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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, though it could have benefitted from being shorter.
There was a little bit too much incest for my liking... If the characters concerned had not been related, I don't think it would have weakened the plot at all so I found it a little gratuitous.
Some of the conversations/scenes are repetitive.
Other than this slight nitpick, the book was well-written to the point where fantastical elements felt like they could really have happened. This made it a pleasure to read.
Didn't dig the ending, but overall I loved this fresh take on the Arthurian legend.
There was a little bit too much incest for my liking... If the characters concerned had not been related, I don't think it would have weakened the plot at all so I found it a little gratuitous.
Some of the conversations/scenes are repetitive.
Spoiler
For example, when Morgaine is having her baby. The book goes as follows - Morgaine and Morgause discuss how hard childbirth is. Morgaine then goes into labour, her aunt tells her that childbirth is hard all the way through her labour. Morgaine has her baby, Morgause tells her how hard childbirth was. Authorial choices such as this elongated the book unnecessarily.Other than this slight nitpick, the book was well-written to the point where fantastical elements felt like they could really have happened. This made it a pleasure to read.
Didn't dig the ending, but overall I loved this fresh take on the Arthurian legend.
I started reading and liked it but truthfully I couldn’t finish. I made the mistake of looking up the author and reading her wiki page made me sick to my stomach.
This was a major disappointment. The start of the book was good, setting up what I presumed was going to be our main characters along with their dynamics and the atmosphere they lived in. It did well to establish the narrative of political intrigue along with the low level magic system. It was compelling, having the women be deeply involved with the politics and major events unfolding. This did not last for more than 200 pages of this over 1000 page book. I think the problem with books like this are that, while I love retellings from the women’s perspectives, the story has to be chosen wisely. In Arthurian legend, the women do very little outside of their main action on the plot. This leads to a huge book made up almost entirely of women sitting around and chatting while the men complete the quests. They hear everything interesting from second hand accounts and are just left to talk about it. This hinders any feminist narratives drastically. This is pushed further by the unfortunate first wave feminist perspective which is characteristic of the time the book was written but set up a truly uncomfortable read. There is no value given to women who just want to be mothers and wives. There is no nuance around their beliefs or those of women who do choose to build relationships with me. Instead, they fit into sexist archetypes of whiny wife and femme fatale. It’s not enjoyable and certainly not what I wanted. This is not helped by the fact that, after a point, every character blends into a single voice with unclear narratives. Nobody seems to know why they are doing what they are doing, the author just knows they need to do it to drive the plot. By the end I was skim reading through irritating dialogue and flat plot lines. I think this book would have benefitted by having more focus as a Morgana redemption story rather than claiming to be a feminist retelling.
I'm not crazy about arthurian tales in general, just overdone and the story never really appealed to me much in the first place. Roland is my preferred doomed knight story.
This was, as many other reviews will state a very different approach to the story of Arthur. Indeed is more the story of Morgan Le Fay (Morgaine in this book) and Arthur is only a side character in the story. And while it isn't by any means one of my favorites I can really respect the unique approach.
This was, as many other reviews will state a very different approach to the story of Arthur. Indeed is more the story of Morgan Le Fay (Morgaine in this book) and Arthur is only a side character in the story. And while it isn't by any means one of my favorites I can really respect the unique approach.
DNF'd, but since I've already put so much time into this book and since I want to talk about it, we're marking it as finished.
I knew going into this that the author was not a good person. I knew about the abuse she ignored and also inflicted upon her children, however, I read enough reviews of people who were also aware of the abuse and still endorsed this work separate from the author and so I thought I would see if I could muster it. I also have such a deep, deep love for anything Arthurian, specifically Morgan Le Fay, and the want for her story to be done well was strong and it definitely clouded my judgement on this book, even while I was hating every minute of reading it.
1. This book is too long. It's not even the enjoyable kind of long. It's the kind of long where you could turn your brain off for 10 pages and when you turn it back on, you didn't miss a whole lot, but you're still not sure where you're at. It's a lot of telling, and then telling you the same thing again. I wish I had counted the number of times certain statements were just repeated and again and again as if we the reader hadn't grasped the first time what the character meant by their statement. Look Viviane, I understand that you're gonna do something to Morgaine that's going to make her hate you as much as she loves you, I heard you the first time. And guess what, we all hate you for it. Did you ever consider that maybe you shouldn't?
