Time for another review. Yes, just a week after my last one, but then this tasty Tuck-sized treat, “Friar Tuck and the Christmas Devil“, was a novella that I had to keep reading.

This was my introduction to the world of ‘The Forest Lord’ that Steven A. McKay has created, and a perfect one at that – even if Robin Hood, the main character in the books, was only mentioned. But “Wolf’s Head (The Forest Lord Book 1)“ is now a MUST READ.

In this tale, Friar Tuck investigates a series of burglaries committed by the Devil and another fiend. The setting felt accurate and I realised that Steven A. McKay had done a lot of research for his world. But it slotted into the story seamlessly.

The plot was clever, and the Devil faced a formidable foe in the friar. Given the length, the novella couldn’t twist and turn as much as a full-length book, but there was more than enough to get my teeth into – even after Tuck had ate and drank his fill. He’s more than a well-rounded character, and for me there was a bonus in an Foreword by Phil Rose, who played the character in the great TV series “Robin of Sherwood”.

Of course, being set at Christmas there were traditions and festivities adding to the atmosphere, and Steven A. McKay even gives some additional insight into how the season was celebrated in medieval times, in his author’s note at the end.