At the heart of Ryhope Wood, Steven and the mythago Guiwenneth live in the ruins of a Roman villa close to a haunted fortress from the Iron Age, from which Guiwenneth's myth arose. She is comfortable here, almost tied to the place, and Steven has long since abandoned all thought of returning to his own world. They have animals, protection and crops. They also have two children, a combination of human and mythago. Jack is like his father, an active boy keen to know all about the outer world'; Yssobel takes after her mother, even to her long auburn hair. But this idyll cannot last. The hunters who protected Guiwenneth as a child have come to warn her she is in danger. Yssobel is dreaming increasingly of her Uncle Christian, Steven's brother, who disappeared into Lavondyss, and Jack wants to see 'the outer world' more than anything. Events are about to overtake them.
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"An enthralling reworking of myth and a haunting vision of love and loss unmatched in contemporary fantasy." -- Eric Brown THE GUARDIAN "Much of Avilion's power lies in the way it's told. The prose is simple, vivid, urgent quality from rhythm and sound and the cumulative effect of short sentences. It's also sprinkled with phrases that resonate in the imagination like bard song, whose imagery is rooted in woodland. With its emphasis on endings, renewal and the inexorable power of story, this a fitting intensive revisiting of the world and themes of Mythago Wood." -- Nic Clarke SFX "The plot is as rich and inventive as ever (the wealth of possibilities contained in this primeval, haunted woodland seems inexhaustible), but the tone is lighter, with a wider range. There's even space for a few jokes, and many surprises. This is a wonderful, grown-up fantasy about growing up and moving on, and going home." -- Lisa Tuttle THE TIMES "Avilion is quintessentially British fantasy, and a compelling and beautiful read. Like the wood, it is dark and dense and every detail counts; it is a mark of Holdstock's quality that in the hands if any lesser writer this novel would have been twice as long." -- David V Barrett FORTEAN TIMES
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Robert Holdstock gave up his career in medical zoological research to be a full-time writer. His first novel of Ryhope Wood, MYTHAGO WOOD, won the World Fantasy Award. He died in 2009.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worthy Successor to Mythago Wood,
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This review is from: Avilion (Mythago Wood 7) (Hardcover)
After 25 years, Robert Holdstock has directly returned us to the world of Ryhope Wood, a setting made famous in his 1985 World Fantasy Award-winning novel Mythago Wood (and explored again in no fewer than four indirect sequels published between 1988 and 1997.) Avilion is especially rewarding because it is the direct sequel (for characters and time) to Mythago Wood.
Avilion represents excellent storytelling within the genre of mythic fiction. Holdstock reintroduces us to characters from Mythago Wood and adds enough new characters and mythagos (characters who are living images of myth) to keep the narrative interesting and varied. Avilion also touches back on the myths presented in the indirect sequels; as such, the book helps cement the Mythago Wood corpus of tales in a way that has always seemed a bit tenuous. That is not to say Ryhope Wood is suddenly understood and orderly. In fact Holdstock introduces several new mind-bending possibilities within the confines of Ryhope Wood. New possibilities are explored by the powers of a newly-introduced race of elves, an engaged exploration of Lavondyss/Avilion, and the tough struggles of the protagonists, both of whom are half-human/half-mythago. Holdstock stays true to the world painted in the earlier novels and also to readers' general expectations of established Classical mythology and mythical creatures such as elves; however, Holdstock still manages to endow everything with attributes that have clear signatures of his Celtic sensibility. After a first read, it does not seem Avilion equals or surpasses the achivement of Mythago Wood. It simply lacks the novelness or gravitas of the original, an almost trite comparison that unfortunately begs to be made for any sequel. Nevertheless, Avilion cleverly avoids some of the obscurities and difficulties (plot movement being weighed down by the choking characters and events) of the indirect sequels. Avilion's narrative moves along well, but not blazingly fast like genre-fiction. Throughout the story there are mythic tropes woven in neatly with the narrative while the characters undergo meaningful developments of their own. There are even some clever twists-and-turns in story. In terms of the landscape and events within Ryhope wood, there are so many possibilities to consider that the book probably requires at least one additional read to fully appreciate not just the surface narrative and reinterpreted myths, but the apparent rules and boundaries of the latest conceptions inside Ryhope Wood. Whether you have only read Mythago Wood and are looking for the direct sequel, or if you are fan looking for more of the Ryhope Wood world, you will not be dissapointed by Avilion.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bridging a 25 year legacy,
