''King's Man'' is the third novel of the eight-part ''Outlaw Chronicles'' series by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

writer of

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

Angus Donald, released on 21 July 2011 through

Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emil ...

Plot summary

This novel continues the story of Alan Dale, based on the historical

Alan-a-Dale Alan-a-Dale (first recorded as Allen a Dale; variously spelled ''Allen-a-Dale'', ''Allan-a-Dale'', ''Allin-a-Dale'', ''Allan A'Dayle'' etc.) is a figure in the Robin Hood legend. According to the stories, he was a wandering minstrel who became ...

; warrior and troubadour in

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

's band of

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them. ...

s. In the first part of the novel, Robin rescues Alan's sweetheart from an unwanted marriage to an old knight. They stop the bishop from proceeding with the ceremony, and Robin Hood, dressed in the bishop's robes, marries Alan to his bride. This gives way to the novel's main concern: the capture and ransom of

Richard the Lionheart Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

; (loosely based on the actual events). During his captivity Richard is driven to compose the song "Ja nus hons pris" or "Ja nuls om pres" ("No man who is imprisoned"), which is addressed to his half-sister Marie de Champagne. The song expresses his feelings of abandonment by his people and his sister. However, this sorrow is resolved when Alan Dale spearheads a valiant and effort to release the king.

Reception

The novel has received some praise. Gareth Wilson, of ''Falcata Time'' states that the book is "beautifully written" and also notes it is "classy storytelling style spartanesque prose, cracking overall arc which when blended with his own writing style really generates something special.". Author

Giles Kristian Giles Kristian (born 1975) is an English singer and novelist, known for his action adventure novels in the historical fiction genre. He is best known for his ''Raven'' series, about a young man's coming of age amongst a band of Viking warriors. H ...

, writing for on-line book database Love Reading, stated that the novel is "A fresh, lively and welcome take on one of the world's most famous outlaws." and that it "stirred in me a nostalgia for all the great stories of my childhood; those that thrilled me, inspired me and shaped who I am today." Additionally,

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

stated that the novel is "A glorious, gritty, violent, fast-moving recreation of an English legend".

References

External links

* {{Angus Donald 2011 British novels Novels set in the Middle Ages English historical novels Novels by Angus Donald Little, Brown and Company books