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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley has been one of my favorite books since high school. I borrowed it from the school library and then I bought my beloved and tattered paperback copy at Cellar Stories in 2008. This was also my last book from my 2024 TBR pile.
The Arthurian Legend told from the perspective of the women of the legend. Morgaine of the fairies, Queen Guinevere, Igraine, Morgause, and the several ladies of the lake. There have been so many different interpretations of the legend, and this is one of my favorites.
Igraine lives at Tintagel with her younger sister, Morgause, and her very young daughter Morgaine. They spend many dreary hours together while the Duke Gorlois is away fighting in Ambrosius Aurelius' wars against the Saxons. Then the old kings dies and Igraine, at the wishes of her older sister Viviane, goes with her husband Gorlois to the new king deciding ceremony where she falls in love with the soon to be king Uther Pendragon. With some Snips, snails, puppy dog tails, and chemical X... Arthur, king of the Brits, is born! Destined to rule England and end the onslaught of the Saxons!
We follow Morgaine's journey into becoming a priestess of Avalon and discovering how far she will or won't go to stop the spread of Christianity and the forgetting of the Great Goddess and the ways of the old gods; Guinevere's life of fear and determination to end her childlessness by converting Arthur and all of Britain to a purely Christian nation... while she pines for a man who is not her husband; Morgause in the lands of Orkeney in the far north plotting with King Lot to gain as much power as they can.
It's a long ass book. I can even look past the incest and sexual assault scenes, which make me feel icky, but it doesn't happen too often.
The Arthurian Legend told from the perspective of the women of the legend. Morgaine of the fairies, Queen Guinevere, Igraine, Morgause, and the several ladies of the lake. There have been so many different interpretations of the legend, and this is one of my favorites.
Igraine lives at Tintagel with her younger sister, Morgause, and her very young daughter Morgaine. They spend many dreary hours together while the Duke Gorlois is away fighting in Ambrosius Aurelius' wars against the Saxons. Then the old kings dies and Igraine, at the wishes of her older sister Viviane, goes with her husband Gorlois to the new king deciding ceremony where she falls in love with the soon to be king Uther Pendragon. With some Snips, snails, puppy dog tails, and chemical X... Arthur, king of the Brits, is born! Destined to rule England and end the onslaught of the Saxons!
We follow Morgaine's journey into becoming a priestess of Avalon and discovering how far she will or won't go to stop the spread of Christianity and the forgetting of the Great Goddess and the ways of the old gods; Guinevere's life of fear and determination to end her childlessness by converting Arthur and all of Britain to a purely Christian nation... while she pines for a man who is not her husband; Morgause in the lands of Orkeney in the far north plotting with King Lot to gain as much power as they can.
It's a long ass book. I can even look past the incest and sexual assault scenes, which make me feel icky, but it doesn't happen too often.
If I didn’t know Marion Zimmer Bradley was an incestuous pedophile before reading this book, I probably would have strongly suspected it from the way she wrote the incest in this book. I mean, it sure is Arthurian myth, and I like reading different interpretations of Arthurian myth, but this was too weird to stomach at times.
This was slow as all hell halfway through---so slow I pondered setting it down. Luckily, it picked up the pace again at about p.500. I really enjoyed the character development. The characters felt very real and whole and lifelike; they were not caricatures at all, which I appreciate deeply. The writing style was enjoyable, and overall, the book came together as a pleasing whole for me. I'm very glad I've read it.
However, this is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. The book definitely reads to me as being a book written by someone doing Gardnerian Wicca in the 1970s who's just discovering Dianic Wicca, too (which might actually have been the case?). It's definitely got a neo-pagan vibe, and if you're not in the mood to get constantly hit over the head with the Wicca club, this might annoy you. It's also a somewhat anti-Christian book. It's certainly anti-evangelical Christianity; however, it also attacks the Christian faith itself at points. I'm certainly not Christian, and so I've no problem with criticism of Christianity, especially since a found a large portion of the criticism valid (though it got a little boring at times); however, some Christians might be hurt/angered by the book.
