Lavondyss

Rating:
Summary: Enter a world where mythology mixes w/ intriguing complexity
Review: From the world of the "Mythago Woods", "Lavondyss" enters as strongly and vibrantly as your first kiss on a summer's day. The intricacy and complexity of the story and characters compel you to delve farther into the woods with the protagonist. Holdstock's poetry binds you to the characters, so that you feel their joy of discovery and pain of rebirth as you journey with them. In the tradition of the first book in the series, World Fantasy Award winner, Mythago Woods, Lavondyss carries the spirit of fantasy to its highest levels. A beautiful book and an enjoyable read

Rating:
Summary: definitely worth it!
Review: I read Lavondyss out of order, picking it up a year or so before I ever got a copy of Mythago Wood. Lavondyss was a heavy read, definitely not a "casual" novel, but absolutely worth the time and concentration you put into it. No, it's not a simple, linear story like most mass market fiction these days - there's a lot to digest and comprehend. It makes you think. In contrast, Mythago Wood was very easy to read and understand, and I think had I read it first, I would have had less trouble with Lavondyss. The plot of Lavondyss involves a young girl who enters and loses herself in an old-growth forest, where human minds create "mythagos," physical manifestations of primal legendary heros and villains. It's innovative fiction, in my opimion, but slightly hints of being an epic, similar to older "legend" novels like Beowulf. This story appealed to the romantic in me, and I even cried a little at the end. :) I can highly recommend both Mythago Wood and its sequel, Lavondyss.

Rating:
Summary: definitely worth it!
Review: I read Lavondyss out of order, picking it up a year or so before I ever got a copy of Mythago Wood. Lavondyss was a heavy read, definitely not a "casual" novel, but absolutely worth the time and concentration you put into it. No, it's not a simple, linear story like most mass market fiction these days - there's a lot to digest and comprehend. It makes you think. In contrast, Mythago Wood was very easy to read and understand, and I think had I read it first, I would have had less trouble with Lavondyss. The plot of Lavondyss involves a young girl who enters and loses herself in an old-growth forest, where human minds create "mythagos," physical manifestations of primal legendary heros and villains. It's innovative fiction, in my opimion, but slightly hints of being an epic, similar to older "legend" novels like Beowulf. This story appealed to the romantic in me, and I even cried a little at the end. :) I can highly recommend both Mythago Wood and its sequel, Lavondyss.

Rating:
Summary: if you got the time...
Review: I think it should of gone through another editing session to clear out some of the underbrush. It was just a little too slow. Slow enough to make me borderline antsy as to continue or not. I am glad I continued. Be forwarded this is not a quick read but will require a great deal of your time and 100% of your attention. Send the kids to grandmas for the week.

Rating:
Summary: Spellbinding
Review: If you're one of these readers who have just dropped in and have read the other reviews then stop...Lavondyss isn't like the previous book 'Mythago Wood'its better, much , much better. This is an author who went for years with little or no recognition and then he writes a book based on English mythology and he hits paydirt. What would you do? Write another clone. No, Robert Holdstock fired by his success with 'Mythago Wood' writes the novel of a lifetime. A book he always wanted. Lavondyss is steeped in mythology. A different story occurs almost every page and all from the mind of the author but based on the form of the myth. All of them are brilliant and engrossing, terrifying even because this is not the myth of Tolkien(another scholar of mythology) but a myth based on the great stories of Irish and English Mythology where terrible and amazing things happen. You know its a story but it touches you all the same. He has the capacity to tell a story and leave you thinking Bl**dy Hell! Its long..yes, I'll grant you that but you don't want to leave his world and it has a structure so tightly bound that everything you read leads towards the ending. Maybe you Americans have an adversion to stories that have a unsettled ending but the truth is.. its life . That's the way things are and this book had a great effect on me. If you're tired of Sub-Tolkien stories about elves and fairies then get into the real thing. Robert Holdstock is a genius writer who has been ignored for far too long.

Rating:
Summary: Journey Into An Unkown Region is Journey Of A Lifetime
Review: Lavondyss is a journey into an unkown region that you will not likely ever forget. Robert Holdstock's generous and enticing prose will mesmerize you as you are drawn into a world of startling realizations. As science fiction, Lavondyss is an excellent mind-bending and eerie story. As fantasy, it is a tale of twisted history , love and tragedy. Whatever your reading preference, prepare yourself for the journey of a lifetime!

Rating:
Summary: Haunting
Review: Lavondyss is not as accessible as Mythago Wood; however, for me, it was even more rewarding. It's best if you read it slow, savoring the detail, the imagery and the incredible scope. I've read it several times. Each time, after finishing, it tends to haunt me for days and days. I also find it to be profoundly sad, but not in a bad way. I STRONGLY recommend Lavondyss.

Rating:
Summary: The story that got lost in itself
Review: Started out great (Tallis as a child, becoming aware, learning, exploring) but as soon as she crossed over the borderlands of Lavondyss (pg. 197) it fell apart becoming a tangled tortuous mess. The story got lost in itself. There was no sense of place or being. The characters lacked character. I felt absolutely nothing for them or Lavondyss.

After reading the first 194pg build up I anticipated a great journey. I was bitterly disappointed DISENCHANTED is more like it!

Needless to say I won't be reading the rest of the Mythago series.

Rating:
Summary: Good for a While
Review: This book was good... For some time. But after about 100 pages it falls apart. The intro. Is great, and is one of the best beginings I ever read! Its about a guy talking to a ghost. But then it loses it compleatly. Stick to Mythago Wood.

Rating:
Summary: There's no putting down this book
Review: This second book of the Mithago cycle, is even more compeling than the first. It takes you into a world of myth, magic and antiquity. This book is scary, exciting, and sad.