Mythago Wood
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/* Ryhope Wood */ minor wikification
{{Infobox Book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name = Mythago Wood
| image = [[Image:Mythago_Wood_UK_First.jpg|200px]]
| image_caption = First edition cover
| author = [[Robert Holdstock]]
| cover_artist = Christopher Zacharow
| country = [[United Kingdom]]
| language = [[English language|English]]
| series = [[Mythago Wood]] series
| genre = [[Fantasy novel]]
| publisher = [[Victor Gollancz Ltd]]
| release_date = [[1984]]
| media_type = Print ([[Hardback]])
| pages = 252 pp
| isbn = ISBN 978-0575034963
}}
'''''Mythago Wood''''' is a [[fantasy]] [[novel]] written by the award winning author [[Robert Holdstock]]. This full length novel was originally published in the [[United Kingdom]] in 1984 and is an expanded version of a [[novella]] of the same name previously released by Robert Holdstock. This novella appeared in the September 1981 edition of ''[[The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction]]''. ''Mythago Wood'' kicks off a series of novels referred to collectively as the Mythago Wood cycle or Ryhope Wood series.<ref>Newman, Kim ''St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers'', ed. David Pringle (Detroit: St. James Press, 1996), pages 285-286.</ref>
''Mythago Wood'' takes place in [[Herefordshire]], England in and around a stand of [[ancient woodland]], known as Ryhope Wood. The story involves the internally estranged members of the Huxley family, particularly Stephen Huxley, and his experiences with the enigmatic forest and its magical inhabitants.
''Mythago Wood'' is within the canon of [[fantasy literature]] and firmly planted in the [[fantasy subgenres|fantasy subgenre]] of [[mythic fiction]]. It has received critical acclaim because of its prose, forest setting, and its exploration of the [[philosophy|philosophical]], [[spirituality|spiritual]], and [[psychology|psychological]]. ''Mythago Wood'' won the [[World Fantasy Award]] for best novel in 1985.
==Ryhope Wood==
[[Image:Mythago-wood-berkley-cover.jpg|left|thumb|US paperback edition printed by [[Berkley Books]]]]
Ryhope wood is a [[fantasy world]] created by Robert Holdstock for his novella ''Mythago Wood'', published in 1981, and it became more famous in his 1984 novel ''Mythago Wood''. The novels and novellas (but not short stories) in the ''Mythago Wood'' cycle (see subsection below) are all set in the world of Ryhope wood, with the exception of ''Merlin's Wood'' which is set in a similarly magical "sister wood" of [[Broceliande]] in [[Brittany]], [[France]].
Ryhope wood is an ancient woodland that has been undisturbed since the last ice age and appears no more than three square miles in area from the outside. Ryhope Wood is an example of a [[parallel universe (fiction)|parallel universe]] that overlaps a section of the real world. The wood is far, far bigger on the inside than on the outside; once penetrated, the forest grows larger, older and more unbearable as one approaches the heart of the wood.<ref>Langford, David ''Supernatural Fiction Writers, Second Edition, Volume 1'', ed. Richard Bleiler (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003), pages 445-453.</ref><ref>Clute, John ''Look at the Evidence: Essays & Reviews'', (Ann Arbor: Liverpool University Press, 1995), page 111. This essay originally appeared in the May/June 1989 (issue 29) magazine [[Interzone (magazine)|Interzone]].</ref>
The forest is referred to by [[John Clute]] as an "[[abyss (religion)|abyssal]] [[chthonic]] [[resonator]]" because it creates and is home to myth-images, or mythagos, who are creatures (including animals, monsters and humans) generated from the ancient [[memory|memories]] and [[myth]]s within the [[subconscious]] memories of nearby human [[mind]]s.<ref>Clute, John ''Look at the Evidence: Essays & Reviews'', (Ann Arbor: Liverpool University Press, 1995), page 111. This essay originally appeared in the May/June 1989 (issue 29) magazine [[Interzone (magazine)|Interzone]].</ref> The book itself defines mythago: "myth imago, the image of the idealized form of a myth creature". Mythagos are dangerously real, but if any of them stray too far from the wood they slowly deteriorate and die. Because they are formed from human myths, they will vary in appearance and character depending on the human memories from which they formed; for example there may be, over a period, many different forms of [[King Arthur]], [[Robin Hood]], [[Herne the Hunter]], etc - all looking and acting differently, yet all with the same basic functions and all acting within the 'rules' set by their defining myths.<ref>Moorcock, Michael ''Horror: The 100 Best Books'', ed. Jones, Stephen and Newman, Kim, (New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc, 1998), page 274</ref> Because the area around Ryhope Wood is sparsely populated, there are few mythagos in the woodland; but because of his interest in the wood and his deliberate experiments in the 1930's, George Huxley has succeeded in creating more mythagos than would normally be present in the wood at any one time, so leading to a greater than usual diversity within the wood. It is revealed in ''[[The Hollowing]]'', a sequel, that mythagos may be created by conscious thought and are physically drawn to their creators.
