Farewell Robert Holdstock (1948-2009)
- 01 December 2009
- Gerard Wood
Robert Paul Holdstock, British fantasy's leading light, died in London on 29 November, aged 61. He was struck down by a severe E.coli infection on 18 November and fought on in intensive care until Sunday. The thoughts of those of us who treasure his writing go out to his family and friends.
Although best known for his mythic fantasy, Robert Holdstock also wrote science fiction (Eye Among the Blind) and horror (The Fetch), amongst others. But it is for his fantasy that Robert Holdstock received wide recognition, notably for the outstanding Mythago Wood cycle of novels and most recently the Merlin Codex series. Mythago Wood won the BSFA Award for Best Novel (1984) and the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel (1985) and its sequel, Lavondyss, won the BSFA Award for Best Novel (1988).
In
a genre dominated by J.R.R. Tolkien and overstuffed with vastly inferior imitations, Robert Holdstock achieved what few others could: original fantasy that is not derivative or imitative of Tolkien's writing, but which possesses the same profound depth of imagination, thought and power to evoke landscape. More truly than any other author, Robert Holdstock deserves to be recognised as Tolkien's literary successor.
Almost as unusual, Holdstock's fantasy is genuinely and satisfyingly intelligent, built as it is on a bedrock of science (psychology and the ideas of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell for instance) and though this doesn't intrude into the storytelling - Holdstock was too masterful a storyteller for that - it does provide depth and substance, rewarding each re-reading with new insights.
At 61, Robert Holdstock was too young to journey alone into the heart of the Wood never to return, and while we will never again travel in his company along uncharted pathways, his writing does remain, and it will stand as testament to his life far better than any stone monument ever could.
Featured articles
05 Oct 2009
Science fiction authors have long been outcasts from the literary world, in some cases critics using the worst examples of the genre as ammunition against it. Unfortunately though, at times even science fiction authors themselves can turn on their own kind: "Science fiction is rockets, chemicals and talking squids in outer space,” mocked Margaret Atwood (The Guardian, 28 January 2009), one of her... Read more
16 Oct 2007
Daren Aronofsky’s The Fountain is a movie that divides opinion. During its press screening at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival in September 2006 it was booed; at the public screening the following evening it received a 10 minute standing ovation. To get an idea of just how divided opinion is, take a look at Rotten Tomatoes, a website that rates movies based on published reviews. Of 181... Read more
30 Jan 2012
If you own an iPhone 4S you may have impressed your friends (or perhaps not) with the built in, voice-driven personal assistant called Siri. You can ask it to book appointments, call people, search nearby restaurants, make calculations, and a great deal more. Most of the time it gets it right too. Now Siri has an Android rival called Evi, and if first impressions are anything to go by, it's an impressive... Read more
10 Mar 2012
I have a confession to make. I'm not proud of it, but there's no use trying to hide it any longer, the damage has already been done. I was an Apple fanatic. Hard core. Completely obsessed. I'm not proud of my behaviour. I have no real excuses. All I can say in my defense is that I have always been a gadget fan, so naturally I was ripe for the plucking. My psyche was compromised, wide open to the fruit... Read more
19 Oct 2011
After watching the pilot to Fox’s ambitious TV time travelling dinosaur fest called Terra Nova, I am praying that when I watch the next episode the entire cast gets eaten by dinosaurs (in fact, that hope is the only reason I’ll be able to sit through another one). The entire cast’s gruesome deaths at the hands of a frenzied T-Rex or a velociraptor having a bad day can’t come soon enough.... Read more
09 Dec 2007
After 25 years since its original release, a definitive version of Ridley Scott's science fiction masterwork Blade Runner, Blade Runner: The Final Cut, has arrived. So what exactly has changed? And is it worth all the fuss? After attending a recent screening I can report that there are significant differences, mainly improvements, between this new version and Ridley's first Director's Cut released... Read more
07 Jun 2010
Finally having had the opportunity to watch Nicholas Winding Refn’s Valhalla Rising, I now appreciate why it was received so well at film festivals and yet failed to get a wide theatrical release. It’s hard going. On one hand it’s almost unbearably brutal and on the other it is layered with the sort of mind-bending symbolic meaning that leads the viewer to the brink of utter confusion and leaves... Read more
02 Aug 2011
Dan Simmons’ latest novel, Flashback (July 2011), is “[a] provocative novel set in a future that seems scarily possible,” proving “why Dan Simmons is one of our most exciting and versatile writers." So says the publicist anyway. Dan Simmons is one of our most exciting and versatile writers, but sadly Flashback doesn’t prove that. And yes, Flashback is a provocative novel, but it doesn’t... Read more
08 Jul 2010
Almost any time we write anything about Neil Gaiman, you can be sure that someone will feel the need to post a comment “outing” the man as a Scientologist. While we have a fairly relaxed attitude to comments and will publish almost anything that contributes to an article, you won’t find many comments about Neil Gaiman’s alleged ties to the Church of Scientology published on this site. We simply... Read more
25 Mar 2012
No movie release in 2011 was more misunderstood and unfairly maligned as a result of misunderstanding than Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch. Odds are you’ll disagree with that statement. An indication of the movie’s reception by “audiences” (non-professional reviewers) and the critics can be found on Rotten Tomatoes, where audience approval is calculated to be 47%, and of the 196 critical reviews... Read more
Latest videos
 |  |
![Men In Black 3 Trailer 2 Official 2012 [1080 HD] - Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Y2r9AIfYcV8/0.jpg)
![Looper - Official Trailer [HD]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/UZyZWFYyxcU/0.jpg)
![Total Recall 2012 Official Trailer [HD]: Colin Farrell Recalls His Dangerous Past: ENTV](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/sWMhADqlPYg/0.jpg)
Re: Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell to cameo in Quantum Leap movie
Some remakes are ok becausecof improvements in special...
Re: Chronicles of Riddick 3: Dead Man Stalking - Science Fiction World
What, Riddick became Lord Marshall and now hes...
Re: Rotten Apple: the war on Google's Android - Science Fiction World
That will be the legacy of Steve "Palpatine"...
Re: GodMachine
Strange...but cool. Definitely not EFC related in any...