New Releases by Robert Holdstock

The Merlin Codex brings together Robert Holdstock's Celtika, The Iron Grail and The Broken Kings in one superb omnibus. Recounting a young Merlin's epic story, The Merlin Codex moves through the classical world of Jason (of the Argonauts fame) and his wife Medea. Jealously guarding his gift as every act of magic shortens his life, Merlin weaves his plots across the centuries, showing us echoes of the man and the stories we know from Arthurian legend. Robert Holdstock was unanimously hailed by critics as the best contemporary author of SF and Fantasy. By mixing Greek and Celtic mythologies happily around an immortal character, Holdstock once again touches on the great universal myths as he did so brilliantly in his Mythago Wood saga, going beyond the limits of Fantasy.

The unthinkable has occurred. The wall of thoughts, barrier against the unknown, had been breached, unleashing a dark force into the world - the Ghost Lords of Uthganaar. These evil creatures had united the northern tribes of the world heart behind them and were set to conquer the world. Only Raven could stop them. Together with Warlock Spellbinder and the valiant tribesman Silver, she undertook an arduous and perilous journey - to the mysterious obsidian tower to learn the secret of the Ghost Lords and their invincible yellow sword - and beyond the Lost Lands to the worlds end itself.

From out of the bonds of slavery there arose a warrior...a warrior feared across all lands, a warrior whose blade was stained with the blood of thousands - man and beast - who smiled as she killed, with hair as gold as summer sun, eyes as blue as the heavens, and a body which invited only love yet dealt bloody, merciless death to her enemies. This was Raven, Swordsmistress of Chaos. And so she was chosen; a simple girl plucked from the slavepens of Lyand by the sorcerer-priests and schooled in every art of weaponry until no mere man could defeat her - in any form of physical combat. Together with her mysterious companion, Spellbinder, and the great black bird which watched over them, RAVEN set forth to meet her destiny. Her first quest, to find the Skull of Quez and return it to its rightful owner, for only by so doing could she gain the chance to slaughter Karl ir Donwayne - the depraved monster whose tortures she could never forget...

In the Celtic tribal lands of Connacht, he came of age among the Druids and headhunters and the ghosts of the great Bronze Age people of Danann. He fought his savage, bloodthirsty way to the west, as a naked warrior who had rejected the tribal laws. And there Arthur, Warlord of the Britons, came to find him, to exploit his skill and invulnerability in the war against the Saxons. Yet Swiftaxe, the Berserker, wanted one thing only; to break the curse that condemned him to his life of frenzied violence and bloodlust. But until the might of the Saxons was destroyed, he would never be free . . .

When Odin's curse fell upon him, Harald Swiftaxe, the young Norse warrior, lusty in love and battle, was fully human no longer. He was incensed with the animal rage of the god's devotees, the Berserkers. The snarling ferocious savagery of the bear possessed him. Immune to fire and steel, frenzied by the smell of blood and the sight of torn human flesh, he was driven to the worst of human deeds . . . The stench of fear was meat and drink to him, and cowering women learned of his cruel, insatiable lust. The bear screeched its ecstasy - yet at times the man dimly understood the horror. Could the demon god be killed, the spell lifted...? If there was a way, the price of failure would be high, greater than death itself . . .

