The Black Arrow - Classic Adventure Novel by Robert Louis Stevenson | Historical Fiction Book for Teens & Adults | Perfect for Reading, Book Clubs & Gifts

Since I enjoyed Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and enjoy medieval history, Stevenson's The Black Arrow would seem to be a perfect combination. The tale is solid, but unfortunately there are a few issues prevent it from delivering on its promise.The Black Arrow, first published as a serial in 1883 and as a novel in 1888, follows the adventures of Dick Shelton as he discovers that his guardian may be responsible for the death of his father and seeks justice, attempts to rescue his betrothed from the clutches of said guardian, and gets swept up in the tumult of the War of the Roses.Shelton comes across throughout the book as mostly naive and occasionally cruel and self-centered, and he seems to blunder from one encounter to the next. In short, it's hard to really root for him or care about him, as he has few redeeming qualities, but he's also just not that interesting, either. I've read other books where the main characters aren't exactly heroes (such as George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series), but in those cases, the main characters were at least plotting and scheming and being actively devious, which is entertaining. Shelton shows a bit of character growth at the end of the novel, showing regret about some of the dubious actions he took while trying to rescue his betrothed, but it isn't enough to redeem him as an interesting character.Another downside to the book is the disjointed nature of it. It feels very episodic, as if Stevenson approached each chapter thinking, "Okay, what trouble can Dick Shelton get into next?" This precludes any sort of build-up of tension, and also results in a limit to how much each episode is affected by those that came earlier. When I started reading the book, I was not aware that it had first been serialized, but by the time I finished it, I guessed it had, as it read like a collection of episodes, and I'm aware it was common practice at the time (Stevenson's Treasure Island was first published serially in the same magazine as The Black Arrow, and even Charles Dickens released his work that way).The old fashioned language was a difficulty in getting into the book. I was reminded of watching a Shakespearean play, where it takes you a scene or two to really get into the old language and follow along relatively clearly. I had no trouble with the similarly jargon-laden and old fashioned Treasure Island. Maybe I just speak pirate better than I do knight.The best parts of the book are the action scenes. These are strong, and helps redeem some of the other shortcomings of the novel. There are chases through forests, spying and sneaking, one on one combats, and large battles.I think I'm probably being harder on this book than it might deserve because I'm holding up against Stevenson's other work. It's okay, it just lacks the life and energy of Treasure Island or the creepy tension of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and isn't the same sort of genre-defining work as those two stories.I listened to the audio version read by Shelly Frasier. Frasier doesn't stand out with this book, though she isn't inherently bad, either, and I wouldn't avoid her in other productions. I didn't especially care for her reading this book, though, primarily because 95% of the characters are male, and having to decipher her narrow range of fake male voices to track who was speaking on top of following along with the difficult language wasn't an ideal combination.The Black Arrow is a solid book that has the misfortune to have been written by an author with other fantastic books that outshine it. If you like medieval stories, you'll probably enjoy The Black Arrow, but I can't recommend it to the general reader like I can Treasure Island or Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.If you're interested, check out my reviews Stevenson's Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde here on Amazon for more of my thoughts on those works.