Lavondyss - Robert Holdstock

Weaving nuances in that fabled forest realm...

Robert Holdstock is quite possibly my favourite British author writing, previously he's written the great Mythago cycle of which any book can be read individually, or in chronological order. Lavondyss first released in the UK in 1988, is the second in the Mythago wood cycle, though this being the case I had no trouble in reading this out of order.

The author has written under many pseudonyms as his site bibliography testifies. Yet it’s the Mythago wood cycle that really made him a big name. This book in question, Lavondyss, is a mix of age old myths and dreamy yesterdays, set near the magical wood of Ryhope the book revolves for the most part around this place of enchantment, and the effects it has on the locale.

It’s a fairly standard plotline, one of growing up among loss and pain, and of coming closer to what it is you’re really want and need. While very young, Tallis (Named after the famous Welsh Bard Taliesin) has to come to terms with loosing her older brother, Harry Keeton, who from being mentally and physically scarred in the war purposefully looses himself in Ryhope.

This really is a stunning book, full of age old myth and landscapes of the pure fantastical. Holdstock really paints an immersive and wistful picture of Ryhope wood. The characters are well drawn with the childlike enthusiasm of Tallis becoming a major focal point as she gets drawn more and more into the land.

I really couldn’t get enough of this; his descriptions of the forest get more and more beautiful as Tallis further learns to travel into the wood. Through masks that she crafts herself Tallis is finally able to go look for her brother. As the means of her journey and all that build up to it eventually come about, the shimmering contorting mass of half visions and ancient lore comes more into focus, as she slowly but surely learns to travel more successfully.

I’m endeared to everything in this book; the setting is perfect, the main characters drawn with feeling and fire. And the many smaller events that take part in the big journey to Lavondyss are crafted with faerie like joy, as Tallis comes closer and closer to gaining what those around see to be fictitious.

Lavondyss is evocative and dreamlike, and is something not to be missed by lovers of past mythology.

Lavondyss – 10 / 10