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This review is from: Avilion (Mythago Wood 7) (Hardcover)
"Avilion bridges a 25 year gap in time when "Mythago Wood" was first published and that particular book has stayed in my mind ever since I read it back around 1985. To really appreciate Avilion it is important to read Mythago Wood and others in the cycle. The story is subtle, almost contemplative in some ways and slightly eccentric in others. Familiar heroes in very different guises are introduced in the story for the purpose at least to better develop the fluidity of the "mythago" concept. Imaginative variations of well known mythologized beings such as elves and dryads are also described adding a more overt fantasy element (mythopoetic perhaps) to this story compared to the others. I am sure those who have appreciated Robert Holdstock's writing over the last 25 years will enjoy this book.
After reading "Avilion" I sadly learned that Robert Holdstock had passed away in Nov 2009 at age 61. He leaves a legacy to readers of fine fantasy with his extraordinarily original vision. R.I.P.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
3.5 stars,
This review is from: Avilion (Mythago Wood 7) (Hardcover)
At the end of Mythago Wood, we left Steven Huxley waiting for Guiwenneth to return from Lavondyss. Avilion is a direct sequel -- the story of what happened when Guiwenneth came back. She and Steven have lived happily together for years and have two children, Yssobel and Jack.
Unfortunately, though, she's not exactly the same woman she was before. Her ordeal with Christian has changed her and she and Christian (now leader of the time-travelling army called Legion) still haunt each other. Yssobel dreams of Christian and is intrigued by him, causing strain in the mother-daughter relationship, and perhaps danger to herself and the family. So Guiwenneth sets out to find and destroy Christian, Yssobel leaves home to find her mother, and Jack goes to Oak Lodge (where the Huxleys used to live) to try to find out how to track down Yssobel. That sounds simple enough, but nothing is simple when it involves the strangely changing Ryhope Wood, recognizable characters who are mythical or legendary archetypes and not necessarily real historical figures (e.g., the Morrigan, Peredur, Odysseus, King Arthur), and Robert Holdstock's out-of-sequence storytelling and dreamy style. The result is, as usual, an enchanting story with lots to think about, but lots of confusion, too. Avilion brings in some of the seemingly disparate elements found in other Mythago Wood books, but inexplicably neglects to mention people or events that have previously been important. The entire Mythago Wood series, but Avilion especially, is patchy and vague, like a dream sequence. In this novel there's not much plot and it's written in several shifting points of view, so though I enjoyed the ideas, the inventive use of familiar mythology, and the overall effect of the style, I was not as engaged with Avilion as I had been with Mythago Wood and Lavondyss. Jack is an agreeable new character and I enjoyed the chapters written from his POV, but Guiwenneth is now completely unlikable, Yssobel is hard to relate to, and Steven, who was an admirably bold and energetic man in Mythago Wood, is now weak and fretful. The story, unlike its predecessors, is filled with more depression than wonder. It's hard to fault Mr. Holdstock for doing again what he does so well, but most of the charm of Mythago Wood was its inventiveness. Avilion will be incomprehensible to someone who hasn't read Mythago Wood, but those of us who have read it have "been there before." Without engaging characters or much plot to hold it up, Avilion just doesn't work as well. Those who want to know how the story ends (does the story ever end in Ryhope wood?) will want to read Avilion, and will enjoy being immersed in Holdstock's dreamy world, but they shouldn't expect to have their minds blown again.
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