Besides creating mythagos of living, breathing creatures, the wood can also generate ancient [[archetype|archetypal]] places, from castles to battlefields to small ancient villages. These are referred to as Geistzones in the sequel to ''Mythago Wood'', titled ''[[Lavondyss]]''.
The wood contains four tracks that lead to the heart of the wood; without following these tracks, travelers will have extreme difficulty penetrating the forest. In addition to the four tracks, Ryhope wood contains "Hollowings", also described as an "absence of magic," or pathways under the world. Hollowings function as [[wormhole|wormholes]] by transporting mythagos and real humans through space and time within the forest. [[Time travel]] occurs when travelers pass through Ryhope wood's Hollowings. Ryhope wood [[magical|magically]] repels outsiders by various means including [[orientation (mental)|disorientation]] and physical defences such as thick, impenetrable [[scrubland|scrub]], huge lakes and raging rivers. There are also airborne 'defences' to prevent aircraft from getting too close, such as [[vortex|vortices]] of air or air [[elemental]]s which throw an aircraft off course.
The wood has a slower rate of [[time]] than the outside world. For example, a day may pass in 'normal' time, yet a traveler within the wood may have been there for weeks or longer, in comparison. In addition, "Time Slows," or areas subjected to extraordinarily slow time passage, exist within Ryhope wood and are revealed in ''The Hollowing''.
==Plot summary==
The events in ''Mythago Wood'' take place between 1946 and 1948, just after the end of World War II. Stephen Huxley returns from service (after recuperating from his war wounds) to see his elder brother Christian who now lives alone in their childhood home, Oak Lodge, just on the edge of Ryhope Wood. Their father George has recently died; their mother Jennifer died some years earlier. Christian is disturbed, but intrigued, by his encounters with one of the mythagos whereas Stephen is understandably confused and disbelieving when Christian explains the enigma of the wood; although both had seen mythagos as children, their father explained them away as travelling [[Roma people|Gypsies]]. Christian returns to the wood for longer and longer periods, eventually taking on a mythical role himself. In the meantime, Stephen reads up on his father's and Edward Wynne-Jones's studies into the wood. Part of his research on the wood leads him to contact Wynne-Jones's daughter, Anne Hayden. Stephen also meets a local man named Harry Keeton, a burn-scarred ex-[[RAF]] pilot, who had encountered a similar wood when he was shot down over France and has since been trying to find a city that he saw there. Stephen and Harry try to survey and photograph Ryhope wood from the air, but their small plane is buffeted back by inexplicable winds each time they fly over the forest. Stephen soon has his own encounters with the woodland mythagos (and an older Christian) and eventually, to save both his brother and a mythago girl named Guiwenneth (also referred to as Gwyneth and Gwyn), he must venture deep into the wood, and Harry accompanies him.<ref>Larson, Eugene ''Classics of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature'', ed. Fiona Kelleghan (Pasadena: Salem Press, 2002), pages 381-384.</ref><ref>''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'', eds. John Clute and John Grant (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997), pages 474-475, 674.</ref>
==Human Characters==
; '''Anne Hayden''' : Edward Wynne-Jones’s daughter who is in her mid 30s during the events of ''Mythago Wood''.
; '''Christian Huxley''' : Older brother of Stephen Huxley who enters Ryhope wood as an "Outsider" and plays havoc in the woodland.
