Lavondyss
Encyclopedia
Lavondyss also titled Lavondyss: Journey to an Unknown Region is the second fantasy
novel
of the Mythago Wood
series written by Robert Holdstock
. Lavondyss was originally published in 1988. The name of the novel hints at the real and mythological locales of Avon
, Lyonesse
, Avalon
and Dis
; within the novel Lavondyss is the name of the remote, ice-age heart of Ryhope wood.
Despite having a new primary character, Lavondyss is a sequel to Mythago Wood
because several characters provide links between the novels; the events in Mythago Wood set into motion events that drive the protagonists' actions in Lavondyss. Reading the novel Mythago Wood will illuminate Lavondyss for first time readers.
Lavondyss is noteworthy because it has both won and been nominated for fantasy literature
awards.
of her own.
(not a mythago, but real flesh and blood). Tallis sings him a song that she thinks she has made up herself, but the composer identifies its tune as that of a folk song
he has collected personally in Norfolk
. Slowly Tallis's links with the wood intensify. She makes ten chthonic
wooden masks, each of which represents one of the ten first legends in Ryhope wood. Within the context of the story, these masks are talismans
that help to engage certain parts of her subconscious and so link her with the characters and landscapes which are forming within the wood. When properly used (especially later in the book), these masks allow Tallis to see things that cannot be seen without them, and they can also be used to create 'Hollowings' — pathways in space and time which allow her to step into far-off places within the wood which would otherwise take days, weeks, or even months to travel to on foot. Tallis makes the masks in the following order:
Before setting foot in the wood, Tallis has one particular encounter that has major repercussions through the rest of the story: with the 'help' of one of the mythagos, she 'hollows' (creates a Hollowing) and observes Scathach, a young warrior, dying on a battlefield beneath a tree. Tallis' misdirected magic used to help this young warrior changes both her story and Harry Keeton's story in Ryhope wood.
Deep within Ryhope wood Tallis eventually meets up with Edward Wynne-Jones (human, not mythago) who was only mentioned in Mythago Wood. He is now living in the wood as a shaman
to a small village of ancient people. Through his understanding of the wood (which he studied with the scientist George Huxley from the first book), Tallis herself gains an understanding of her connections with all that surrounds her; most importantly, she asks him how she might find her lost brother Harry Keeton.
Edward Gaunt : An older man who is a gardener and keeper of livestock who tends to the Keeton's farm. He is familiar with Ryhope wood and lives in a nearby cottage.
Harry Keeton : A local ex-RAF pilot whose whereabouts in Rhyhope wood are unknown at the conclusion of Mythago Wood.
James Keeton : Father to Harry and Tallis. James plays a prominent role in The Hollowing, a sequel to Lavondyss.
Margaret Keeton : Tallis' mother and James Keeton's wife.
Owen Keeton : Grandfather to Harry and Tallis. Owen dies when Tallis is an infant, but leaves behind a book with important notes for her.
Tallis Keeton : Younger half sister of Harry Keeton and protagonist of the story. Tallis is precocious and has innate shamanistic powers, even as a child. Tallis was born in 1944 and is named after the early Welsh
poet Taliesin
.
Ralph Vaughan Williams : The composer appears as himself, aged eighty-four when Tallis is thirteen.
Edward Wynne-Jones : A researcher in historical anthropology
who teaches at Oxford University. Wynne-Jones is a diminutive and fussy man who smokes a pipe. He is approximately the same age as George Huxley. Together Wynne-Jones and George Huxley study Ryhope Wood extensively in the 1930s. Wynne-Jones makes scientific equipment designed to interact with the paranormal in Ryhope Wood. Wynne-Jones disappears into Ryhope Wood in April 1942.
of local legend. Broken Boy always appears in an injured state, being lame due to an arrow inflicted wound.
Scathach : This male mythago is the youngest of three brothers. His older brothers are Mordred
and Arthur
. This mythago is of romantic interest to Tallis and she intervenes in his mythological role.
Tig : This male mythago appeared briefly in a neolithic village in Mythago Wood and reappears with a more significant role in Lavondyss. Tig also appears in the tale Earth and Stone, first published in the collection titled The Bone Forest
.
describes Ryhope wood in Lavondyss as a "metamorphic terrain of daunting rigor, an excremental sign-saturated inscape charged with twisting energy." He goes on to call the final chapters "superbly deranging and intense", concluding that "Lavondyss begins to seem like a thing in itself, inexplicable and gravid."
