Robert Holdstock’s Mythago Wood Cycle (or as it is
also known, the Ryhope Wood series) is one of fantasy literature’s truly unique
creations. Like most works of quality,
the books are founded upon a simple premise, in this case an alternate reality
where the sub-conscious comes alive. Mythago Wood, the first book published
in the series, immediately garnered attention, winning Holdstoock the World
Fantasy and British Science Fiction Awards in 1984, and formed the basis for
the seven books that followed. Informed
by Jung and mythical archetypes more than Tolkien, the book is unconventional
to say the least, and worth a read for anyone seeking cliché-free fantasy rich
with imagination, symbolism, and quality writing.
Mythago
Wood
is the story of a soldier returning home to see his family after being injured
at the end of WWII. Stephen Huxley’s
family home is situated in the English countryside along the edge of a small
patch of forest called Ryhope Wood.
Events peculiar from the outset, Stephen’s brother Christian acts in a
peculiar fashion and hints at fantastical creatures, strange women, and the
lure of traversing Ryhope’s dark shadows.
Uncomfortable memories of the boys’ father also linger, adding tension
to a situation already moody with the strangeness of the Wood. Curiosity piquing with each mystical element
emerging from the trees, it’s not long before Stephen decides to make his own
excursions into Ryhope. What he finds
leads inward as much as onward.
