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 | Reviews for The Return of Robin Hood |
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| By: | David Layton, Los Angeles, United States |
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| Date: | Monday 21 August 2023 |
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| Rating: |   4 |
The audience for this novel is probably ten-year-olds. That, at least, is the way Magrs has written it. I think, however, that he has erred too far on the side of simplicity. The result is a muddled story, a fairly typical Magrs mish-mash of story types in which he has not really worked out how it all fits together. Doctor 4, Sarah, and Harry arrive in Sherwood Forest in the 1190s. There's Robin Hood and the Merrie Men (yep, spelled that way and always referred to in that way, as if Robin Hood and the Merrie Men were a 60s pop group). This is the same troop from the TV serial Robot of Sherwood. Thus, we have The Doctor facing people who have already met him in a later incarnation. Therefore, we know that Magrs will have to contrive some way to wipe The Doctor's memory (yet again - how many times can these novels and audio dramas contrive to work this?). Magrs has written this Robin and Co. like the characters from the 1930s Errol Flynn movie. He's unabashed about it, even mentioning the movie. So, we have Doctor Who mixed with the 20th-century idea of Robin Hood, legendary figure. But wait, there's more. Lurking in the forest is an evil witch who is contriving to do something - cause chaos just because, destroy the world, control the world, distort time? - I can't tell - all the ideas are floated, but none land). So, we have Doctor Who + Robin Hood + Hansel and Gretel, I guess. Magrs tries to get away with this chop suey plot by having characters sometimes act as if "real" and sometimes as if they know they are fictional creations. He even has The Doctor refer to himself as "Doctor Who." All this does, however, is make the mix more confusing. There is no clear idea of just what kind of story we are in or why anyone should care. Magrs also throws in a heap of fan-winks, referring to multiple TV episodes. The worst problem of this book, though, to me is the tone. Magrs seems to think that children are simple-minded. They need a plot that is basically good guys vs. bad guys, villains that are evil simply because they are, motivations that go no deeper than "I want to destroy" or "I want to help people," and ham-fisted writing pointing out the obvious in italics, just so the poor kids' little minds won't be stumped. Young Doctor Who fans deserve better than this.
