Mythago Wood
#5293.82 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 5 books Status Complete 1984–2009 Reading commitment Medium Robert Holdstock Last reviewed 2026-08-07
Overview
Robert Holdstock's Ryhope Wood cycle (Victor Gollancz, 1984–2009): an ancient, unmapped fragment of British primordial forest that generates “mythagos”, living manifestations of a culture's collective unconscious myths, and traps successive generations of the Huxley family who try to map and understand it. One of the foundational works of modern British mythic/folkloric fantasy.
Mythic fantasy, Dark fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (5 works) counts toward ranking
The Mythago Wood Cycle Robert Holdstock
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Mythago Wood | 1984 | 1 | core | 3.76 (11,278 ratings) |
 | Lavondyss | 1988 | 2 | core | 3.96 (2,463 ratings) |
 | The Hollowing | 1993 | 3 | core | 3.97 (1,079 ratings) |
 | Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn | 1997 | N/A | core | 3.91 (585 ratings) |
 | Avilion | 2009 | 5 | core | 3.94 (356 ratings) |
The 5 Ryhope Wood novels. Mythago Wood (1984) is registered under its full-novel first-publication year, not the 1981 novella version that originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (expanded into the novel Holdstock actually intends as the series' true text) -- the same discipline applied under this project's textual-integrity rule elsewhere. Internal chronology among Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn and the others is left unpopulated (null), the same treatment used elsewhere for disputed or unrecorded chronologies: sources describe its events as substantially concurrent with/interleaved across the cycle rather than a clean linear slot, and Holdstock's own cycle page does not assert one; the other 4 novels' internal chronology values track publication order, which is the settled default for the rest of the cycle.
Library / Expanded (2 works)
The Bone Forest (1991) ; Novella-and-short-story collection set in the Ryhope Wood continuity; companion material, not a Core novel.
Merlin's Wood (1994) ; Standalone novella (with two additional short stories in the UK edition) set in the same continuity; companion material, not a Core novel.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Mythago Wood? Mythago Wood's Core Canon is 5 books, plus 2 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for Mythago Wood? Publication order, starting with Mythago Wood. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Mythago Wood finished? Complete (1984–2009).
- How much reading does Mythago Wood take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 5 Core Canon books · ~1,799 pages).
- How is Mythago Wood ranked? #529 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 15,761 reader ratings across 5 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #529?
Ranked #529 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.82 across 5 core books.
- A smaller readership (15,761 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #528, The Runelords (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 5 books · Complete · 16k ratings · Ranks #529 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (5 Core Canon books)
- Mythago Wood (1984)
- Lavondyss (1988)
- The Hollowing (1993)
- Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn (1997)
- Avilion (2009)
Documented internal/story order: 4 of 5 Core Canon books
- Mythago Wood (1984)
- Lavondyss (1988)
- The Hollowing (1993)
- Avilion (2009)
Internal chronology is documented for 4 of 5 Core Canon books; the remaining 1 are not yet mapped onto the same ordinal scale.
Awards (verified)
- World Fantasy Award (Best Novel), 1985: won: Mythago Wood; Co-winner with Barry Hughart's Bridge of Birds.
Related universes
- Same author The Merlin Codex: Both by Robert Holdstock, confirmed separate settings/casts (Mythago Wood's English wildwood mythology vs. The Merlin Codex's Greek/Celtic Argonaut myth); see.
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Suggestions computed from what Mythago Wood and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Fault Lines Trilogy Urban fantasy / Dark fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 3.96
- Vita Nostra Mythic fantasy / Dark fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 3.96
- Doctrine of Labyrinths Dark fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 3.90
- The Shadow Dark fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 3.88
Official resources
- Robert Holdstock official site: The Mythago Wood Cycle
- Wikipedia: Mythago Wood
- Wikipedia: Robert Holdstock
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.82 across 15,761 ratings on 5 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Mythago Wood sequence admitted; Core Canon = the 5 Ryhope Wood novels accepted 2026-08-07
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Robert Holdstock official site -- The Mythago Wood Cycle Tier 1
- Wikipedia -- Mythago Wood Tier 2
- Wikipedia -- Robert Holdstock Tier 2
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-07
Rule: Core = the 5 Ryhope Wood novels: Mythago Wood (1984), Lavondyss (1988), The Hollowing (1993), Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn (1997), Avilion (2009). Mythago Wood is registered under its 1984 full-novel publication year, not the 1981 novella it was expanded from. Two companion works (The Bone Forest, Merlin's Wood) are Expanded.