Gate of Ivory, Gate of Horn (Mythago Wood Book 6)

Several years ago, Christian Huxley's father, George, obsessively documented the strange phenomena emanating from Ryhope Wood at the edge of their property. He watched the ancient heroes emerge, shouting both incomprehensible warnings and unmistakable invitations. Recklessly, George followed them inot the mysterious sylvan shadows that changed him forever.Christian himself was not untouched by these living dreams. A childhood encounter with a phantom from another time draws him to the Wood as an adult. Deep in Ryhope, Christian uncovers the lie that permeates his worst nightmares. And like his father, he will be consumed with the mythagoes of Ryhope, especially a young Celtic warrior called Guiwenneth. She is the key to the mystery of the universe, an ancient heroine caught in a timeless tale of bravery and sacrifice.Now, together with a band of crusaders from a world long gone, Christian and Guiwenneth become part of the unfolding stories both remembered and forgotten. They meet sorcerers in battle and giants who can travel miles in one step. And they discover the meaning of the two gates, Ivory and Horn - one the lie, the other the truth.

From Kirkus Reviews

Another of Holdstock's Mythago Wood series (The Hollowing, 1994, etc.) about a primeval woodland where space and time are distorted and where ``mythagos,'' figures from myth, legend, or dream, become real. Chronologically, this entry comes first in the series, and tells the story of George Huxley, his adult son, Christian, and their mutual obsession with the mythago Guiwenneth, the beautiful red-haired warrior princess from pre-Roman times. Chris's mother, Jennifer, crushed by the whole business, hangs herself from an oak tree after the Arthurian champion Kylhuk emerges from the woods to mark young Chris as his ``slathan,'' a mysterious term not explicated until much later. When Chris returns from WW II, he, like his father, enters the wood in pursuit of Guiwenneth and finds himself bound to Kylhuk's warriors, who must fight the evil sons of Kyrdu over the fate of another hero, Mabon, entombed alive inside a giant tree. Holdstock's figures, from the Welsh Mabinogion, Irish and British myth, are recognizably human despite their mythic origins and magical surroundings. Holdstock's remarkable creation, drawing skillfully upon such rich, resonant background material, exerts an endless fascination. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Robert Holdstock is the author of the World Fantasy Award-winning novel Mythago Wood, the British Science Fiction Award-winner Lavondyss, and the author of several bestselling fantasies, including such acclaimed novels as The Hollowing, Ancient Echoes, and Unknown Regions. He lives in London, England.

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