Rating: 
Summary: Not At All Bad...Just A Little Preachy
Review: Now let me say that I enjoy this book enough to regularly recommend it, especially to people unfamiliar with the Arthurian legends, Pagan practice and spirituality, or both.All right, then what's my problem? Any novel--especially one of this size--that divides characters up like soldiers on a battlefield seems too fundamentally simple. In this case, it's the good, wise, mistreated Pagans of the Old Religion against the blundering, ignorant, and somewhat blind avatars of Christianity. The character of Morgaine, who's a rampant Goddess worship fundamentalist if ever there was one, is just as bad as Gwenyfhar and her endless pious Christian rantings. The supporting cast is little better and made up mostly of fence-sitters. Having come to know Arthur through White and Mallory, I missed the emphasis on the new kind of law and legal philosophy Arthur was supposed to have brought with him. It's a personal thing, but debates about legal issues (and more importantly, changing people's outlooks) are a lot more interesting than endless pecking over spirituality. Granted, Mists was supposed to move the legends away from these things, but I'm not sure it's not "these things" which make the Arthurian legends what they are.
Rating: 
Summary: Not to be forgotten
Review: Told from the perspective of a woman living during the rein of King Arthur, The Mists of Avalon is a compelling fantasy story that immediatly enthrals the reader. The story chronicals the fall of the magical and sensatious world of Avalon to the pagan world of the church through the majestic ruler of Avalon, Morgain. Bradley writes the infamous tale with incredible genious and superb command for the language. Her tale will difinitivly withstand the test of time as one of the greatest fantasies ever written.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: I read this book many years ago, and thought that it was the most enchanting, intriging and interesting books I had ever read, and I am a power reader. My husband says that I buy books by the pound. I must admit that I cried when I finished it. Now that I have time for reading again, I am purchasing more of Marion Zimmer Bradley's books that I didn't know existed. I admit that I was saddened to see that she had died recently, but she left us a legacy of good books to read. The only books that came close to the type of enjoyment that she provided were Jean Auel's series beginning with "Clan of the Cave Bear", but Ms. Auel has left us hanging for too many years with Ayla on the ice shelf! Enjoy it!!
Rating:
Summary: Can't I give it 10 stars?? :}
Review: I have read this book maybe 4 times, along with The Forest House and Lady of Avalon. You don't read a book this thick that many times if you don't absolutely LOVE it!! And I do, I do.. It's the story of Arthurian times, only told from the women's (and druids') point of view, mainly. The other books are prequels, of the centuries leading up to Morgaine and Arthur. And boy, am I excited to see that there's yet another Avalon book out, Priestess of Avalon. Mists will be coming out in movie form on TNT in July 2001, and that's another reason I'm hopping up and down! Being Wiccan myself, I really identified with the whole Goddess-priestess storyline. It really is too wonderful a book to reduce into a short synopsis. Let me just say that MZB has struck quite a chord in the pagan community, and may her books live on forever and ever! Blessed be!
Rating:
Summary: arthur, viewed by a pagan woman
Review: Once in a while you find a book whose scope is so great, whose world in so alien yet so familiar, and whose prose is so luminous that you cannot stop recommending it to your friends and family. I must have given this book to over a dozen people. Bradley goes through every incident in the Arthur myths from a startlingly original point of view, mixing pagan mysticism with solid historical fiction, which in her hands is unusually potent. I was utterly mesmerised by this book and simply could not put it down, though I enjoyed it so much I wanted it never to end. Best of all, the characters are not the stuff of comic books, but are flesh and blood people full of pyschological conflicts and their sense of duty. But the mysticism is also entirely believable, a parallel world of fairies and priests that become part of your imagination. I remember, for example, the description of the cynical Morgause, using magic for her own purposes of vision, by sacrificing a human to soar over the country and view of the destruction of the invading Saxons. So vivid, so alien, so believable! What is also fun are the twists that Bradley gives the characters, which are too numerous and subtle to enumerate. Arthur is not love-lorm but rather disinterested in Guenwifare, whom he marries out of duty and arrangement. Morgaine, the narrator, is a pagan who wants to preserve the good and honorable order from which she comes, rather than a scheming and evil witch. The list goes on. One of the best. Get it.