Winner of the World Fantasy Award "I am placing this entry at the beginning of my edited journal for reasons that will become apparent. Time is very short for me now, the final part of the ritual draws near... I cannot pretend that I am not frightened." There were these two British writers, one lived in the country, the other in the city. The country writer loved to visit the city and partake of brandy and Greek kebabs in the local hostelry. The city writer liked to visit the country and guzzle ale and barbecued steak under the apple trees. The two writers needed an excuse for these indulgences, and so they invented one, and this excuse was called "collaborating on a story" ... It soon emerged that the story was to be about a legendary tree, which they both vaguely recalled from the tales their grandfathers used to tell them of mystery and myth. Soon they were delving with suppressed excitement into old documents at the British Museum and began to come up with some frightening discoveries. The first of these finds was in studying the original text, in Anglo-Saxon, of the Old English poem "The Dream of the Rood". The marrying of the "tree" (crucifixion cross) and the "thorn" (a runic character) was too elaborately regular to be an accident of metre or alliterative language. Other discoveries followed, and the story gradually surfaced, like a dark secret from its burial mound. The Ragthorn: a dark and unsettling World Fantasy Award-winning novella by Robert Holdstock and Garry Kilworth. Also included in this volume, two bonus stories: "The Fabulous Beast" by Garry Kilworth, and "The Charisma Trees" by Robert Holdstock. Robert Holdstock: ''Britain''s best fantasist ... these are the visions of a real artist.'' - The Times ''Our finest living mythmaker. His narratives - intense, exuberant, earthy, passionate, dense with metaphor - are new trails through the ancient forest of our imaginations. An essential writer.'' - Stephen Baxter ''No other author has so successfully captured the magic of the wildwood.'' - Michael Moorcock ''A new expression of the British genius for true fantasy.'' - Alan Garner, on Mythago Wood Garry Kilworth: ''Garry Kilworth is arguably the finest writer of short fiction today, in any genre.'' - New Scientist ''Kilworth is one of the most significant writers in the English language.'' - Fear Magazine ''Probably one of the finest writers of short stories Britain has ever produced.'' - Bookstove Online ''Kilworth is a master of his trade.'' - Punch Magazine

On the planet Aeran, the original colonists have undergone a drastic change: under the influence of some strange psychic force they have forgotten their identity and created a new culture - an exact reconstruction of the Stone Age society that flourished in Ireland 6,000 years ago. Has some strange racial memory been awakened? Or are both cultures the product of a social blueprint implanted throughout the cosmos by a long-vanished race?

Deep in the sounds, scents and shifting rhythms of the Amazon forest, a family have lost their seven-year-old child, stolen by the mysterious ''Invisible People'', the tribe which has never been seen. Through ten years their agonised search for him takes them beyond the world''s last great natural frontier into the cruel beauty of the Brazilian jungle. When at last father and son do meet - in a dramatic and terrifying encounter - it is in the emerald forest, a place where the mythical and magical powers of primal existence must clash with the cold-hearted greed of modern man.

The Fear - mysterious, unstoppable, this deadly plague is slowly wiping out humanity. And only one world seems to offer hope of sanctuary - Ree''hdworld, home of the only other intelligent beings in the universe. But Ree''hdworld is not as safe as it seems. For something has been happening to the natives - both the friendly Ree''hd and their more primitive kinsmen, the Rundii. And only three people stand any chance of discovering and surviving the danger that the humans of Ree''hdworld will soon face: Kristina, an Earthwoman who is slowly "going Ree''hd"; Maguire, a blind man who should have died centuries ago and who, living, has seen all the secrets of the universe; and Zeitman, a brilliant scientist who holds the key to salvation on Ree''hdworld in his mind - if only he can discover it in time¿

Des siècles avant sa rencontre avec Arthur, Merlin voyage à travers le monde, immortel et éternellement jeune, à la recherche du savoir. Il se lie d''amitié avec le héros grec Jason et l''accompagne dans sa quête de la Toison d''or. Une décision qui lui coûtera cher... Quelques centaines d''années plus tard, Merlin entend parler d''un navire perdu dans un lac gelé du Nord et d''où jaillit une longue plainte. Il découvre qu''il s''agit de l''Argo, le vaisseau de Jason, où gît l''âme du héros pleurant ses fils volés par l''enchanteresse Médée, éprise de Merlin dans sa prime jeunesse. Merlin s''engage alors dans une autre quête : retrouver les fils de Jason, projetés dans le futur par leur mère, Médée. En mélangeant avec bonheur les mythologies grecques et celtes au récit épique de Merlin et sa quête à travers le temps, Robert Holdstock touche, au-delà des limites de la Fantasy, aux grands mythes universels.

At the heart of Ryhope Wood, Steven and the mythago Guiwenneth live in the ruins of a Roman villa close to a haunted fortress from the Iron Age, from which Guiwenneth''s myth arose. She is comfortable here, almost tied to the place, and Steven has long since abandoned all thought of returning to his own world. They have animals, protection and crops. But this idyll cannot last. The hunters who protected Guiwenneth as a child have come to warn her she is in danger. Yssobel is dreaming increasingly of her Uncle Christian, Steven''s brother, who disappeared into Lavondyss, and Jack wants to see ''the outer world'' more than anything. Events are about to overtake them.

