tuck, well yes the whole gang is coming together.

Much of the book is leading up to the whole Hood thing. We do not jump right into that. Instead we are shown how shitty life gets when John comes, oh how I still hate him. The whole demons, witches and magic thing, and so much death.

But I wish that Robin had been a bit more in the forefront, cos I ca not honestly say if I like him yet. 

Conclusion:

Robin Hood, a legend in the making. A damsel not in distress. Magic, death and an evil king. 

Cover

I have a weakness for hoods

Paperback, 384 pages
Published August 4th 2015 by Titan Books
Robin Hood: Demon's Bane #1
Historical fantasy
For review

Review: Born of Tyranny: Port of Errors - Steve V.Cypert

Series: Born of Tyranny #1
Genre: Historical fiction/adventure
Pages: 249
Published: May 2011
Review by Lis

Black-Hearted is the most feared pirate on the Eastern Atlantic seas. Captain Daniel Stirvin is the most revered and courageous captain in the Queen's Royal Navy. As Black-Hearted and Captain Stirvin get closer to the inevitable battle that will leave only one man standing, a past is uncovered that will leave both men regretting the unseen outcome. With love, brotherhood, loyalty and betrayal, Port of Errors is an epic adventure that doesn't stop moving.

Ahoy, me mateys!! Set yourself down for a tale of friendship, betrayal, heroicy…and pirates. Yes, I said pirates! Don’t we love them all? When B. send this request over, I just couldn’t refuse. 

Port of Errors is the first book in the Born of Tyranny series. It’s the story of Davey and Joseph, two friends who are thicker than thieves and closer than brothers. They strike up a friendship when they meet as young boys in an orphanage. Tragedy soon strikes and they are separated. For Davey and Joseph, however, it’s not out of sight, out of mind. As they grow up, they never forgot about each other. They grow very different from each other, though, and face very different challenges. 

Joseph is adopted and renamed Daniel. He grows up to become a Captain in the Navey. Davey isn’t so lucky and he becomes the dreaded pirate Black hearted, feared by all. 

Can you guess where this is going? I bet you can, and it’s a very good read because of it. Even if it complex with the multitude of characters and flashbacks in the story. Especially so because when the orphans were sold off, many names were changed. So you have to keep your focus with this story. However, it didn’t bother me as it was nicely done. 

It did put in question as to the audience of this story. According to Smashwords its intended audience are young adult readers, but reading Port of Error I found it to be more for either advanced readers or adult readers. It could be both, but there is a lot of violence in the story as well that made me question it. Then again, I was 14 when I started reading adult Vietnam war fiction. Sometimes books will attract the right audience. 

Both Davey and Joseph are likable characters. They are well thought out and have a solid place in the story. Many of the other characters lacked this, depending on their role in the story. Some just made a short appearance while others were recurring. They are fillers as well as part of the story, but they aren’t rounded.

I enjoyed reading this pirate story, but there was one thing that bothered me immensely and that were the spelling and grammatical errors. There were quite a few and it made me doubt if this book was edited or spell proofed. In theory is story is an awesome read, but so many errors put a bit of strain on the story. It made it sloppy. 

All in all, I can really recommend Port of Errors and I look forward to the next book! 

--------------------

Note from B:
Here it finally is, my flash fiction for this week! And to make up for not posting last week I did my best to be my dark sunny self ;) You will see