Tuck 3: Weak points and conclusion

Time fo a bug check on Stephen R. Lawhead’s Tuck.

Language. I am a language geek, as I've said many times already, and there are a number of issues here. To begin with, I strongly doubt that "Rhi Bran y Hud" could become "Robin Hood." ("Ribbon Hid," maybe...) About the only way to account for such a thing would be to posit that "Robin Hood" already existed as a generic term for a robber (perhaps even as the trickster character already mentioned) and the two merged.

Then there's the fact that Friar Tuck, repeatedly identified as a "Saxon," persists in using the Irish term "boyo." Perhaps he picked it up from an Irish priest.

The languages proper are harder to justify. The French strikes me as the sort of thing you might get from BabelFish. The Latin is also problematic: Tuck at least once uses "pax vobiscum" in addressing one person (pax tecum). Lawhead uses "Cymry" for "Welsh" or "Welsh people," even though it specifically refers to Welsh people as an ethnic group, not to the individual cymro or cymraes or to the language (cymraeg). And so on. But especially, the more French you know, the harder this is to read.

Kumbaya, M'Lord! There's what I consider an unwarranted sunniness here in places, where most everyone's heart is eventually in the right place and We Really Need to Sit Down and Talk. He sets up for this, though sometimes to the point of making the outcome obvious or at least likely. Lawhead isn't reflexive about this optimism, however: Tuck's initial efforts are thwarted by good-old-fashioned evil. (Huzzah!) But would he even have tried? I'm not sure. The idea that he had a "Christian duty" to seek peace under such circumstances probably wouldn't have occurred to the average eleventh-century cleric. A modern one would think of it, however. It's a backreading of modern attitudes, in other words.

Syncretism. I admit that this is a hot button for me. The venerable Angharad is not simply a prophetess but a banfaith, a kind of druidic oracle, and although she makes Christian allusions, she does so through a pagan filter. What's with the Bird Spirit gear? And how does this influence the whole King Raven getup? Is this Christian-flavored paganism or pagan-flavored Christianity? The direction matters. When you reconstruct Greek philosophy with a Christian foundation, you wind up with Aquinas; when you reconstruct Christianity with a foundation of Greek philosophy, you get the Gnostics. I firmly believe that different culture should express Christianity in different forms but with the same content: Japanese Christianity should differ from American Christianity just as its hymns should. But the doctrines should be the same, however much their expression may vary, and pagan influences should be resisted. That doesn't appear to occur here, which is troubling at least.

Snarkiness. C. S. Lewis wrote that each age is blind to its own faults and alert to those of its predecessors. There's a certain amount of that here. While the clerics in general are good guys (Cardinal Flambard in particular is more positive a figure than I would have expected), there's a bit of a sneer about certain Medieval beliefs. While I don't consider myself an expert on praying for the dead and related concepts, I do think Lawhead is making a lot of noise about a splinter in someone else's eye, which leads me to wonder where a beam may be lurking. (This is particularly true when he goes out of his way to Christianize paganism in the person of the banfaith.) I usually observe that "Accuser of the Brethren" is not a title Christians should covet. Am I committing the same fault? Perhaps, though my goal isn't a comparison of personal godliness so much as a warning about a common temptation.

In any case, I do find it amusing that this very "fault" becomes in part the solution to the main conflict in the story. For the idea that killing even in wartime has undesirable consequences will lead to decreased willingness to kill, especially when an alternative presents itself.

Conclusion.
So what about the book as a whole? If you know French, get a copy from a library, friend, etc., and check your tolerance. Otherwise, you'll probably find it an engaging yarn. Just avoid the snark and keep a skeptical eye on the banfaith.

Work your way through the CSFF Rogues' Gallery for more:
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Chawna Schroeder
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Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Fred Warren
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Tuck 2: Good points

So what are the strengths of Stephen R. Lawhead’s Tuck?

Tuck Everlasting? I admit the size of the story put me off, and I thought early on that I'd probably have a "Tuck Everlasting" reference in my review. Amazingly, I do, even though it isn't as relevant as I then believed. For the story moves so swiftly and easily that length isn't a major consideration.

You are There. Although there are places where Lawhead is, I think, reading some modern idea or attitude back into the Middle Ages, there are areas where he recreates the feel of the time well. For example, the power and mystique of the longbow comes across well—the awe and consternation of the Normans confronted with what appears to be especially malevolent magic, as well as the weapon's terrible stopping power. Likewise the general feel of the period is well handled.

Balance. On the whole, Lawhead allows his characters good and bad points, and at least some of the villains have or gain redeeming qualities. While his depiction of the Church leadership is somewhat negative, that was common at the time, and it isn't uniform. It's mostly Abbot Hugo who's the jerk; the other churchmen are more sympathetic.

Speaking of balance, have you checked what the balance of the CSFF tour has to say?

Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Keanan Brand
Rachel Briard
Grace Bridges
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Alex Field
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Terri Main
Margaret
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Caleb Newell
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Epic Rat
Crista Richey
Hanna Sandvig
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Robert Treskillard
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson

Tuck 1: Intro

Stephen R. Lawhead’s Tuck is the final installment of his "King Raven" trilogy.

Robin Hood has changed a lot over the years. Originally, the name was just a common name for a robber. Then it merged with the popular English stereotype of the trickster, and soon the character picked up some pious yet anti-authority qualities and eventually became the patron saint of redistributing wealth. But he also moved away from his common, lower-middle class origins to become linked with nobility (originally Saxon). Sir Walter Scott was one of the first to make him an anti-Norman freedom fighter in Ivanhoe.

So now he's a Welsh lord with a retconned name (Rhi Bran y Hud). It makes sense, because his weapon of choice was of Welsh origin. In a way the story is almost more about the longbow, which I think could be considered the first truly modern weapon. Instead of fighting face to face or at least at relatively close range, a Welsh archer could strike you dead before you saw him him and definitely before you could reach him. He was the first sniper, and his weapon must have seemed like the Devil's own magic. Only the crossbow came close, and given its comparatively pathetic reload rate, it didn't come that close.

(Cannons and trebuchets are more awesome to look at, but try wheeling them through a forest or targeting a specific person, and you'll see why the accuracy, speed, and agility of the archer made his longbow even more terrifying.)

Anyway--in Tuck we find Rhi Bran and his nemesis of the moment, the hissably icky Abbot Hugo, each facing sharp reductions in headcount without the other's knowledge. So they both decide to pick up some new fighters, which means in Bran's case a new character--Alan A. Dale, not to be confused with his kinky terpsichorean brother Chip N. The Lady Merian has her own clever ideas about recruitment that show the area badly needs a good newspaper with Society and Obituary pages.

But Bran's personal edition of Mission: Impossible is probably the best part, in which he somehow plays Salome without disrobing. (No, I won't explain that beyond saying Chip N. Dale isn't involved. Read the book.) Suffice it to say that it tests all Bran's fiber, and he learns an important lesson about gratitude.

Through it all, Tuck is a pacifist before the fight and a head-basher during it. This is called versatility. Despite numerous rebuffs, he keeps trying to find someone to join him in a duet of "Why Can't We Be Friends?" What a trouper.

Meanwhile, the rest of the CSFF bloggers are your friends, and unlike me, they'll probably be delighted to loan you money. Why don't you drop in on them and ask?

Brandon Barr
Jim Black
Keanan Brand
Rachel Briard
Grace Bridges
Valerie Comer
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Alex Field
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Timothy Hicks
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Kait
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Terri Main
Margaret
Melissa Meeks
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Caleb Newell
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Epic Rat
Crista Richey
Hanna Sandvig
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Robert Treskillard
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler
Jill Williamson