I read [b:Mythago Wood|126192|Mythago Wood (Mythago Wood, #1)|Robert Holdstock|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1308639607l/126192._SY75_.jpg|121534] back when it was first published, and I loved it. I have read it several times and have always wished it could be turned into a move. The Hollowing is a much better tale than the middle book, [b:Lavondyss|280716|Lavondyss (Mythago Wood, #2)|Robert Holdstock|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389643000l/280716._SY75_.jpg|1839828], which I considered to be a vast disappointment.
But when all is said and done, I love the idea of Holdstock's myth-haunted Ryhope Wood more than I love his stories. The Hollowing is a bit of a hot mess, alternating jerkily between well-crafted scenes and jumbled Jung-influenced images flung at you with what almost feels like hostility. Perhaps a strong-handed editor or agent could have guided Holdstock to a stronger narrative. But we will never know. ( )

One of a series, unfortunately, I have read none of the previous books. This presented no problem as I quickly got the hang of what was happening in the mysterious Ryhope Wood, and the strange Mythagos that live there created from memory. This is a tough book to rate. Based on an imagined world and the style of the author’s world-building I’d have to give this 4.5 out of 5, but on enjoyment I only liked the book, not loved it — maybe a 3.5, as I found it somewhat wandering. Still, I cannot fault this imaginative work, the creation of a magical world blended with mythology and anthropology. I may check out Mythago Wood in time, as that is the first novel, and seems more highly rated. ( )

Holdstock has an absolutely amazing (and creepy) imagination. He deserves more fame than I'm guessing he has. ( )

http://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2022/02/202225-hollowing-robert-holdstock.html ( )

When Tallis Keaton's father stumbles out of Ryhope Wood months after disappearing to look for his lost daughter, it starts a chain of events that leads to the disappearance and supposed death of young Alex Bradley. "The Hollowing" follows Richard Bradley's attempts to find his son several years later, with the help of a group of scientists who are camped in the wood studying the mythagos. It was never clear to me exactly what was so warped and dangerous about Alex's mythagos, and I found the ending unsatisfactory. It seemed to fizzle out, as if the author couldn’t be bothered to write the last couple of chapters or deal with the problem of Alex reappearing unchanged nearly a decade after his disappearance. ( )