However, this is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. The book definitely reads to me as being a book written by someone doing Gardnerian Wicca in the 1970s who's just discovering Dianic Wicca, too (which might actually have been the case?). It's definitely got a neo-pagan vibe, and if you're not in the mood to get constantly hit over the head with the Wicca club, this might annoy you. It's also a somewhat anti-Christian book. It's certainly anti-evangelical Christianity; however, it also attacks the Christian faith itself at points. I'm certainly not Christian, and so I've no problem with criticism of Christianity, especially since a found a large portion of the criticism valid (though it got a little boring at times); however, some Christians might be hurt/angered by the book.
Read out authors abuse towards her own child, could not keep reading
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this book. It is a retelling of the Arthurian legends focusing on the women of the story. Throughout the novel I was rooting for the matriarchal Avalon religion to prosper over the patriarchal Christian religions, but everyone knows the story of King Arthur and of course Camelot became predominantly Christian.
The book dealt with many modern concerns such as religion, women's right, homoeroticism, love triangles, and the ability to choose. In addition, there is a strong underlying theme of fate/will of the gods. It is interesting to see how most of the characters believe they are acting to carry out the will of their Goddess or God and as a reader, decide whether they are actually only acting out in their own best interests.
Gwenhwyfar is really not a sympathetic character in the novel. She becomes a fanatical Christian and is very close-minded. On the other hand, the classic villian, Morgan le Fay, is represented by Morgaine, my favourite character in the novel. She is a devout priestess, but for Avalon instead of Christianty. Morgaine does many things to try to save Avalon from falling into obscurity, but in the end is the most open-minded person - accepting Christianty, but not the views of the priests that labelled her and her religion things like witches and sorcery.
The book is quite long and follows several generations of families that are central to the plot of King Arthur's story and some parts are quite slow with no actual movement in the plot, but keep reading through it and hopefully you'll be as deeply entrenched in the novel as I was. I highly recommend it to those that love Arthurian legend, fantasy novels and strong women characters.
The book dealt with many modern concerns such as religion, women's right, homoeroticism, love triangles, and the ability to choose. In addition, there is a strong underlying theme of fate/will of the gods. It is interesting to see how most of the characters believe they are acting to carry out the will of their Goddess or God and as a reader, decide whether they are actually only acting out in their own best interests.
Gwenhwyfar is really not a sympathetic character in the novel. She becomes a fanatical Christian and is very close-minded. On the other hand, the classic villian, Morgan le Fay, is represented by Morgaine, my favourite character in the novel. She is a devout priestess, but for Avalon instead of Christianty. Morgaine does many things to try to save Avalon from falling into obscurity, but in the end is the most open-minded person - accepting Christianty, but not the views of the priests that labelled her and her religion things like witches and sorcery.
The book is quite long and follows several generations of families that are central to the plot of King Arthur's story and some parts are quite slow with no actual movement in the plot, but keep reading through it and hopefully you'll be as deeply entrenched in the novel as I was. I highly recommend it to those that love Arthurian legend, fantasy novels and strong women characters.
This is a big read. The story of the time of King Arthur, as told from the point of view of the women of the time. It's a familiar tale, but told with more depth and dimension than I'd experienced in any earlier telling.
There are cycles in the book in which I want to strangle pretty much every single character, but they are far and few between. If you're interested in Arthurian legends, druids, pagans, post-Roman Christianity, and/or long form fiction, I recommend this book.
There are cycles in the book in which I want to strangle pretty much every single character, but they are far and few between. If you're interested in Arthurian legends, druids, pagans, post-Roman Christianity, and/or long form fiction, I recommend this book.
I read this after watching the TV miniseries based on the book. Still, I loved the book - a female retelling of the King Arthur legend. A different look at Morgaine LeFay, who is usually depicted as an evil witch. Also, led me to read other of Bradley's books, all of which I enjoyed.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes