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alexhempstxck's review against another edition
I think I hyped this book up for myself for too long and it didn't live up to the standard I was expecting. I'm sad to see it go and hope I'll be able to pick it up again in the future
avillin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
ashleylm's review against another edition
2.0
I found myself reading this and After Many a Summer at the same time, and though the plots aren't remotely similar, the experience of reading them is, so I'm going to give them the same review, essentially. I decided to read both these books because they'd been recommended in one of those books where someone recommends other books (which are so often more fun to read than the books they suggest reading). They both feel like the product of the early 1940s (though neither of them is, thought the Huxley novel is close enough that that makes sense). They're both slow, ponderous, pontificating, sexist, and dull. I didn't like either. I stopped reading the Huxley after 1/3 of the way through, and Mythago Wood had me limping along till about 60% when I skimmed the rest and felt vindicated.
But, at least I tried, and I know. I will no longer fear that this book will be my all-time favourite if only I'd read it, because I made the attempt and it isn't, done. On to the next.
But what a shame to have this one-two punch. Funnily enough, the next book I tried was Fritz Leiber's Our Lady of Darkness which also has an old-ish feeling to it, lots of pontificating (and quoting others pontificating, worse), and yet so far it's a delight (I'm 70% in). So it's not what you do, it's how you do it.
Additional complaint re Mythago Wood: dumb idea, weirdly executed, not what anyone would want to read given the summary "people dream up archetypes into living form and interact with them" ... and we get that sad lot? It boggles that anyone liked it, let alone loved it and gave it awards and so forth. For me, it's so strange and dull that I just can't see past it, whereas usually I can think "not for me, but I imagine the audience for it." Not so here. Oh well, you do you.
(Note: I'm a writer myself, so suffer pangs of guilt every time I offer less than five stars. These aren't ratings of quality, just my subjective account of how much I liked them: 5* = one of my all-time favourites, 4* = enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
But, at least I tried, and I know. I will no longer fear that this book will be my all-time favourite if only I'd read it, because I made the attempt and it isn't, done. On to the next.
But what a shame to have this one-two punch. Funnily enough, the next book I tried was Fritz Leiber's Our Lady of Darkness which also has an old-ish feeling to it, lots of pontificating (and quoting others pontificating, worse), and yet so far it's a delight (I'm 70% in). So it's not what you do, it's how you do it.
Additional complaint re Mythago Wood: dumb idea, weirdly executed, not what anyone would want to read given the summary "people dream up archetypes into living form and interact with them" ... and we get that sad lot? It boggles that anyone liked it, let alone loved it and gave it awards and so forth. For me, it's so strange and dull that I just can't see past it, whereas usually I can think "not for me, but I imagine the audience for it." Not so here. Oh well, you do you.
(Note: I'm a writer myself, so suffer pangs of guilt every time I offer less than five stars. These aren't ratings of quality, just my subjective account of how much I liked them: 5* = one of my all-time favourites, 4* = enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
jadelee_ls's review against another edition
4.0
7,5/10 taču joprojām pilna ar maniem pet peeves
Kad lasīju pirmoreiz pirms četriem gadiem, kaitināja citas lietas, kuras šoreiz tā neiekrita acī. Trešā sadaļa ar gājienu dziļākajā mežā bija palikusi atmiņā ar krasu stila lūzumu, kad viss sāka pārāk atgādināt bildīšu filmas no Holivudas. Tagad viss aizgāja plūdenāk un interesantāk, pievēršot lielāku uzmanību mītu spekulācijām.
Varbūt tāpēc, ka nupat biju izkūlusies no otrās sadaļas ar ekstra salkano Gveniņas mīlasstāstu un pieķēros jebkuram materiālam, kas nebija par tiem diviem insta idiņiem. Ugghhhh, nudien veids kā samaitāt grāmatas kopējo vērtējumu. Visa mitago padarīšana freaky mežā pati par sevi ir 9/10.
Nemainīga paliek mana sajūsma par sākuma noskaņu - gan meža, gan lauku saimniecības. Tāpat vienlīdz gardi izsmējos par lielo finālu. :D
Šoreiz varēju ievērot, cik daudz pieminēta Lavondisa, tā kā otrā daļa jau ir sasaistījusi manu interesi. Arī pats "Mitago mežs" par spīti saviem trūkumiem un manas zobu šņirkstināšanas atsevišķos momentos ir gana ikonisks gabals - neba velti viņu pārlasīju. (Ha, tikai pēc The Raven Cycle citi darbi, kas iekļauj ley lines liekas tādi pašvakāki xD)
Kad lasīju pirmoreiz pirms četriem gadiem, kaitināja citas lietas, kuras šoreiz tā neiekrita acī. Trešā sadaļa ar gājienu dziļākajā mežā bija palikusi atmiņā ar krasu stila lūzumu, kad viss sāka pārāk atgādināt bildīšu filmas no Holivudas. Tagad viss aizgāja plūdenāk un interesantāk, pievēršot lielāku uzmanību mītu spekulācijām.
Varbūt tāpēc, ka nupat biju izkūlusies no otrās sadaļas ar ekstra salkano Gveniņas mīlasstāstu un pieķēros jebkuram materiālam, kas nebija par tiem diviem insta idiņiem. Ugghhhh, nudien veids kā samaitāt grāmatas kopējo vērtējumu. Visa mitago padarīšana freaky mežā pati par sevi ir 9/10.
Nemainīga paliek mana sajūsma par sākuma noskaņu - gan meža, gan lauku saimniecības. Tāpat vienlīdz gardi izsmējos par lielo finālu. :D
Šoreiz varēju ievērot, cik daudz pieminēta Lavondisa, tā kā otrā daļa jau ir sasaistījusi manu interesi. Arī pats "Mitago mežs" par spīti saviem trūkumiem un manas zobu šņirkstināšanas atsevišķos momentos ir gana ikonisks gabals - neba velti viņu pārlasīju. (Ha, tikai pēc The Raven Cycle citi darbi, kas iekļauj ley lines liekas tādi pašvakāki xD)
lilly_hartnett's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.5
snowmaiden's review against another edition
5.0
When I started reading this book, I was afraid it wasn't going to turn out to be a fantasy after all. It starts out in England just after WWII, but instead of using the real-world situation as a mere pretext to quickly whisk the reader off to another land, as in Narnia or the Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland, Holdstock spends the first half of the book immersing us in the narrator's history and lifestyle in the real world. I started to fear that this book would turn out to be like [b:The Wood Wife|463024|The Wood Wife|Terri Windling|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312049409s/463024.jpg|1856525] or [b:Little Big|2612|The Tipping Point How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference|Malcolm Gladwell|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344268476s/2612.jpg|2124255], where we only get tantalizing glimpses of creatures from the other realm and never go there ourselves. But then at the halfway point, things finally started happening, and they were all the more effective for our having been so deeply immersed in the quotidian details of Steven's life before. I guess the fantastic seems even more fantastic when contrasted with something real! I won't spoil the ending of the book except to say that it also surprised me greatly. Now I can't wait to read the sequel.
meg_sc's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I picked this one up from 66 Books a few months ago since I was intrigued by the concept of a mysterious forest in 1940s England. Mythago Wood is similar in vibes to Jeff VanderMeer's Annihilation (and Southern Reach Trilogy in general) and has an undercurrent of dread along with the intrigue that the wood itself and the characters within it provide.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual assault
schaffyd's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
saphea's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0