''Avilion'' is a fantasy novel by British author

Robert Holdstock Robert Paul Holdstock (2 August 1948 – 29 November 2009) was an English novelist and author best known for his works of Celtic, Nordic, Gothic and Pictish fantasy literature, predominantly in the fantasy subgenre of mythic fiction. Holds ...

. It was published in the United Kingdom on July 16, 2009. It is his first Ryhope wood novel since ''

Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn ''Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn'' is a fantasy novel by British author Robert Holdstock. It was originally published in the United States in 1997 (and in the United Kingdom under the title ''Gate of Ivory'' in 1998.) The story is a prequel to ''My ...

'' was published in 1997. Avilion is

Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

's term for

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...

in '' Idylls of the King''. Avilion is described by Tennyson as an island valley with ideal weather and fertile land. The novel ''

Mythago Wood ''Mythago Wood'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Robert Holdstock, published in the United Kingdom in 1984. ''Mythago Wood'' is set in Herefordshire, England, in and around a stand of ancient woodland, known as Ryhope Wood. The story invo ...

'' introduces tropes, terminology and a backstory that are built upon in ''Avilion''.

Plot summary

Avilion takes place after the events in ''Mythago Wood''. Steven Huxley and the mythago Guiwenneth have been living in Ryhope wood where they are raising their two children, each half-human, half-mythago. The older boy, Jack, wishes to know about the outside world while the younger girl, Yssobel, dreams about her uncle Christian, who vanished into Lavondyss at the end of ''Mythago Wood''. Despite being comfortably settled and living an idyllic agrarian lifestyle, events at hand will change the family's future.

Reception

Reviews have been very complimentary, with The Times Online saying "This is a wonderful, grown-up fantasy about growing up and moving on, and going home." and The Guardian commenting "Mythago Wood was a seminal expression of British fantasy, and Avilion, though lacking its predecessor's narrative drive and intensity, is an enthralling reworking of myth and a haunting vision of love and loss unmatched in contemporary fantasy." ''Avilion'' was a finalist for a 2010 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award in the Adult Literature Category. It won the 2010 Best Fantasy and Horror Award from the Czech Akademie of Science Fiction.

Chronology of works in the Mythago Wood cycle

The order in which the Mythago cycle works were written/published does not necessarily correspond to the order of events within the realm of the ''Mythago Wood'' cycle. For example, ''Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn'' and the novella ''The Bone Forest'' are prequels to ''Mythago Wood'' even though they were published at a later date. The novel ''Merlin's Wood'' (1994) and short stories in ''The Bone Forest'' and ''Merlin's Wood'' have little bearing on the events in the Ryhope wood. See the table below for a chronology of events within Ryhope wood.

References

Sources

External links

Mythago Wood: the official website of Robert Holdstock

{{Robert Holdstock 2009 British novels 2009 fantasy novels Works by Robert Holdstock British fantasy novels Sequel novels Victor Gollancz Ltd books