Reading Robert Holdstock’s Mythago Novels
At the heart of Robert Holdstock’s Ryhope Wood novels lies a singularly potent idea: that myth is not just story, but a living force—one that grows in ancient soil, shaped by personal longing and cultural memory. From the haunting originality of Mythago Wood to the raw, redemptive power of Lavondyss, and through the strange, branching narratives of later volumes, Holdstock explored how myths emerge from the human psyche, evolve through imagination, and return to haunt, heal, or consume.
This monograph is a response to that journey—part critical reading, part personal map through the wilds of Holdstock’s visionary forest. Tracing the evolution of the series, its shifting tones, themes of loss, creativity, family, and the uneasy dance between science and myth, it offers a guide to one of the richest and most original fantasy series of the past half-century.
Invocations is a series of short monographs on the works of great fantasy writers.