Denver Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club |
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Mythago Wood (1984) |
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1998 UK Voyager paperback,
319 pages cover art by John Howe |
2003 UK Earthlight paperback,
400 pages cover art by Larry Rostant |
Sept. 1981 issue of F&SF cover for "Mythago Wood" cover art by Barbara Berger |
Arbor House (book club edition),
215 pages cover art by Christopher Zacharow |
| Dan | - | Amy | 8 |
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10 Wow! Don't miss it 8-9 Highly recommended 7 Recommended 5-6 Mild recommendation 3-4 Take your chances 1-2 Below average; skip it 0 Get out the flamethrower! U Unfinishable or unreadable - Skipped or no rating given |
| Cheri | - | Barb | - | ||
| Aaron | 6 | Cynthia | - | ||
| Jackie | - | Ron | 5 | ||
| Christine | 6 | Deb | 5 | ||
| Mike | 6 | Stephanie | - | ||
| Gary | 8 |
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Aaron's Commentary
Robert Holdstock - Mythago Wood
Mythago Wood is worth reading for the interesting concept of the mythagos, legendary figures created out of mankind's mythology and collective unconscious. Holdstock spins this idea out nicely, with the clever twist that the humans in the story in turn assume the role of mythic figures from the mythagos' legends. For all that, I don't find the novel as successful as it might have been. The narrative is quite dry and for the first two-thirds of the book, before Holdstock finally takes us into Mythago Wood, it is difficult to feel absorbed in the story or emotionally connected to the characters. I wonder if it might not have been more effective for Holdstock to start the book a generation earlier, so we could experience the conflicts of the main characters' father - including his resentment toward his own sons and his guilty choice to abandon his wife for the unattainable ideal woman - instead of reading about them second-hand in brief excerpts from his journal. What do you think? Your comments are welcome. Please send them to vanaaron@excite.com |