Rating:
Summary: Penetratingly Profound
Review: The Mists of Avalon is one of the most deep and profound books I have ever read. It is a beautifully written Arthurain legand that uncovers the frailty of human emotions and the monumental influence gods or godesses have over simple men. It gave me the chance to wander through King Arthurs Courts and to part the Mists of Avalon. To live in the time of glorious knights and experience inborn chivalry first hand. The most fascinating thing about this tale is the the characters who are very alive and very real. They demand that you really care about them. Morgaine and Gwenwhyfar command overwhelming depression at times, and then power and glory or lovliness and romance at others. I think Lancelot must have been the most desireable man on Earth (or in Avalon) while Accolan had the most amazing inner self. This is one of the deepest and most passionate and complicated stories ever written. I read it in great gulps, which I beleive is more than likely the only way possible to read it, but I truly regret that now, for if I had read it more slowly it would have lasted all the longer. This is one of the most beautiful works in the world. It is a charismatic book that presents itself proudly on my bookshelf.
Rating: 
Summary: My intro to King Arthur
Review: I just got through with this book last night and I was enraptured by the story. This is the first story on the King Arthur myth that I have ever read, and though I knew of King Arthur and the Round Table, about Lancelet, the Merlin, and Guinefwer, I never really KNEW the story. What a great intrduction into this world of magic, and Mysteries, fairies and religion. Morgaine of The Fairies was a complex and interesting character. She was so real, with attributes and flaws that you could relate to. Sometimes I didn't like her but I always felt for her and the decisions she had to make to keep Avalon in the world. Guienefwer was not the perfect Queen I had thought she was. Lancelet was everything I thought he would be, handsome and brave, thoughtful and good despite his infatuation with the queen, he was the perfect Champion of the Queen. I loved King Arthur, even when he turned his back on Avalon he did it because he thought it was right. His heart was good. All of the Knights of the Round Table were what you would expect them to be and more, and this story did not dissappoint in the telling of this wonderful myth from the women's point of view. There was alot of talk about religion and the differences in the beliefs of the time, how christianity came to this part of the country and the world was so interesting. The Goddess and the priestess's and their beliefs were something to keep you wondering about for many years to come. How important it is to remember that the Earth and everything on it is blessed and that we should never take advantage of what God gave us or eachother. This book made me think of everything that I learned in Sunday school, it made me question my beliefs and it made my faith stronger in not only God, but the Goddess, and the goodness in this world.
Rating:
Summary: Possibly the best book ever written!
Review: This book marked the start of a wonderful journey for me. I'd never enjoyed fiction before, but this amazing story and the beautiful way it was written changed my viewpoints forever. Oddly, my brother was the one who suggested I would love this book, and he was correct. Magical, powerful, and so engrossing I couldn't put it down, even at work. This was my introduction to Arthurian stories and my life has been changed forever. Truly a gem. I can't say enough about this book, you won't be able to put it down.
Rating:
Summary: A king will come and the sword will rise... again.
Review: Man, this book was nothing short of amazing. You don't have to be a fan of Arthurian lore to enjoy what Marion Zimmer Bradley has given us. A book of fantasy, and realism combined with truth, love, honor, faith and hope. The author has a way of making her readers get deeply involved with her characters. I cared for Morgaine and hated her all at the same time. I understood completely why she did what she did and was still mad about it. I admired and pitied Lancelet. He was a tremendous hero and athlete and very well respected. He was the simply the greatest and most honorable knight ever and yet... how sad that his one true love, his soulmate, Gwenhwyfar, could never, ever, be his. To have her and betray the love he shared with his best friend and king, Arthur, hurt him more deeply than any sword could ever do. Marion Zimmer Bradley really captured the essence of the struggle between the "new" religion, christianity, and the older , more sensible, spiritual ways of Avalon and the Goddess. The book "Conversations with God" kept coming to mind the more I read. Very similiar ideals."All the Gods are One God" is the final lesson of this story. No matter what different names are given for them, they are all one in the same. This is what Morgaine finally learns after all her years of struggle and this revelation gives her her... peace. Excellent story. Expressed through the eye's of the key women in during the era of King Arthur. It never falters. Makes you anxious for the next page and leaves you sad when you are finished.
Rating:
Summary: The Mists of Avalon Reviewed by a Teen
Review: I am currently enjoying The Mists of Avalon. Although it is a very long book, it is still insightful and exciting. This book offers a much different perspective from the traditional King Arthur tales. The story comes from what the women, Morgan le Fay, Igraine, and Guinevere, think. It gives the familiar story a new twist, and makes the reader see the whole plot from all angles. It is no longer just the brave knights fighting for the good of Christianity. The Mists of Avalon touches on the old religion that is being squished slowly out of existence, and gives reason for the way Morgan le Fay dislikes her brother, Arthur, and tries to keep her religion alive. These different perspectives make the book very real. The characters feel real pain and emotions, and sometimes their uncertainty is a reflection of real life.
|
