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A review by raven_morgan
Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand
5.0
An eARC of this book was received from the publisher via Netgalley.
***
I'm a longtime fan of Elizabeth Hand's work, so I was extremely happy to receive an ARC of this short novel.
Set in the early 1970s, the novel follows the folk rock band Windhollow Faire go to the isolated Wylding Hall to record their second album. The story is told from the perspectives of the various band members, as well as a few other characters, as they work on the album, and as strange things begin to happen to some of them.
For me, this novel has the flavour of what I really love in contemporary fantasy (think Robert Holdstock, with the deep connections to mythology and the land), with connections to mythology and the land, and the exploration of the strangeness of Wylding Hall itself (which put me in mind in several parts of House of Leaves, which is one of my favourite books of all time).
There is a fey beauty which Hand manages to capture in this book - everything feels both hyper real and one step sideways from the real. Mysteries appear and are not resolved, and it is hard to remember at times that Windhollow Faire are not a real band, and Wylding Hall itself does not exist.
Highly recommended. My only complaint is that I can't ever listen to any of Windhollow Faire's music.
***
I'm a longtime fan of Elizabeth Hand's work, so I was extremely happy to receive an ARC of this short novel.
Set in the early 1970s, the novel follows the folk rock band Windhollow Faire go to the isolated Wylding Hall to record their second album. The story is told from the perspectives of the various band members, as well as a few other characters, as they work on the album, and as strange things begin to happen to some of them.
For me, this novel has the flavour of what I really love in contemporary fantasy (think Robert Holdstock, with the deep connections to mythology and the land), with connections to mythology and the land, and the exploration of the strangeness of Wylding Hall itself (which put me in mind in several parts of House of Leaves, which is one of my favourite books of all time).
There is a fey beauty which Hand manages to capture in this book - everything feels both hyper real and one step sideways from the real. Mysteries appear and are not resolved, and it is hard to remember at times that Windhollow Faire are not a real band, and Wylding Hall itself does not exist.
Highly recommended. My only complaint is that I can't ever listen to any of Windhollow Faire's music.