Mythago Wood and Lavondyss have been described as being significant because they are pure fantasy works that take place in an innovative, yet startlingly ordinary realm. Holdstock’s writing in these works has been described as an impressive mixture of poetic style and sensitivity. The Rhyhope wood series is considered to be "one of the landmark fantasy series of the late twentieth century."
Mythago Wood and Lavondyss have been described by Michael D. C. Drout
as being two of Holdstock’s best works which, as fantasies, have an internally consistent framework of principles. These works are noted as dealing with the traditions of the British Isles with originality and deftness by incorporating its unwritten culture, including the Morris dance
s, the Green Man
, Shamanism, Neolithic
tribespeople, and pre-Roman Celtic traditions. Death and mortal remains are also prominent and disturbing parts of these works.
Lavondyss rises above the generic nature of genre fiction
and approaches literary fiction
in its complexity. John Clute gives the work mixed praise and describes Lavondyss as "half pedant
ry and proselytizing
, half an epiphany
of metamorphosis that reads like braille
, it is a book whose appalling sincerity puts to shame the Celtic junk
it fleetingly resembles."
Lavondyss has won a number of awards including the BSFA Award
for Best Novel in 1988.
!width="40%"|Followed by:
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|Avilion
|Lavondyss
|The Hollowing
|}
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
of the Mythago Wood
Mythago Wood
Mythago Wood is a fantasy novel written by Robert Holdstock that was published in the United Kingdom in 1984. The conception began as a short story written for the 1979 Milford Writer's Workshop; next a novella of the same name appeared in the September 1981 edition of The Magazine of Fantasy &...
series written by Robert Holdstock
Robert Holdstock
Robert Paul Holdstock 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....
. Lavondyss was originally published in 1988. The name of the novel hints at the real and mythological locales of Avon
Avon (county)
Avon was, from 1974 to 1996, a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in the west of England.The county was named after the River Avon, which runs through the area. It was formed from parts of the historic counties of Gloucestershire and Somerset, together with the City of Bristol...
, Lyonesse
Lyonesse
Lyonesse is a country in Arthurian legend, particularly in the story of Tristan and Iseult. Said to border Cornwall, it is most notable as the home of the hero Tristan, whose father was king...
, Avalon
Avalon
Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 pseudohistorical account Historia Regum Britanniae as the place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged and later where Arthur was...
and Dis
Dis (Divine Comedy)
In Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, the City of Dis encompasses the sixth through the ninth circles of Hell. The most serious sins are punished here, in lower Hell...
; within the novel Lavondyss is the name of the remote, ice-age heart of Ryhope wood.
Despite having a new primary character, Lavondyss is a sequel to Mythago Wood
Mythago Wood
Mythago Wood is a fantasy novel written by Robert Holdstock that was published in the United Kingdom in 1984. The conception began as a short story written for the 1979 Milford Writer's Workshop; next a novella of the same name appeared in the September 1981 edition of The Magazine of Fantasy &...
because several characters provide links between the novels; the events in Mythago Wood set into motion events that drive the protagonists' actions in Lavondyss. Reading the novel Mythago Wood will illuminate Lavondyss for first time readers.
Lavondyss is noteworthy because it has both won and been nominated for fantasy literature
Fantasy literature
Fantasy literature is fantasy in written form. Historically speaking, literature has composed the majority of fantasy works. Since the 1950s however, a growing segment of the fantasy genre has taken the form of films, television programs, graphic novels, video games, music, painting, and other...
awards.
Plot introduction
Tallis Keeton, the younger sister of Harry Keeton (from Mythago Wood), is the protagonist of the story. Lavondyss starts with Tallis's grandfather and his efforts to write down some of his encounters with the mythagos from the nearby Ryhope Wood; Tallis is still a baby at this point. The story soon jumps forward a few years to where Tallis and her development are concentrated upon - it is at this point that the story shows her developing relationship with the land around her house and the mythagos emerging from Ryhope wood. This development continues throughout the book as periods in her life from baby to child to teenager to young woman are shown to the reader. As Tallis' shamanistic powers grow, she undertakes a quest in Ryhope wood to find her lost brother and undergoes a metamorphosisMetamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation...
of her own.
