Robert Holdstock

[nixie]

Anyone else read anything by this author?

At moment I'm trying to read Mythago Woods, the concepts good,but I'm finding it very difficult to get into, his style of writing leaves a lot to be desired

 

[nixie]

I'll take it back, once the journey into Ryhope Wood started I found it very difficult to put down

 

[Space Elf]

I've read Lavondyss and The Hollowing, and I had exactly the same problem with the second one, though after about 50 pages it all started getting weirder and weirder, which was good! It was loss of normality that really hooks me in, that feeling of going deeper and deeper into the wood, while the magic increased and the forest grew closer. His writing in that context was simply divine for me.

 

[Gladestrider]

Read both Mythago and The Hollowing. Pretty good stuff, but I seem to recall that they were both a little too dark for me. I first read Mythago in High School, at about the time it was first published. I'm thinking I should give it another try as an adult.

 

[Fay Re Nuff]

i love mythago wood and the iron grail. fascinating takes on old myths along with fantastic characterisation. i love this work.

 

[Snowdog]

I found Mythago Wood hard to read the first time I tried. In fact I gave up. Then I came back to it and thought it was marvellous. Mythago Wood and Lavondyss should really be read together, since Lavondyss finishes the story.

I've also read The Hollowing, which I like, The Fetch, which is more of a horror story, The Iron Grail anf Ancient Echoes, which I also found hard to read.

 

[ScottSF]

I finished Celtika recently and I think I know what it is about his style that may put people off at first; he doesn’t write “pager-turners.” There are certain types of plot devices that really pull the reader in like an injustice or a fight for survival early on in a story. I felt like the driving force behind Celtika was just the need to discover who the characters were in a deep sense. Who is Merlin, really? Does he even know? Or who is Jason? Although I found his work not to be a pager-turner in the conventional sense, I think he has a great style. The opening scenes and the raising of the Argo will stay with me a long time. Also I really like how deep the mystery of Merlin goes and I felt the characters in general had greater depth than an average fantasy novel.

I look forward to the next one “The Iron Grail,” after I get through a few others on my reading list.

 

[BAYLOR]

I'll take it back, once the journey into Ryhope Wood started I found it very difficult to put down

What got me to pick up Mythago Woods in the bookstore was the comment on the cover by Harlan Ellison . When he speaks positively of a writer and book , I pick up the book up right away . I was hooked from page one . I found myself wishing that the Ryhope Woods in the book was real place.

 

[Elckerlyc]

I read both Mythago Wood and Lavondyss a long, long time ago. And appreciated them hugely. After that I completely lost sight of Robert Holdstock.
It may be - because I read those books back then in Dutch translation - those were his only books that got translated. Or the only ones that made it into the library's collection.
Checking on Amazon I now see that he wrote a whole lot more set in that world. Are the follows up any good?
A reread is in order anyway, starting with book one. Well, obviously.

 

[HareBrain]

Checking on Amazon I now see that he wrote a whole lot more set in that world. Are the follows up any good?

The only other two I've read are The Hollowing, and Ancient Echoes. They were quite different. I tried rereading the Hollowing recently -- I'm still intending to finish it but it hasn't gripped me, though the first page is one of my favourite bits of writing. Ancient Echoes I recall being quite uneven, but the ending blew me away -- it's a section written from the point of view of ancient tribesmen, rather than the modern mythago explorers, and it felt strikingly real. One of the best things I've ever read for conjuring a completely non-modern mindset and belief system.

 

[Danny McG]

What got me to pick up Mythago Woods in the bookstore was the comment on the cover by Harlan Ellison . When he speaks positively of a writer and book , I pick up the book up right away . I was hooked from page one . I found myself wishing that the Ryhope Woods in the book was real place.

✓

 

[AlexH]

I liked Mythago Wood although if I remember rightly, it didn't turn out as intriguing as it promised.

 

[Matteo]

Liked all of the Mythago Wood series - though the earlier novels were stronger as they were quite different to other books. I have some sci fi stuff.