; ''' George Huxley ''' : Father of both Stephen and Christian. George died while in his mid 50's from a deteriorating lung disease. It is revealed in ''The Hollowing'' and ''[[The Bone Forest]]'' that George is a tall man lean man who is a scientist in the field of [[psychology]] who studied with [[Carl Jung]]. He also researched [[archaeology]] and became obsessed with myths. Over the course of his studies of Ryhope wood, George produces a scientific journal in six volumes, a personal diary and a detailed map of Ryhope wood.
; '''Jennifer Huxley''' : Wife of George and mother of Stephen and Christian. She is only mentioned in ''Mythago Wood'', but her suicide is a central issue in ''[[Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn]]''.
; '''Stephen Huxley''' : Main character of the story who would have been born in 1927 or 1928; he is in his early 20's during the events of ''Mythago Wood.''
; '''Harry Keeton''' : A local ex-RAF pilot who accompanies Stephen into Ryhope Wood.
; '''Edward Wynne-Jones''' : A researcher in historical [[anthropology]] who teaches at [[Oxford University]]. Wynne-Jones is a diminutive and fussy man who smokes a pipe. He is approximately the same age as George Huxley. Together Wynne-Jones and George Huxley study Ryhope Wood extensively in the 1930s. Wynne-Jones makes scientific equipment designed to interact with the paranormal in Ryhope Wood. Wynne-Jones disappears into Ryhope Wood in April of 1942.
==Mythagos==
; '''[[Cúchulainn]]''' : This male mythago is a hunter with a large hunting dog who encounters Stephen outside Oak Lodge. Cuchulainn's dog leads Stephen to the buried corpse of an early incarnation of the Guiwenneth mythago.
; '''The Fenlander''' : This male mythago is a skilled warrior who leads a group of mythago warriors known as 'Hawks'. The Fenlander and Hawks serve as Christian's personal bodyguards as he travels to the heart of Ryhope wood.
; '''Guiwenneth of the Green (also Gwyneth)''' : This female mythago (usually evoked as an older teenager) hearkens from the [[Bronze Age]] and appears in various incarnations throughout time, including protomyth, a girl from [[Roman Britain]], a manifestation of the [[Chthonic|Earth goddess]], young [[Celts|Celt]]ic warrior princess and [[Guinevere]].<ref>Pringle, David ''Modern fantasy: the hundred best novels: an English language selection, 1946-1987'', (New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1989), page 241.</ref> Each of Gwyneth's incarnations has a varied personality, some dangerous and other alluring, and differing relations with the members of the Huxley family and Harry Keeton.
; '''Sorthalen''' : This male mythago is a [[shamanism|shaman]] or [[necromancy|necromancer]] who can create and control mythagos, including [[sylph]]s, or air elementals. He is also known by the name Freya which literally means "friend."
; '''Twigling''' : This male mythago has [[red hair]] and a crown of twigs. He lingers near the edge of Ryhope wood.
; '''Urscumug''' : This man-boar male mythago is a representation of the first hero from earliest myth. The Urscumug was purposely generated by George Huxley. The Urscumug is twice the height of a human and is a malevolent and ancient variation on the [[woodwose]].
==Literary Significance and Criticism==
Within the fantasy genre, ''Mythago Wood'' has drawn critical attention for a variety of reasons for many years.
===Place in the Fantasy Genre===
The highest order of critical attention asserts the literary importance of the Rhyhope series to the genre of fantasy literature. This praise comes in two forms: the first is outright praise; and the second is comparison, in which Robert Holdstock's ''Mythago Wood'' cycle is placed in a cadre with other significant fantasy writers, all of whom exist in the shadow of [[J. R. R. Tolkien|J. R. R. Tolkien's]] masterful fantasy, but are significant in their own rights.