2. Perhaps I dodged too early, but this doesn't feel like a feminist book at all. It feels so oppressive and dismissive of every female character's struggles and then the women don't even support one another, they are all set up to not trust one another and so they're at odds with each other, which feels like the antithesis of what feminism is.
3. The most disgusting aspect is just how much sexual content revolves around incest and non-consensual sex and when you know what the author did, it makes those scenes intensely uncomfortable and just all around bad. It's always been there that Morgaine and Arthur have a child together (I watched the 1998 Merlin series, I'm obviously well-versed *sarcasm*). Those themes have always been there. However the tone and lurid delivery of it just made it so much worse and it really read as if the author wanted to justify their own actions through their characters. And that ultimately was what convinced me that this just wasn't ever going to be a book I could read and feel good about.
Morgaine is disappointedly a victim of systems that continue to oppress her, and perhaps had I continued I would have come upon the turning point for her, but I think with the story being what it is, being written by who it was, I suppose I will never know and I'm going to have to be okay with that. There will be other Morgaine/Morgan le Fay/Morgana stories for me to read that aren't associated with bad people. It is regrettable when I know that for so many people, this particular book meant a lot to them.
If anyone is looking for something about Morgan Le Fay specifically, I will suggest “Morgan is My Name" by Sophie Keetch. It's a YA story that isn't quite as long as this, but has the Historical Fiction aspect to it and follows roughly the same plot. Perhaps that can satisfy what this one cannot without the incest and SA and where women actually support women.
I knew going into this that the author was not a good person. I knew about the abuse she ignored and also inflicted upon her children, however, I read enough reviews of people who were also aware of the abuse and still endorsed this work separate from the author and so I thought I would see if I could muster it. I also have such a deep, deep love for anything Arthurian, specifically Morgan Le Fay, and the want for her story to be done well was strong and it definitely clouded my judgement on this book, even while I was hating every minute of reading it.
1. This book is too long. It's not even the enjoyable kind of long. It's the kind of long where you could turn your brain off for 10 pages and when you turn it back on, you didn't miss a whole lot, but you're still not sure where you're at. It's a lot of telling, and then telling you the same thing again. I wish I had counted the number of times certain statements were just repeated and again and again as if we the reader hadn't grasped the first time what the character meant by their statement. Look Viviane, I understand that you're gonna do something to Morgaine that's going to make her hate you as much as she loves you, I heard you the first time. And guess what, we all hate you for it. Did you ever consider that maybe you shouldn't?
2. Perhaps I dodged too early, but this doesn't feel like a feminist book at all. It feels so oppressive and dismissive of every female character's struggles and then the women don't even support one another, they are all set up to not trust one another and so they're at odds with each other, which feels like the antithesis of what feminism is.
3. The most disgusting aspect is just how much sexual content revolves around incest and non-consensual sex and when you know what the author did, it makes those scenes intensely uncomfortable and just all around bad. It's always been there that Morgaine and Arthur have a child together (I watched the 1998 Merlin series, I'm obviously well-versed *sarcasm*). Those themes have always been there. However the tone and lurid delivery of it just made it so much worse and it really read as if the author wanted to justify their own actions through their characters. And that ultimately was what convinced me that this just wasn't ever going to be a book I could read and feel good about.
Morgaine is disappointedly a victim of systems that continue to oppress her, and perhaps had I continued I would have come upon the turning point for her, but I think with the story being what it is, being written by who it was, I suppose I will never know and I'm going to have to be okay with that. There will be other Morgaine/Morgan le Fay/Morgana stories for me to read that aren't associated with bad people. It is regrettable when I know that for so many people, this particular book meant a lot to them.
If anyone is looking for something about Morgan Le Fay specifically, I will suggest “Morgan is My Name" by Sophie Keetch. It's a YA story that isn't quite as long as this, but has the Historical Fiction aspect to it and follows roughly the same plot. Perhaps that can satisfy what this one cannot without the incest and SA and where women actually support women.
You'll need to separate the art from the artist for this one.
Marion entices your mind deep into the world of Avalon as a spectator amongst the women around the classic King Arthur tale.
Completely captivating and when it's not, it's creating beautiful imagery that completely immerses you in the fantasy realm.
Marion entices your mind deep into the world of Avalon as a spectator amongst the women around the classic King Arthur tale.
Completely captivating and when it's not, it's creating beautiful imagery that completely immerses you in the fantasy realm.
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes