| Product: |
Mythago Wood - Robert Holdstock |
| Date: |
10/09/03 (179 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: original
Disadvantages: lack of research
Somewhere in the South West of Britian lies the strange and ancient Ryhope wood. If you circle it from the outside, it's not so very big. Ordinary people live on its permieters and its close to a very old village called Shadox. But those few people who go into the wood, often don't come out again.
'Mythago wood' is a gloriously strange tale of magic, myth and possibility. It's beautifully written, if flawed. One of the problems in talking about it, is that any description of the plot ruins some of the surprises, but I'll do my best to keep it minimal. This is the sort of book where you don't even want to have read the dust jacket!
George Huxley is a man of science living on the edge of Ryhope in the 1940s, with his sons. Along with his friend Wyn-Jones, Huxely has been exploring the wood and making notes on its properties. Eventualy, both men seem to simply vanish into the small wood, never to be seen again. Huxley's son Christian seems to know something about it -he's not been on the best of terms with his father, perhaps a murder mystery is at the heart of the tale. Christian has fallen in love with a red headed woman who came out of the wood one day, a woman his father also loved and who sparked fierce rivalry between the two. After a eries of strange events, Christian himself goes into the wood. What role has the ebautiful Guinneth played in the dissappearance of first father and then son? Steven, the remaining child, has to find out, encountering the mysterious and alluring Guinneth for himself.
Steven must discover who and what Guinneth is an unravel the mysteries of the wood if he is to have any hope fo reclaiming his lost Father and brother. But Ryhope is a strange place with many secrets, and once a person has entered it, they find it very hard to leave again. When Steven goes into the wood finally, he does so in the company of a young man called Harry, shot down in the war, horribley scarred,
and aware of something about the mystery of Ryhope that he's keeping rom his companion. What follows is an incredible tale of adventure, love and emnity.
This is an eery and peculiar tale, full of twists, turns and surprising developments. It's richly described and based on some truly fantastic ideas. There's just one flaw - folklore is important in this tale, but Holdstock clearly knows little about it, and to anyone who does, this can be rather frustrating. On the plus side, this is not a problem in the sequel -'Lavondyss' which is much better researched.
If you've ever felt other presences in a wood, or wondered what the trees dream of, or whether things always stay just as they are when you aren't looking at them, if you've ever wondered where myths come from and how they stay alive, then this is the book for you. This is fantasy, but it's rooted in our landscape and myths. It's not like any other fantasy novel I've read, it's refreshingly original and a very fine read.
Heartily reccommended to just about anyone who doesn't mind having to think about their fiction.
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