Richard Mathews, a literary scholar, states that The Rhyhope wood series is considered to be "one of the landmark fantasy series of the late twentieth century." <ref>Mathews, Richard. ''Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination''. (New York: Routledge, 2002), pages 34-35, 188.</ref> Another scholar asserts that Holdstock’s work stands apart from “genre fantasy” and that “The sequence as a whole is a central contribution to late-20th-century fantasy.” <ref>''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'', eds. John Clute and John Grant (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997), pages 475.</ref>
In one study of Tolkien's work, Holdstock is placed in a quartet of noteworthy fantasy authors including [[Ursula K. Le Guin]], [[John Crowley]] and [[Marion Zimmer Bradley]] for writing fantasy books that come close to Tolkien's breadth and depth of imagination, and "in some respects surpass Tolkien."<ref>Curry, Patrick ''Defending Middle-Earth: Tolkien: Myth and Modernity'', (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2004), pages 132-133</ref> Another modern J. R. R. Tolkien scholar, Michael D.C. Drout, also asserts that Holdstock's fantasy is significant in the fantasy literature genre. This, he says, is because (in the ''Mythago Wood'' cycle) Holdstock has created literary arts containing the power and aesthetic standards of Tolkien’s fantasy without being either a "close imitation of" or a "reaction against" Tolkien. Along with Ursula LeGuin, Holdstock is considered to be a worthy inheritor to the fantasy tradition created by Tolkien. <ref>Drout, Michael D.C. ''Of Sorcerers and Men: Tolkien and the Roots of Modern Fantasy Literature'', (China: Barnes & Noble Publishing, 2006), page 56.</ref>
===Prose Style===
A second layer of critical praise and analysis focuses on the quality of the writing.
Again, Richard Mathews expresses the view that Holdstock’s writing in the ''Mythago Wood'' cycle is an impressive mixture of poetic style and sensitivity. <ref>Mathews, Richard. ''Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination''. (New York: Routledge, 2002), pages 34-35, 188.</ref> John Howe, a modern fantasy illustator, wrote: "''Mythago Wood'' is a wonderful book written with great style, insight and individuality."<ref>Jude, Dick ''Fantasy Art Masters: The Best Fantasy and Science Fiction Artists and How They Work'', (London: HarperCollins, 1999), page 43.</ref> A decade after ''Mythago Wood'' was published, Brian W. Aldiss stated that Robert Holdstock's wonderful ''Mythago Wood'' was full of ancient power, unrivaled throughout the decade of the 1980s.<ref>Aldiss, Brian W. ''Modes of the Fantastic: Selected Essays from the Twelfth International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy)'', ed. Latham, Robert A. and Collins, Robert A., (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995), page 173.</ref> ''Mythago Wood'' is also noted for its pairing of sexuality and violence, and is noted as “an earthy, tactile, deeply mythological tale set in an English wood.”<ref>Datlow, Ellen and Windling, Terri. ''Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers: Magical Tales of Love and Seduction''. (New York: Eos, 2002), page xxii-xxiii.</ref> In ''Horror: The 100 Best Books'' [[Michael Moorcock]] states of ''Mythago Wood'': "Holdstock avoids sentimentality ... by offering us tougher questions, moral dilemmas, an imagined world far more complex than anything found in the wood's precursors."<ref>Moorcock, Michael ''Horror: The 100 Best Books'', ed. Jones, Stephen and Newman, Kim, (New York: Carrol & Graf Publishers, Inc, 1998), page 274</ref>
===Philosophical & Psychological Elements===
The philosophical and psychological elements of the ''Mythago Wood'' cycle have also attracted commentary. The mechanism of mythagos being created from the subconscious ties in with Carl Jung’s well-developed philosophical understanding of the [[psyche (psychology)|psyche]]. The mythagos embody Jungian archetypes since they are dependent on the subconscious, not on distinct memory. Tying in with this philosophy, Kim Newman notes that the series offers “mind-stretching meditation on the nature of collective imagination."<ref>Newman, Kim ''St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers'', ed. David Pringle (Detroit: St. James Press, 1996), pages 286.</ref> Nicholas Riddick states "Robert Holdstock's ''Mythago Wood'' can be read as a journey into the heartland of the psyche."<ref>Ruddick, Nicholas ''State of the Fantastic: Studies in the Theory and Practice of Fantastic Literature and Film (Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy)'', (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1992), page 46.