Plot summary
During her formative years, Tallis encounters the British composer Ralph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
(not a mythago, but real flesh and blood). Tallis sings him a song that she thinks she has made up herself, but the composer identifies its tune as that of a folk song
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
he has collected personally in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
. Slowly Tallis's links with the wood intensify. She makes ten chthonic
Chthonic
Chthonic designates, or pertains to, deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in relation to Greek religion. The Greek word khthon is one of several for "earth"; it typically refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the land or the land as territory...
wooden masks, each of which represents one of the ten first legends in Ryhope wood. Within the context of the story, these masks are talismans
Amulet
An amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...
that help to engage certain parts of her subconscious and so link her with the characters and landscapes which are forming within the wood. When properly used (especially later in the book), these masks allow Tallis to see things that cannot be seen without them, and they can also be used to create 'Hollowings' — pathways in space and time which allow her to step into far-off places within the wood which would otherwise take days, weeks, or even months to travel to on foot. Tallis makes the masks in the following order:
- The Hollower — made from elm, this female mask is painted red & white.
- Gaberlungi — made from oak and painted white, this mask is known as "memory of the land".
- Skogen — made from hazel and painted green, this mask is known as "shadow of the forest".
- Lament — made from willow bark, this simple mask is painted gray.
- Falkenna — the first of three journey masks is painted like a hawk; this mask is known as "the flight of a bird into an unknown region".
- Silvering — the second of three journey masks is painted in colored circles; this mask is known as "the movement of a salmon into the rivers of an unknown region". The Silvering is also the name of a short story included in Merlin's WoodMerlin's WoodMerlin's Wood; or, The Vision of Magic is a short novel written by Robert Holdstock and was first published in the UK in 1994. The novel is considered part of the Mythago Wood cycle, but takes place in Brittany, France instead of Herefordshire, England...
. - Cunhaval — the third of three journey masks is made from elder wood; this mask is known as "the running of a hunting dog through the forest tracks of an unknown region".
- Moondream — made from beechwood, this mask is painted with moon symbols on its face. This mask plays a prominent role in The HollowingThe HollowingThe Hollowing is the third fantasy novel of the Mythago Wood series written by Robert Holdstock. It was originally published in 1993. The title refers to a magical pathway, or hollowing, an archaic English term for a sunken lane or hollow-way...
. - Sinisalo — made from wych elm and painted white and azure, this mask is known as "seeing the child in the land".
- Morndun — this mask appears dead from the front, but alive from behind and is known as "the first journey of a ghost into an unknown region".
Before setting foot in the wood, Tallis has one particular encounter that has major repercussions through the rest of the story: with the 'help' of one of the mythagos, she 'hollows' (creates a Hollowing) and observes Scathach, a young warrior, dying on a battlefield beneath a tree. Tallis' misdirected magic used to help this young warrior changes both her story and Harry Keeton's story in Ryhope wood.
Deep within Ryhope wood Tallis eventually meets up with Edward Wynne-Jones (human, not mythago) who was only mentioned in Mythago Wood. He is now living in the wood as a shaman
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
to a small village of ancient people. Through his understanding of the wood (which he studied with the scientist George Huxley from the first book), Tallis herself gains an understanding of her connections with all that surrounds her; most importantly, she asks him how she might find her lost brother Harry Keeton.
Human characters
Harry Keeton : A local ex-RAF pilot whose whereabouts in Rhyhope wood are unknown at the conclusion of Mythago Wood.
James Keeton : Father to Harry and Tallis. James plays a prominent role in The Hollowing, a sequel to Lavondyss.
Margaret Keeton : Tallis' mother and James Keeton's wife.
Owen Keeton : Grandfather to Harry and Tallis. Owen dies when Tallis is an infant, but leaves behind a book with important notes for her.
Tallis Keeton : Younger half sister of Harry Keeton and protagonist of the story. Tallis is precocious and has innate shamanistic powers, even as a child. Tallis was born in 1944 and is named after the early Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
poet Taliesin
Taliesin
Taliesin was an early British poet of the post-Roman period whose work has possibly survived in a Middle Welsh manuscript, the Book of Taliesin...
.
Ralph Vaughan Williams : The composer appears as himself, aged eighty-four when Tallis is thirteen.
Edward Wynne-Jones : A researcher in historical anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
who teaches at Oxford University. Wynne-Jones is a diminutive and fussy man who smokes a pipe. He is approximately the same age as George Huxley. Together Wynne-Jones and George Huxley study Ryhope Wood extensively in the 1930s. Wynne-Jones makes scientific equipment designed to interact with the paranormal in Ryhope Wood. Wynne-Jones disappears into Ryhope Wood in April 1942.
Mythagos
Broken Boy : This mythago is a great stagDeer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
of local legend. Broken Boy always appears in an injured state, being lame due to an arrow inflicted wound.
Scathach : This male mythago is the youngest of three brothers. His older brothers are Mordred
Mordred
Mordred or Modred is a character in the Arthurian legend, known as a notorious traitor who fought King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann, where he was killed and Arthur fatally wounded. Tradition varies on his relationship to Arthur, but he is best known today as Arthur's illegitimate son by his...
and Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
. This mythago is of romantic interest to Tallis and she intervenes in his mythological role.
