Robin Hood Demon's Bane 2: The Two Torcs by Debbie Viguie and James R Tuck
Synopsis:
Furious at the opposition that has risen against him, and wielding the weapons of dark sorcery, Prince John prepares to tighten his grip on the land left in his care by King Richard.
But Robin Longstride has lost everything—his family, his land—so all that remains is his mission to free England from the evil that has descended upon it. He and his allies must find a way to defeat creatures whose very nature defies understanding.
Review:
The cover image reminds me of Stephen Amell who plays the Green Arrow in the Arrow TV series, so it should come as no surprise that this second in the Demon's Bane series hits hard and has some great nods to the original tale of the feud between Robin, Prince John and the Sheriff. King Richard will no doubt be disappointed in him after leaving the throne in his charge.
Robin Longstride, his enemy wants to free the people from the evil Prince John has unleashed on the people, and the creatures he has had created by dark magic. What separates Robin from other heroes is that he has nothing to lose in opposing Prince John; he has lost his family, his home and knows he needs to rid the country of his evil.
So far, Sherwood Forest is the only place the Prince's evil hasn't been able to penetrate, so for the moment they are safe, yet Prince John and the Sheriff are prepared to use all at their disposal to get at Robin and his men, even the people to prove he can bend them to his evil will.
Thankfully, this isn't only a good versus evil story, there are many facets to each good or bad character which have a few grey areas as far as their motives are concerned. Both the Sheriff and Prince John are magic users, unlike in other novels, and very dark and sinister with it, fear being a great motivator it has the people afraid of what else they might do given the chance. The novel is good at showing us the many battles Robin and his men have with the Prince and his Sheriff as well as the numerous times they have had to avoid the demons and magic thrown at them.
Summary:
It is unsurprising that Robin Hood Demon's Bane 2 is a superb read (I wish I had read the first one as this was so good) and look forward to more novels by the same authors.
