Andrew Fish

Very amusing, English-wit-drily written book about a slightly more in-the-world Professor Branestawm-like character —a rather oblivious absent-minded-professor type who builds a working time machine. Since he disguises it as an outdoor privy and keeps it in a storage shed at the school where he teaches, no one is the wiser. He takes a couple of very eventful trips back in time to Merrie Englande—where he learns a lot and almost deconstructs history and legend as we know them.

I wanted to love this book, I really did. I’ve become somewhat obsessed with Arthurian legend retellings, mostly because we’ve binge-watched Merlin on Netflix for the last month, and I’m pretty sure I want to be a lady in King Arthur’s court as my new career. So when I was offered this on NetGalley, I downloaded it immediately. Robin Hood, modern times, what could go wrong?

As it happens, lots could go wrong. This story is about Erasmus Hobart, a time-traveling history professor, who show more goes back in time in a converted privy (read: outhouse) to find out what really happened in history. His first choice, after getting a passionate response from his students, is to find out who Robin Hood really was and what really happened in that time. So off he goes to Nottingham Castle where he’s welcomed by outlaws, sheriffs, soldiers, and all sorts of mayhem and madness.

It’s an interesting premise, and really, the story itself is entertaining. Robin Hood turns out not to be who Erasmus Hobart had dreamed he was, and he goes on a quest to set the legend right with the help of his future knowledge of what should have happened. But, the novel was all action. Fish didn’t spend any precious words on character development, which frustrated me.

I didn’t really get a sense of who Erasmus Hobart was, other than a professor mocked by his students and his colleauges. There was no backstory, and in the end, when Fish tried to wrap up the story with a happy bow, it felt false and forced. But, the action flowed smoothly, and I read most of it in anticipation of the next move, with no pause to catch my breath.

authonomy, a part of Harper Collins, allows writers to submit manuscripts and then relies on crowdsourcing to make choices about what to publish. Erasmus Hobart won in its year. While the story does show promise and I understand authonomy’s premise means that it is a popular book, it could use with some professional editing to make it really top-notch and compete with other legend books.

It’s not a terrible book, but it’s not the best Robin Hood story I’ve read either. If you are a fan of action and time travel, you will find this book entertaining. It’s free on the Nook Store on B&N, so I would get it and check it out for yourself.

*I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.* show less

Full review to come!