A powerful and compelling return to Robert Holdstock''s award-winning Mythago cycle.

A fabulous tale of honour, vengeance and magic by one of the great fantasists of modern times.

Au nord de l''océan s''étend un territoire maudit où réside le plus féroce ennemi de Raven, le maître d''armes Karl Ir Donwayne. Accompagné de Spellbinder, la belle guerrière est décidée à le retrouver, mais elle devra affronter un adversaire redoutable : Tanash le Dieu de glace.

Née esclave, initiée aux arts de la guerre par un mercenaire, la belle Raven est devenue une redoutable combattante. Un oracle lui prédit sa destinée : façonner le monde et empêcher qu''un ordre maléfique s''y répande... Elle part, accompagnée d''un gigantesque et mystérieux oiseau noir. Premier volume d''une trilogie sombre et violente, Maîtresse du chaos dresse le portrait flamboyant d''une héroïne rebelle et sublime.

Back in print after a decade, a novel of the classic Mythago cycle

Book Two of the Merlin Codex

A haunting entry in the World Fantasy Award-winning Mythago Cycle In Mythago Wood, Robert Holdstock gave us an intricate world spun from the stories of Irish and English mythology, a great forest steeped in mystery and legend, whose heart contains secrets that will change all who behold them. Young Tallis is one such seeker. When she was just an infant, she lost her brother Harry to Ryhope Wood. Her adolescent fancies now cause her to suspect that he is still alive---and in grave danger. Tallis follows Harry into the primal Otherworld armed only with magic, masks, and clues left by her grandfather. Eventually the primitive forest gives way to Lavondyss itself, a fascinating and terrible realm where she is forced to confront the mythagos, physical manifestations of the legends of humanity''s collective unconscious. Join Tallis on her quest into the ultimate unknown, and be invited into one of the finest and most compelling mythologies you will ever encounter. "A stunningly good book . . . conveys the haunting power of old heroes and lost gods." --Locus "Magical . . . It is rare to find a sequel which measures up to its original; but Lavondyss surpasses it." --Times Literary Supplement At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Merlin revient en Alba - l''Angleterre - cette île aux " murailles battues par les flots " où il est accueilli par de bien mauvaises nouvelles. La forteresse de Taurovinda a été prise par les troupes du Pays Fantôme, et l''enchanteur est l''objet de multiples menaces. La guerre contre le Pays Fantôme semble inévitable... Urtha, Haut roi des Cornovides, est bien décidé à reconquérir sa place forte, et Merlin est persuadé que Jason, s''il a survécu à ses blessures, reviendra sur cette île pour tenter de retrouver son second fils, Kinos - le Petit Rêveur - caché quelque part dans le royaume. Ce dernier, Merlin en est convaincu, tient un grand rôle dans la sombre histoire qui se déroule en Alba. Et quel sera celui de l''effroyable Médée ?

Myth and Terror in the Forest Deeps The mystery of Ryhope Wood, Britain''s last fragment of primeval forest, consumed George Huxley''s entire long life. Now, after his death, his sons have taken up his work. But what they discover is numinous and perilous beyond all expectation. For the Wood, larger inside than out, is a labyrinth full of myths come to life, "mythagos" that can change you forever. A labyrinth where love and beauty haunt your dreams. . .and may drive you insane. "Utterly enthralling." --Times Literary Supplement "Robert Holdstock''s is one of the voices at the very heart of modern fantasy." -Guy Gavriel Kay "One of the strangest, most beautiful and most compelling fantasies I have ever read. A marvel of a book." --Keith Roberts At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

From an award-winning fantasist comes a magical novel linking the Arthur cycle to the mysteries of ancient Greece.

Tommy, sept ans, est le fils d''un ingénieur américain. Un jour, il disparaît à la lisière de la forêt amazonienne, non loin du chantier où travaille son père. Pendant dix ans, Bill Markham tente de retrouver son fils, tout en poursuivant la construction du barrage qui menace de bouleverser l''équilibre de la forêt. En vain. Alors que tout semble perdu, Markham part en expédition et s''enfonce dans l''enfer verdoyant de l''Amazonie, à la recherche de la mystérieuse tribu des Invisibles. Au bout de sa quête l''attend une terrible confrontation avec les forces magiques et immémoriales de la jungle primitive.