It belongs to a type of fantasy literature known as mythic fiction. It won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1985. The conception began as a short story written for the 1979 Milford Writer's Workshop a novella of the same name appeared in the September 1981 edition of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. 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 set in Herefordshire, England, in and around a stand of ancient woodland, known as Ryhope Wood. ‘I’ve seldomly read a book that is so rich and enthralling in its descriptions and really draws me into the mythical woods, where time flows differently, where your subconscious can conjure up archetypes and these can infringe upon your very real life outside of the forest.Mythago Wood is a fantasy novel by British writer Robert Holdstock, published in the United Kingdom in 1984. ‘To attempt to write a straightforward synopsis of Mythago Wood itself is almost to lose the very essence of the novel, to break away from the ethereal feeling which transcends the book.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ The mysterious forest which the protagonists are obsessed with is an original concept of legends, it rooted in subconscious mind arouses overwhelming power of human minds’. In Mythagowood Myths manifest from characters’s unfathomable desires. ‘ An imaginative masterpiece has broken the boundaries of fantasy genre. ‘Blimey, what a book! Genuine classic of mythological fiction.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

This book is a MASTERPIECE and will likely be on my list of “All Time Favourite” novels before too long’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

On his return from the Second World War, he finds his brother, Christopher, is also in thrall to the mysterious wood, wherein lies a realm where mythic archetypes grow flesh and blood, where love and beauty haunt your dreams, and in promises of freedom lies the sanctuary of insanity … Stephen Huxley has already lost his father to the mysteries of Ryhope Wood. Ryhope Wood may look like a three-mile-square fenced-in wood in rural Herefordshire on the outside, but inside, it is a primeval, intricate labyrinth of trees, impossibly huge, unforgettable … and stronger than time itself. Deep within the wildwood lies a place of myth and mystery, from which few return, and of those few, none remain unchanged.

Mythago wood by robert holdstock