Mythago Wood [Paperback]

Robert Holdstock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2003

Myth and Terror in the Forest Deeps

The mystery of Ryhope Wood, Britain's last fragment of primeval forest, consumed George Huxley's entire long life. Now, after his death, his sons have taken up his work. But what they discover is numinous and perilous beyond all expectation.

For the Wood, larger inside than out, is a labyrinth full of myths come to life, "mythagos" that can change you forever. A labyrinth where love and beauty haunt your dreams. . .and may drive you insane.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Holdstock's fantasy of a surviving primeval forest where legends and tribes of different ages coexist draws power from the myths, archetypes and literary conventions it embodies. The long, Wellsian introduction to the Huxley family and their fascination with Ryhope Wood slowly moves toward a civilized British confrontation with the wilderness and savagery. Unaware of the consequences, Steve Huxley falls in love with the latest incarnation of beautiful Guiwenneth of the greenwoodas his father and brother had before him. When she is kidnapped, his attempt to find her becomes a quest leading to the heart of the mysterious wood. Although it takes its time getting started, and occasionally reminds us that it was expanded from a short story, this is a winning novel with a fine feeling for the interface between airy dreams and sweaty reality. Science Fiction Book Club main selection. Foreign rights: Ellen Levine. November 20
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

Myth and Terror in the Forest Deeps

The mystery of Ryhope Wood, Britain's last fragment of primeval forest, consumed George Huxley's entire long life. Now, after his death, his sons have taken up his work. But what they discover is numinous and perilous beyond all expectation.

For the Wood, larger inside than out, is a labyrinth full of myths come to life, "mythagos" that can change you forever. A labyrinth where love and beauty haunt your dreams. . .and may drive you insane.

"Utterly enthralling."
--Times Literary Supplement

"Robert Holdstock's is one of the voices at the very heart of modern fantasy."
-Guy Gavriel Kay

"One of the strangest, most beautiful and most compelling fantasies I have ever read. A marvel of a book." --Keith Roberts

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Orb Books (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765307294
• ISBN-13: 978-0765307293
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #568,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique and challenging fantasy novel, June 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Mythago Wood (Paperback)

Robert Holdstock has created a new sub-genre of fantasy with his Mythago Wood novels. They have a haunting, dreamlike quality about them that defies easy description or classification. To attempt to write a straightforward synopsis of Mythago Wood itself is almost to lose the very essence of the novel, to break away from the ethereal feeling which transcends the book. Yet between the fantasy which touches the deepest part of the human psyche, and the gritty realism of Neolithic man and his squalid lifestyle, he creates a vivid and shocking contrast. The clean-cut comicbook concept of modern fantasy is far removed from the stream of racial subconscious and primal lifeforces which seems to suffuse Mythago Wood. Suddenly here is novel which invades its reader's comfortzones and forces them to realise how life 10,000 years ago must really have been, and how profoundly it affected the people who lived then, so that their only defense against the surrounding darkness was to call up champions and defenders from their own subconscious minds. That these mythagos are still able to manifest from modern man's staid and jaded psyches and transform people's lives as they do, is an eloquent witness to the power they represent. This novel and its sequel, Lavondyss, are outstanding modern works of fantasy fiction.

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Mythic Hidden Gem, October 7, 2002

By 

hamsterdance (TX) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Mythago Wood (Paperback)

At the time of this writing this book is out of print which is a shame. It is one of the most intriguing I've read in many a year. For anyone who has an interest in myths and legends, this is a powerful tale of one man confronting such legends and how he's changed by it. Holdstock drinks from the same well as Gaiman and any fan of Gaiman should definitely give Holdstock a go. He also seems to be familiar with many of Jung's Archtype ideas and gives them a believable place to live.

Thus the protagonist begins his journey into the heartwood of a mythic primeval forest and beyond - a journey to find his beloved celtic princess and the Umscrumug - the First Myth - the Myth Before all Others. A myth so ancient, the author says, is now fading even in Mythago Wood as Humanity's Collective Unconcious slowly forgets its past. Mythago Wood, a forest where legends and myths from every people of every time and every land are formed, live and breath. A WW1 soldier inhabits the same land as shamanic tribesmen. A celtic princess from the days of Roman Britain walks the woods from legends out of a much later Robin Hood era. And while it is clear that these beings are not "real" in the same sense that the protagonist is they are still capable of feeling joy, love, pain and sorrow. And are equally capable of killing and being killed.

The characters are human, with both flaws and redeeming qualities and hints of why myths and legends still hold our imagination are part of the entertaining story (If Mythago Wood were real I'm sure Jedi Knights, Klingons and Paul Atreides would now be walking there too).

This book won awards for good reason. If you enjoy stories of myths and legends don't fail to pick it up.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Imaginative, sometimes scary... an amazing concept, August 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mythago Wood (Paperback)

I just re-read Mythago Wood and am further struck by this amazing story of fantasy and, to some extent, horror. The hauntings of Ryhope Wood (the small woodland of the title) emerge from humanity's deepest and darkest senses, and Holdstock presents these "Mythagos" in a manner that excites, intrigues, and terrifies... all at the same time. Having just seen the film "The Blair Witch Project," I recalled the genuine sense of fear I sensed upon my first excursion into Ryhope Wood. After reading the book again, I am further haunted by this magical world of subconscious night-terrors, elusive hopes, and primeval temptations. I highly recommend this book... if you can find it.