Steven Savile is one of our great underrated authors. His stories resonate with atmosphere and he is equally comfortable writing a thriller or a horror novel.
While very British, his command of atmosphere is second to none.
A promising start to a series?

Always a fan of this Steven Saville, and as with all of his books, this one didn't disappoint.
Full recommended.

Coldfall Wood is an actual ancient wood in London, England, covering 14 hectares. In this book, there are other ancient things there; ancient beings who do not like what what humanity has done with the world. Beings that plan to turn things back to the way they used to be.

This is actually a sequel, but while there was a a learning curve to get the hang of who the characters were, the story was pretty much standalone.

Basically, an ancient king/goddess-consort takes advantage of a tear in reality caused by the events in the first book, and he wakes a number of his followers, placing them into the bodies of contemporary youths, all connected by a foster home. This inadvertantly has the side effect of inflaming racial tensions. There are also a seres of young girls who drop into coma-like states, only to all wake up at the same time, all saying the same thing. Police find an old man alone in a house, with greenery shoved down his throat, but when the greenery is removed, he wakes up.

The story builds well, filling in details from the previous book without overwhelming, and the dark atmosphere grows more and more intense. My only complaint was that while the ending was satisfactory, it didn't quite live up to the tension that had been built. But it did leave me hitting Google, looking up elemnts of myth and geography that intrigued me, so I would call it a success.

A sleeping god awakes. Danger. Murder. Mysterious illness. Bad things start happening.....and Joshua Raines will have to become a true hero, stepping up to fight an epic battle. The tale of Glass Town continues.....

When I accept ARC copies of books for review, I promise to write an honest review. And I always do. Even when I have to say that I just did not enjoy a book. I'm always constructive in my criticism, but I'm never going to be less than honest.

Not every book is for every reader. I say that because this book is just not something I can enjoy reading. So....much as I hate to do it....I DNF'd this book at 60%. I tried three times to finish so I could write a complete review....but finally I had to give up and declare it done.

Now....that doesn't mean that this is a bad book. It just means that I, personally, did not enjoy this story. I did not realize it was a continuation of the story started in Glass Town. Even though the book blurb said it can be read as a stand alone story, I found the plot, basic premise and characters confusing because I haven't read the first book. I couldn't get into the story because I didn't understand the motivation of the characters or if this was a mystery/crime investigation or supernatural story. The mixing of the two just didn't work for me in this case. This series is just not for me.

I have heard some very wonderful things about Steven Saville's other books...so I think I will try another selection and see if it's a better fit for me. I did a bit of looking around at other reviews and found many readers like this series....I'm glad. :) It just is not a good fit for me.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from St Martin's Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

British Fantasy. If you like fantasy books and/ or happen to be an Anglophile, this book is definitely up your alley. It starts out a bit after Saville's prior book, Glass Town, but can be read independently of that book - as I did. We encounter a cop in modern day London dealing with the fallout of the events of Glass Town, but we also encounter a Muslim kid executing an honor killing and a pair of racists who beat up a star soccer player who happens to be Muslim in retaliation, as well as a pair of burglars encountering a very strange house. The first half of the book sets the world for this particular tale, and the back half of the book is the Battle for London. All in all, an excellent effort from Saville, and recommended, as I said at the beginning, for fantasy lovers and/ or Anglophiles.

Caveat: I myself am neither, and thus even while intrigued by the premise and story, I struggled a bit with it. Hence the 4 stars for what really would be a 5 star tale if I was more into its genre.

This is the story of the Horned God's return to London in modern times following an honor killing in the Muslim community. Overall, not a bad tale. It took me almost a third of the book to really get interested. The cast of characters almost required a scorecard to keep up with.

Advance reader copy: Thanks Net Galley and ST. Martin's Press!

Coldfall Wood is an unusual fantasy novel. It is uncomfortable to read at times because it is at once too real and too unreal. This paradox makes the impossible troublingly possible. It begins with a brutal honor killing, one that sets racial tension alight, encouraging more and greater violence. In this case, however, something greater is at hand, the awakening of an old god of the land, and the blood spilled sets a chain reaction of sacrifice and rebirth. This isn’t a novel of good and evil. Instead it is a matter of survival. There is little magic left in the world of men, and a greater enemy of man and fae alike is soon to come.


Coldfall Wood is a brutal novel, the depictions of the horned god and his retinue are true to the darker legends. Julie, Alex and the others are struggling against things they can’t understand and have little hope of prevailing against. This isn’t a novel of fast paced action. Even if the heroes are victorious, immense damage has been done. Coldfall Wood is a mesmerizing story, powerful enough to keep the reader thinking about it afterward. It is a reminder of forgotten tales of the Wild Hunt, the stories and legends passed generation to generation.

4 / 5

I received a copy of Coldfall Wood from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

— Crittermom

Advance Review Copy

I love Steven Savile's work and was so excited to see a new fantasy novel by him. I couldn't wait to dive in. COLDFALL WOOD takes place in Britain and unfortunately that's about all I managed to retain. The characters were unmemorable to me and the story just seemed to drag endlessly. I was so sorry that this just wasn't for me. It will go into my Steven Savile collection to try again at a later date.

Maybe this will work out better for you.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and St. Martins Press. Thanks!

I started out enjoying this book quite a bit. The action was good and the supernatural elements were mysterious and creepy. However, I was quickly overwhelmed by the large number of characters, the abrupt transitions between the magical, supernatural world and the London detectives, and the feeling that there didn’t seem to be much forward impetus in the story.

I tend to be a fast reader, with most novels taking me only two or three days at most. After six days, I was only about 150 pages into this 360 page ebook, and decided it was not a book I cared to finish.