</ref> The story is also commonly viewed as an inward spiral in which the protagonists undergo cruel and devastating [[metamorphosis|metamorphoses]] in a hard and ordeal-choked setting. <ref>''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'', eds. John Clute and John Grant (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997), pages 475.</ref> Brian Aldiss points out that "Ryhope Wood [is] that terrifying [[metaphor]] for our mental labyrinths" in which "[[phylogenetics|phylogeny]] presides over [[ontogeny]]" with regards to an individual's history and destiny.<ref>Holdstock, Robert ''The Mythago Cycle Volume 1: A Ryhope Wood Omnibus'' preface by Brian Aldiss (London: Gollancz, 2007), preface.</ref> [[Sigmund Freud|Freudian]] psychology appears in the narrative when Stephen and Christian encounter the Urscumug, who displays characteristics of their father.<ref>Langford, David ''Supernatural Fiction Writers, Second Edition, Volume 1'', ed. Richard Bleiler (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003), pages 447.</ref>
===Spiritual Elements===
The interior of Ryhope wood is a [[Pre-Christian]] British setting in which [[paganism|pagan]] and shamanistic rituals are common, and one scholar notes that death and mortal remains are prominent and disturbing part of these works.<ref>Drout, Michael D.C. ''Of Sorcerers and Men: Tolkien and the Roots of Modern Fantasy Literature''. (China: Barnes & Noble, 2006), page 56.</ref> Along the same lines, it is noted that ''Mythago Wood'' might convey a darker and more disturbing side of shamanry than other fantasy.<ref>Harvey, Graham ''Shamanism: A Reader'', (London: Routlege, 2002), page 447.</ref>
One critical study examines the pagan spiritual aspect of ''Mythago Wood,'' in particular how "elements of the series' thesis resonate with pagan worldviews." This is not because ''Mythago Wood'' is specifically written for Pagans, but because the mechanisms of Ryhope wood defy science and allow for events that are readily recognizable to Pagans.<ref>Harvey, Graham, ''Popular Spiritualities: The Politics of Contemporary Enchantment'', eds. Hume, Lynne and Mcphillips, Kathleen, (Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2006), page 46.</ref>
===Subject & Setting===
The setting of a myth-rich magical Celtic forest itself, along with its existence side-by-side with the modern everyday world, are characteristics of particular interest to critics. For example, in a recent study of the fantasy genre, ''Mythago Wood'' and ''Lavondyss'' have been recognized as being significant because they are pure fantasy works that take place in an innovative and startlingly ordinary realm.<ref>Mathews, Richard. ''Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination''. (New York: Routledge, 2002), pages 34-35, 188.</ref> According to one modern Tolkien scholar, ''Mythago Wood'' and ''Lavondyss'' are two of Holdstock’s best works which, as fantasies, have an internally consistent framework of principles. Notably, these works deal with the traditions of the [[British Isles]] with originality and deftness by incorporating its unwritten culture. These elements of culture include the [[Morris dance]]s, the [[Green Man]], Shamanism, [[Neolithic]] tribespeople, and pre-Roman Celtic traditions.<ref>Drout, Michael D.C. ''Of Sorcerers and Men: Tolkien and the Roots of Modern Fantasy Literature''. (China: Barnes & Noble, 2006), page 56.</ref> The archetypal wilderness of Holdstock is noted as remarkable and followed up by the notion that within the fantasy genre of literature, ''Mythago Wood'' and ''Merlin's Wood'' have been considered essential reading because "Holdstock is a writer who has traveled deeper into the woods than any other mythic writer."<ref>''The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest'', Datlow, Ellen and Windling, Terri (New York: Viking Juvenile, 2002), page 15.</ref> Michael Moorcock finds ''Mythago Wood'' notable for focusing on the subject of [[nondualism|unity]], including both the unity of the landscape and its inhabitants as well as the unity of dreams and the environment. Moorcock notes ''Mythago Wood'' is influenced by ''[[The Golden Bough]]'', modern anthropology and the writer [[Arthur Machen]]. Moorcock also observes common elements between ''Mythago Wood'' and Ursula K. Le Guin's science fiction novel ''[[The Beginning Place]]'' and [[George Meredith|George Meredith's]] poem ''The Woods of Westermain''.<ref>''Wizardry and Wild Romance: A study of epic fantasy'', Moorcock, Michael (London: Victor Gollancz, 1987), page 65.</ref>
==Awards==
* The novella ''Mythago Wood'' won the [[BSFA Award]] for Best Short in 1981
* The novella ''Mythago Wood'' won the [[World Fantasy Award]] for Best Novella in 1982
* The full-length novel ''Mythago Wood'' won the BSFA Award for Best Novel in 1984
* The full-length novel ''Mythago Wood'' won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1985.
* ''La Forêt des Mythagos'', i.e. the ''Mythago Wood'' collection, won the [[Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire]] in the category of Prix spécial in 2003.
* ''Mythago Wood'' was published as part of the Masterpieces of Fantasy series by [[Easton Press]], who describe themselves as releasing 'works of lasting meaning, beauty and importance.'
==Books in the Mythago Cycle==
*''[[Mythago Wood]]'' (1984)
*''[[Lavondyss]]'' (1988)
*''[[The Bone Forest]]'' (1991), a novella and collection of short stories
*''[[The Hollowing]]'' (1993)
*''[[Merlin's Wood]]'' (1994), a novel and two short stories (only published in the UK)
*''[[Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn]]'' (1997)
*''[[Avilion]]'' (expected March 2009)
Note: the order in which the works were written/published does not necessarily correspond to the order of events within the realm of the ''Mythago Wood'' cycle. For example, ''Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn'' and the novella ''The Bone Forest'' are prequels to ''Mythago Wood'' even though they were published at a later date. The novel ''Merlin's Wood'' and short stories in ''The Bone Forest'' and ''Merlin's Wood'' have little bearing on the events in the Ryhope wood. See the table below for a chronology of events within Ryhope wood.
<div style="font-size:90%;">
{| border=1 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 align=center
|---- bgcolor="#cccccc"
!width="40%"|Preceded by:
!width="20%"|Chronology of Events in Ryhope Wood:<br />
!width="40%"|Followed by:
|----- align="center"
|[[Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn]]
|[[Mythago Wood]]
|[[Avilion]]
|}
</div>
==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
*{{cite book | title=Modes of the Fantastic: Selected Essays from the Twelfth International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy) | last=Aldiss | first =Brian | authorlink = Brian Aldiss | publisher=Greenwood Press | location=Greenport, CT | edition =1st ed. | date=1995 }}
*{{cite book | title=The Encyclopedia of Fantasy | last=Clute | first=John | authorlink=John Clute | publisher=St. Martin's Press | location=New York | edition=1st ed. | date=1997 | id=ISBN 978-0312198695 }}
*{{cite book | title=Look at the Evidence | last=Clute | first=John | authorlink=John Clute | publisher=Liverpool University Press | location=Liverpool | edition=1st ed. | date=1995 | id=ISBN 978-0934933065 }}
*{{cite book | title=Defending Middle Earth" Tolkien" Myth and Modernity | last=Curry | first=Patrick | publisher=Houghton Mifflin | location=New York | edition=1st ed. | date=2004 | id=ISBN 978-0618478859}}
*{{cite book | title=The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest | last=Datlow | first=Ellen | authorlink=Ellen Datlow | publisher = Viking Juvenile | location=New York | edition =1st ed. | date=2002 | id=ISBN 978-0670035267 }}
*{{cite book | title=Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers: Magical Tales of Love and Seduction | last=Datlow | first=Ellen | authorlink=Ellen Datlow | publisher = Eos| location=New York | edition =1st ed. | date=2002 | id=ISBN 978-0061057827 }}
*{{cite book | title=Of Sorcerers and Men: Tolkien and the Roots of Modern Fantasy Literature | last=Drout | authorlink=Michael D. C. Drout | first=Michael | publisher=Barnes & Noble| location=China | edition=1st ed. | date=2006 | id=ISBN 978-0760785232 }}
*{{cite book | title=Shamanism: A Reader | last=Graham | first=Harvey | publisher=Routlege | location=London | edition = 1st ed. | date=2002 | id=ISBN 978-0415253291 }}
*{{cite book | title=Popular Spiritualities: The Politics of Contemporary Enchantment| last=Graham | first=Harvey | publisher=Ashgate Publishing | location=Burlington, VT | edition = 1st ed. | date=2006 | id=ISBN 978-0754639992}}
