Gate of ivory, gate of horn - Robert Holdstock

This novel tells the story that precedes MYTHAGO WOOD. Steven Huxley's father, George, and brother, Christian, elusive, shadowy figures in MYTHAGO WOOD, are the protagonists. This book tells of the beginning of the strange hold that Ryhope Wood will develop over the Huxley family, and George's discovery of the primeval woodland that holds the 'mythagos' - figures from myth, legend or dream - is wonderfully detailed.
Mirroring the fate of his brother in MYTHAGO WOOD, Christian is drawn into Ryhope in an attempt to find Guiwenneth, the mythago who has held a special allure for all the men of the Huxley family. His quest, though, is more complex as he is also searching for his mother and, although he would deny it, the father who's obsession has cost the family so much. Christian's introduction to the wood is fascinatingly drawn and in many ways this is the most fantastical of the entire series, replete with mythic archetypes and the dark, mysterious atmosphere that marks the MYTHAGO books as the very best in the field.