(urth) The Devil in a Forest

[John Smith]

I've read The Devil in the Forest and I liked it.  It is good fantasy.  It's been many years since I read it, but some images stick with me.  For instance, the witch who tells fortunes by throwing "the thigh bones of men."

Best wishes,

Jack


--- On Thu, 5/14/09, James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: James Wynn <crushtv at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: (urth) The Devil in a Forest
> To: "The Urth Mailing List" <urth at lists.urth.net>
> Date: Thursday, May 14, 2009, 11:36 AM
> Am I really the only person on this list who's read this
> book? Really?
> 
> Okay. Here's what it is (not obvious from the summary
> on the back of the book). It's a re-telling Robin Hood.
> It's not clear where it is supposed to occur.  The names
> are English (or Scandinavian in the case of Gloin), so
> combined with the Robin Hood connection it's a slam
> dunk. But the references to King Wenceslas in the summary
> (not the book) suggests it might have been intended to take
> place in the Czech Republic of the 11th century. The
> enormous mountain that plays such a dominant role in the
> story (requiring more than a day's march to reach the
> summit) tends to bring to mind the Pyrenees or the Alps.
> 
> This is not a sci-fi story or a fantasy story. The
> "magic" that takes place is of the
> "real", naturalistic sort. Miracles are not ruled
> out, however. There is a Father Brown-style detective
> priest.
> 
> **SPOILERS TO FOLLOW**
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think all the loose ends are  wrapped up at the end (but
> with Wolfe, can one be sure?) EXCEPT for one of the
> characters (Gloin) being shot by an arrow. He was fleeing an
> attack by soldiers in the woods. The soldier's deny
> having shot him (no reason they would lie about it). The
> arrow was not from a military cross-bow. So that suggests to
> me that the arrow was fired from Wat's bow. But Wat had
> left his bow at the Inn, and by the end of the story it is
> made clear that Wat could not have reclaimed it until after
> Gloin was shot.
> 
> So who shot him? Joselynn's father? Could he have left
> his duties at the Inn to go with the soldier's to hunt
> for the refugees? Maybe --if all the soldiers were involved
> in the search. He might have left with the bow and shot
> Gloin so the soldiers would catch him and let Joselynn
> escape. Or he might have done it so Joselynn would not be
> alone with him in the woods. But there's no reference in
> the book that suggests her father knew how to use a bow, and
> it was a risky shot considering how close Gloin and Joselynn
> probably were to each other. Anyway, he seems like the ONLY
> viable choice, but he's still an unacceptable one in my
> mind (something that happens a lot when I read Wolfe).
> 
> J. 
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