2026 Thumbnail Review #10 Mischief Acts by Zoe Gilbert

Nearly. In principle this is very promising. It purports to follow the myth of Herne the Hunter from its inception (here fictionally placed in the 14th century) through a series of episodes, some entirely fictional and some based on historical events (e.g. the 1987 great storm), and even into the future (ending in 2073). Set in the Great North Wood that used to exist south of London, now diminished to a few remnants, it seeks to offer a narrative about the continuity of myth through time.

It kind of works. Perhaps inevitably, some episodes (there are 16 in all) are more successful than others (1606: Lord of Misrule is good); some (1936: Obedient Magic, about the fire that destroyed the Crystal Palace) seem only tenuously linked to the theme.

And overall, the writing, although varied, remains rather tame — not a virtue in a book about a chaotic force of nature. I missed the more visceral, poetic writing of Max Porter (Lanny); while Alan Garner’s descriptions of Herne and the Wild Hunt in The Moon of Gomrath conjure a far more effective vision of the wildness that Gilbert wishes to describe.

So although some passages rise to * territory, overall this rests at a level. Good, but not as good as one hoped.

**()