*{{cite book | title=Mythago Wood | last=Holdstock | first=Robert | authorlink=Robert Holdstock | publisher=Victor Gollancz | location=London | edition=1st ed. | date=1984 | id=ISBN 978-0575034963 }}
*{{cite book | title=Lavondyss | last=Holdstock | first=Robert | authorlink=Robert Holdstock | publisher=Victor Gollancz | location=London | edition=1st ed. | date=1988 | id=ISBN 978-057503475X }}
*{{cite book | title=The Bone Forest | last=Holdstock | first=Robert | authorlink=Robert Holdstock | publisher=Grafton | location=London | edition=1st ed. | date=1991 | id=ISBN 978-0246138330 }}
*{{cite book | title=The Hollowing | last=Holdstock | first=Robert | authorlink=Robert Holdstock | publisher=HarperCollins | location=London | edition=1st ed. | date=1993 | id=ISBN 978-000224201X }}
*{{cite book | title=Merlin's Wood | last=Holdstock | first=Robert | authorlink=Robert Holdstock | publisher=HarperCollins| location=London | edition=1st ed. | date=1994 | id=ISBN 978-0002246031 }}
*{{cite book | title=Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn | last=Holdstock | first=Robert | authorlink=Robert Holdstock | publisher=Roc Books | location=New York | edition=1st ed. | date=1997 | id=ISBN 978-0451455703 }}
*{{cite book | title=Horror: The 100 Best Books | last=Jones | first=Stephen | authorlink=Stephen Jones (author) | publisher=Carroll & Graf | location=New York | edition=2nd ed. | date=1998 | id=ISBN 978-0786705523 }}
*{{cite book | title=Fantasy Art Masters: The Best Fantasy and Science Fiction Artists Show How They Work | last=Jude | first=Dick | publisher=HarperCollins | location=London | edition=1st ed. | date=1999 | id=ISBN 978-0823016366 }}
*{{cite book | title=Supernatural Fiction Writers | last=Langford | first=David | authorlink=David Langford | publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons | location=New York | edition=2nd ed. | date=2003 | id=ISBN 978-0684312514 }}
*{{cite book | title=Classics of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature | last=Larson | first=Eugene | publisher=Salem Press | location=Pasadena | edition=1st ed. | date=2002 | id=ISBN 978-1587650512 }}
*{{cite book | title=Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination | last=Mathews | first=Richard | publisher=Routledge | location=New York | edition=1st ed. | date=2002 | id=ISBN 978-0415938902 }}
*{{cite book | title=Wizardry and Wild Romance: A study of epic fantasy | last=Moorcock | first=Michael | authorlink=Michael Moorcock | publisher=Victor Gollancz | location=London | edition=1st ed. | date=1987 | id=ISBN 978-0575041471 }}
*{{cite book | title=St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers | last=Newman | first=Kim | authorlink=Kim Newman | publisher=St. James Press | location=Detroit | edition=1st ed. | date=1996 | id=ISBN 978-1558622050 }}
*{{cite book | title=Modern fantasy: the hundred best novels: an English language selection, 1946-1987 | last=Pringle | first=David | authorlink = David Pringle | publisher=Grafton Books | location=London | edition 1st | date=1988 | id=ISBN 978-0872262197}}
*{{cite book | title=State of the Fantastic: Studies in the Theory and Practice of Fantastic Literature and Film (Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy) | last=Ruddick | first=Nicholas | publisher=Greenwood Press | location =Westport, CT | edition=1st ed. | date=1992 | id=ISBN 978-0313278532}}
== External links ==
* [http://www.robertholdstock.com// Mythago Wood: the official website of Robert Holdstock]
* [http://www.sfsite.com/12a/mytha22.htm The SF Site series review by Steven H. Silver'']
* [http://members.aol.com/tirfell/holdstock.htm/ Denver Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club rating and information]
[[Category:1984 novels]]
[[Category:British novels]]
[[Category:Fantasy novels]]