Rating: 
Summary: A Must for King Arthur Enthusiasts!
Review: I loved the new spin Bradley put on the old Arthurian legends. This was a wonderful book. I recommend it highly to anyone who likes to read about King Arthur.
Rating: 
Summary: The Mists of Avalon
Review: This is the first book I've read that concentrates on the Arthurian legends from the viewpoint of the women involved. I found the perspectives of Morgaine as the priestess of the old Druid religion and Gwenhyfar as the champion of the new Christian religion fascinating. While neither is presented as all good or all bad, I think Christianity comes out with perhaps a worse name than it deserves. Nevertheless the book was a compelling page-turner and the attention to detail of the period was excellent. I look forward to reading more of Marion Zimmer Bradley's works.
Rating: 
Summary: Admirable Effort, but Not Worth the Paper
Review: I first read the "Mists of Avalon" in high school (many moons ago) on the recommendation of all my female, high school friends (who, it should be noted, were into "experimental theology"), and because everywhere I turned there was hoopla. "The Arthurian Legend from the female's perspective!" "Gripping!" "Epic!" And so forth.Undaunted by its size (a fan of Hugo and Dostoyevsky comes to expect a few thousand pages), I delved in, expecting to be swept up into the gripping, epic, feminist legend. What I discovered was exactly the opposite. "The Mists of Avalon" is long, poorly written, poorly characterized, agenda-ridden, historically and mythically inaccurate and - worst of all - dull. I found the characters completely unsympathetic, the sex scenes gruesome and drawn-out, the perspective offensive (i.e., violently anti-Christian, a strange perspective for one who claimed Christ on her webpage), and the prose plodding. As for the feminist aspect, if "feminism" means the maligning of the opposite sex and the desecration of erroniously titled "patriarchial religions" - then this is an excellent example of feminist literature. If, however, feminism implies the female's perspective, then Ms. Bradley completely missed the mark with her unsympathetic, libido or emotionally driven women who themselves do not understand the fullness, richness and awesome domestic power of the fair sex. The only impetus to finish the book was that I tore a corner of the unweildy thing and felt so badly (it was borrowed from a friend) that I bought another copy for the owner, and now owned a copy myself. The lure of consumerism snared me, and I finished the darn thing - after many, many months. However, despite such a moribund review, I will give "Mists of Avalon" two stars: the first for effort (one can only imagine the work that went into producing such a tome), and the second for the revenue it produced which funded Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine. Ms. Bradley, may God rest her soul, was an excellent editor and mentor. But as an authoress, she lacked.
Rating:
Summary: This is a MUST read !
Review: Bradley undertook a huge project when she decided to re-write the Arthurian legend. It is obvious she did some research into the lore of Britain, as well as the history of this legend. I had been meaning to read this book for years when I finally picked it up and I have not regretted doing so for one second. The book is all-consuming. It takes hold of the imagination like few books do these days. I was completely captivated for two weeks of my life. Morgaine of the Faeries is my hero! The story is deeply moving and the characters are well developed. I like Bradley's pro-feminine twist on the tradionally treacherous females entwined in this legend and I was extremely impressed with the resolution of this well-known tragedy. It is a well-rounded and well-written tale. This is now one of my top 10 books ever list!
Rating:
Summary: The Mists of Avalon
Review: This is the best book I've ever read. I found myself relating to and getting completely caught up in Morgaine's life to the point of tears at times. The pages of this book brew with magic. I could read this book again and again and experience something new each time. I will never be able to look at the Arthurian legends, particularly Mogan Le Fay, the same way. Any woman who has ever felt "misunderstood" will relate to this book!
Rating:
Summary: A terrific tale, but history? No way!
Review: I stumbled across the book the day after I returned from a trip to England that included, coincidentally, a stop in Glastonbury and a hike up the Tor. I gobbled the book, going back in my imagination to the lovely countryside where I had just been. This is a ripping story, well-told, with an intriguing premise and strong characters. I loved it as fiction, because that's exactly what it is. I don't believe that the author ever intended it to be more than that - a good read. Certainly there is no evidence that it was ever intended to be historical - starting from the first page, it follows the usual Arthurian device of placing him at Tintagel, although he was a 6th century king and Tintagel dates from the 12th century! And it's hard to take seriously as history any book that directly quotes characters who have been dead for 1500 years, and includes magic as a commonplace occurance... All it is, is a clever retelling of the Arthurian legend from the perspective of one of the women. As such, it's good. But great literature it's not. And history it is also not, at all. So read it and enjoy it and don't take it seriously. "The best book I've ever read"? No way, unless your reading to date has been confined to Dick and Jane readers!
Rating:
Summary: To different
Review: I read this book for a school book report and i found that it was completely different from the other versions of the Arthurian legneds. I saw the book to be too flodded with feministic views. The reason I say this is becasue Bradely i felt was trying to make the women seem important in this. I just dont like how she changed the story. Im not saying that women aren't important or anything like that, im just saying you dont change a legend like this to make women seem more important.
Rating:
Summary: The Mists of Avalon
Review: The start was slow, but as I began to know the characters, I could not put it down. A very intersting spin on King Arthur, Guinivere, and Lancelot. It also provided a much more worthy veiw of the priestesses of Avalon, and increased, what only used to be a mild interest in this subject.
Rating:
Summary: Would give this 6 *stars* if I could
Review: I'm a serious reader. I read classic literature, trashy sci-fi/fantasy, modern horror, mysteries, backs of cereal boxes & the "TV Guide". This novel is in my all-time Top 10 list of favorites. I was perusing the reader comments & felt compelled to add my 2 cents. How someone who professes to be a lover of literature could ignore the charms of this book is beyond me. This novel is a retelling of the Arthurian legend from the point of view of the women involved in King Arthur's life. It's fresh, enlightening, moving, entertaining & so smart. This book is perfect in every way. I recommend this book to everyone I know. It's as much a classic as "To Kill a Mockingbird", "The Color Purple", "A Prayer for Owen Meany" or Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings". Do yourself a favor & read this book. Give it to those you love. You won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: I wonder
Review: I wonder how this happened. One of the mysteries of my life. How did this book get such reviews and such comments? I'll get to the point... I read a lot of fantasy and also some science books. I've read some BORING technical books on subjects as chaos theory, but this was one of the books I had to struggle most to be able to finish. In one word. DULL. This could have been a good book, but with 40% of the size or less. Hundreds and hundreds of pages where NOTHING happens. The characters (or some of their aspects) are a insult to the arthurian legends. Little action happens, this book is WAY too long for what it offers. It's kinda like a slow SOAP OPERA from a female point of view (example: many lines describing women seweing while warriors are at battle but no details about what is going on outside the castle). Comparisions to Tolkien are a joke. What has this to do with J.R.R? Do not compare the master to a soap opera writer. Give me a break, I'd give it 4 stars if it were a 200 page book, but it's really too long for such empty, boring characters.
| 
