Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by ranprieur
Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock
3.0
The ideas in this book are brilliant. England's last bit of ancient forest is only a few miles across on the outside, but on the inside, if you know just how to navigate it, it's the size of a small continent, and full of creatures and places shaped out of collective myth and the consciousness of the explorer.
But the book is boring. At first I thought it was the style. Even though it was written in the 1980's, it reads like 19th century fiction, narrated by a square Englishman who uses words like "shall" and "alas".
Now I think it's boring because the author doesn't know how to tell a story. A good story is full of interesting choices with real consequences. Holdstock's characters seem to plod through a tableau of mythic spectacles. There's an awesome ancient warrior princess who the men fight over, but she never rises above being a love interest because she's not allowed to drive the plot. No one is.
In one scene the heroes come upon a giant castle, easily the most impressive structure they've seen so far. In a good story they would explore it and find something that unexpectedly changes their goals or adds another dimension to the world. Instead, a knight charges out, chases them into the woods, and they continue on and never think about it again. This is an example of how this book is like a long dream that's not worth remembering.
But the book is boring. At first I thought it was the style. Even though it was written in the 1980's, it reads like 19th century fiction, narrated by a square Englishman who uses words like "shall" and "alas".
Now I think it's boring because the author doesn't know how to tell a story. A good story is full of interesting choices with real consequences. Holdstock's characters seem to plod through a tableau of mythic spectacles. There's an awesome ancient warrior princess who the men fight over, but she never rises above being a love interest because she's not allowed to drive the plot. No one is.
In one scene the heroes come upon a giant castle, easily the most impressive structure they've seen so far. In a good story they would explore it and find something that unexpectedly changes their goals or adds another dimension to the world. Instead, a knight charges out, chases them into the woods, and they continue on and never think about it again. This is an example of how this book is like a long dream that's not worth remembering.