Mythago Wood was published as part of the Masterpieces of Fantasy series by Easton Press, who describe themselves as releasing 'works of lasting meaning, beauty and importance.' Yes,” he said dully. “I’m glad you’ve come, Steve. Very glad. I’m afraid the place . . . well, is a bit of a mess. I only got your letter yesterday and I haven’t had a chance to do anything. Things have changed quite a bit, you’ll find.” Rob wrote rapidly in the early days – doing everything from sword and sorcery, as Chris Carlsen or Richard Kirk, through the Professionals novelisations, as Ken Blake, to the novelisation of John Boorman's 1985 film, The Emerald Forest – but slowed in later years. The three volumes of the Merlin Codex appeared between 2001 and 2007 – dense, complex novels, drawing on his detailed knowledge of European myth, history and prehistory. It’s not that they’re not good. On the contrary, they represent some of the finest work done in fantasy over the past two decades, and possibly longer. No, the difficulty lies in the content and structure of the series. Most fantasy slots neatly into the “heroic” category with its attempt at epic, trundling merrily along the Campbellian path of the hero’s journey. Plots are linear, armies march, kingdoms struggle against evil, and in the end it all comes right in book 3 or 5 or 7 or 9.

Ritual Sacrifice – A young woman is sacrificed and sunk to the bottom of a lake, becoming part of the earth. Then, suddenly, the message left for her by her grandfather becomes weighted with meaning. Hooded figures from the wood start whispering to her. The secret names of places, each with its own rules, become vitally important. And Tallis begins making dolls and masks, each with a name that hints at a hidden power.Twigling: He has red hair and a crown of twigs. He lingers near the edge of Ryhope Wood. The English definition of "twigling" is "child" or "children" which is the same in both its plural and singular form. Later his novel “The Dark Wheel” would be part of the included work with “Elite” in 1984, a popular computer game. He also came up with an adaptation of the John Boorman film “The Emerald Forest” and novelized episodes of “Bulman”, a Granada Television series. But one of his more popular novels would come out in 1984, Mythago Wood. It started the series known as Ryhope Wood, which would produce several novels concluding with 2009’s seventh novel, Avilion. That’s true,” Christian said quietly, looking at me quizzically, and added, “What if I told you the forest had stopped us entering? Would you believe me?” The romance was tedious, but central to the plot and pacing. I found it trite. The author is trying to express a form of forbidden love, I thought, But the logistics of the relationship were silly, and were utilized deceptively in service to advancing the plotless exploration.

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Publication Order of Mythago Wood Books

Mathews, Richard (2002). Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination (1sted.). New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-93890-2.