Tig : This male mythago appeared briefly in a neolithic village in Mythago Wood and reappears with a more significant role in Lavondyss. Tig also appears in the tale Earth and Stone, first published in the collection titled The Bone Forest
The Bone Forest
The Bone Forest is a book opening with a novella of the same name followed by seven short stories. All were written by Robert Holdstock and published in 1991 and 1992 . This novella is a prequel to the entire Mythago Wood cycle...
.
Critical commentary and awards
Like most sequels Lavondyss has been compared to its predecessor Mythago Wood, and it differs in many ways. Technically Lavondyss is set in the 1950s and has a third person narrative viewpoint; Mythago Wood is set in the 1940s with the first person narrative viewpoint. In terms of content, Lavondyss has a 'darker tone' than Mythago Wood due to its relentless focus "on the earth, stone, blood, dung, and death that are the necessary roots of the story." John CluteJohn Clute
John Frederick Clute is a Canadian born author and critic who has lived in Britain since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part of science fiction's history."...
describes Ryhope wood in Lavondyss as a "metamorphic terrain of daunting rigor, an excremental sign-saturated inscape charged with twisting energy." He goes on to call the final chapters "superbly deranging and intense", concluding that "Lavondyss begins to seem like a thing in itself, inexplicable and gravid."
Mythago Wood and Lavondyss have been described as being significant because they are pure fantasy works that take place in an innovative, yet startlingly ordinary realm. Holdstock’s writing in these works has been described as an impressive mixture of poetic style and sensitivity. The Rhyhope wood series is considered to be "one of the landmark fantasy series of the late twentieth century."
Mythago Wood and Lavondyss have been described by Michael D. C. Drout
Michael D. C. Drout
Michael D. C. Drout is the Prentice Professor of English and Chair of the Department of English at Wheaton College and an author and editor specializing in Anglo-Saxon and medieval literature, science fiction and fantasy, especially the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and Ursula K. Le Guin.Drout holds a...
as being two of Holdstock’s best works which, as fantasies, have an internally consistent framework of principles. These works are noted as dealing with the traditions of the British Isles with originality and deftness by incorporating its unwritten culture, including the Morris dance
Morris dance
Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers...
s, the Green Man
Green Man
A Green Man is a sculpture, drawing, or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. Branches or vines may sprout from the nose, mouth, nostrils or other parts of the face and these shoots may bear flowers or fruit...
, Shamanism, Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
tribespeople, and pre-Roman Celtic traditions. Death and mortal remains are also prominent and disturbing parts of these works.
Lavondyss rises above the generic nature of genre fiction
Genre fiction
Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre....
and approaches literary fiction
Literary fiction
Literary fiction is a term that came into common usage during the early 1960s. The term is principally used to distinguish "serious fiction" which is a work that claims to hold literary merit, in comparison from genre fiction and popular fiction . In broad terms, literary fiction focuses more upon...
in its complexity. John Clute gives the work mixed praise and describes Lavondyss as "half pedant
Pedant
A pedant is a person who is excessively concerned with formalism and precision, or who makes a show of his or her learning.-Etymology:The English language word "pedant" comes from the French pédant or its older mid-15th Century Italian source pedante, "teacher, schoolmaster"...
ry and proselytizing
Proselytism
Proselytizing is the act of attempting to convert people to another opinion and, particularly, another religion. The word proselytize is derived ultimately from the Greek language prefix προσ- and the verb ἔρχομαι in the form of προσήλυτος...
, half an epiphany
Epiphany (feeling)
An epiphany is the sudden realization or comprehension of the essence or meaning of something...
of metamorphosis that reads like braille
Braille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
, it is a book whose appalling sincerity puts to shame the Celtic junk
Genre fiction
Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre....
it fleetingly resembles."
Lavondyss has won a number of awards including the BSFA Award
BSFA award
The BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association to honor works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members...
for Best Novel in 1988.
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.!width="40%"|Followed by:
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|Avilion
Avilion
Avilion is a fantasy novel by British author Robert Holdstock. 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 was published in 1997. Avilion is Tennyson's term for Avalon in Le Morte d'Arthur...
|Lavondyss
|The Hollowing
The Hollowing
The Hollowing is the third fantasy novel of the Mythago Wood series written by Robert Holdstock. It was originally published in 1993. The title refers to a magical pathway, or hollowing, an archaic English term for a sunken lane or hollow-way...
|}