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Summary: Arthurian Fairy Tale
Review: This book was one that kept me up 'till the wee hours, but for all the lost sleep it was worth it. There are a lot of Arthurian books out there but weave quite the same spell that Marion Zimmer Bradly does. Definently a must read.
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Summary: OH MY!!!!
Review: THIS is the book you should read if there is ANY urge in you at all about the Wiccan, Druid and/or Pagan path! I read this book first, of all those I have read---this book showed me which direction was true for me, and provided a launching pad for every other book and information drawn from them. It will cause you to question and feel and think and decide for yourself like no other story---and above all, you will love it. It can be like reading the Bible---it is quite long in places and can take some determination to get through, but in the end, when you are finished, you will not even recall when you began, it is that transporting. Get it, read it, find your direction.
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Summary: Excellent
Review: After reading many, many books dedicated to The Legend of Authur, it was refreshing to read this spellbinding tale from the perspective of the women involved with Authur. I look forward to reading "Forest House," and "The Lady of Avalon." I highly recommend "The Mists of Avalon" to all who enjoy Authur and the Roundtable.
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Summary: It's not quite worth all the hype.
Review: While this is a truly interesting take on Arthurian legend, it is not worth all the acclaim that it gets from its readers. The characters are all self-serving and shallow. I was unable to finish this book, due to my disgust at Gwenivere's mistrust and narrow mindedness. To all those who make the claim that nothing better in Arthurian legend has ever been written, I suggest that they go out and read some Arthurian legend in order to back their claim.
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Summary: "The Mists of Avalon" is undoubtedly my favourite book.
Review: "The Mists of Avalon" is the best retelling of the Arthurian legend. It combines historical events with powerful character and plot depictions.
The reader lives and learns along with the characters, through happiness and pain and rage, growing and maturing even as they do. Tears will be shed, and fingernail bitten in suspense or frustration.
The story itself, with its dark undertones and sudden twists, makes for a captivating novel which will keep you up way past your bedtime!
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Summary: So real you feel YOU are living it
Review: The Mists of Avalon is not like any other book written about Arthurian legand. Not only is it told from a woman's point of view, but more importantly it tells a much more complex tale of the events that led to the downfall of King Arthur's reign. This story is not just about the battles of the sword, although they are described with vivid detail, but it is about the battles of the spirit and souls of each character. The struggle not only to find but to define their faith, and the battles they wage inside of themselves. As you read, you will admire Morgaine's stregnth and understand how much she loves her family, and yet hates how they use her. Her struggle coming to terms with herself and her existance, trying to find confidance in her self, and being tortured by Lancelet's off and on rejection and then love, will make you care for her character, almost as much as if you were Morgaine's own sister or brother. Her trials and tribulations, as well as all of her joy and magic are described in such vivid detail that you will see it so truely in your mind's eye, as if you were watching it in movie. When I was first assigned to read this book my freshmen year in highschool, I was closed to the idea of reading such a long book, and I was closed to the radical ideas presented therein. But as I read, I became entranced; I felt the emotions of the characters, and I grew from the experience. Reading this book will open your mind not only to new perspectives, but to new culture and religion. To a new way of thinking, and a new way of being. It is not an experience to be passed over. Read the Mists of Avalon, and let yourself truely live.
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Summary: A must read (over and over again)
Review: I was stunned at how much I loved this book the first time I read it. People would see me with the book and comment upon what great a read it was. The twist of telling the Arthurian story from the female perspective makes for great discussion. The love of the goddess and mother earth is so compelling that I now question the history we were taught. The lineage being passed down through the mother makes too much sense (because who really knows who the father is??). It will always be one of my favorite books.
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Summary: Magick is afoot!
Review: Be it fact or be it fabrication, as long as you still possess the ancient instincts of the mystic, you will become entranced with this book. "The Mists" is a beautifully crafted fabric from the purest elements of Nature. Each sentence is a magickal fiber that is woven with the utmost delicacy. Bradley's words possess a power that regresses you back to the days of Avalon. The Arthurian legend has traditionally been told from both a male and Christian perspective. Bradley's version is told through the women behind the throne of Arthur and through the eyes of a priestess of the Goddess. When I first read "The Mists" I felt an incredible surge of power. The world around me seemed to a bit more magickal, as if the very mists that protected and swallowed Avalon reemerged for moment when I wasn't looking. Ideas and occurances in my life seemed to direct me to a realm that I had never known before. Everything happens for a reason, one theme that was continuously proved throughout the book, and will always hold true in my life. Every story has two sides, two perspectives. When these are are changed, the hero of one story is the antagonist of the next, and so on. "The Mists" causes you to question your surroundings and to never take anything for what it seems. There are many planes and levels in this complex world, and they can be rediscovered if you just look beyond the physical. Marion Zimmer Bradley reached a new height through the creation of "The Mists of Avalon." I recommend this book, not only because it is another perspective of the Arthurian legend, but a chance to experience another, mystical reality.
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Summary: Magick is afoot!
Review: Be it fact or be it fabrication, as long as you still possess the ancient instincts of the mystic, you will become entranced with this book. "The Mists" is a beautifully crafted frabric from the purest elements of Nature. Each sentence is a magickal fiber that is woven with the utmost delicacy. Bradley's words possess a power that regresses you back to the days of Avalon. The Arthurian legend has traditionally been told from both a male and Christian perspective. Bradley's version is told through the women behind the throne of Arthur and through the eyes of a priestess of the Goddess. When I first read "The Mists" I felt an incredible surge of power. The world around me seemed to a bit more magickal, as if the very mists that protected and swallowed Avalon reemerged for moment when I wasn't looking. Ideas and occurances in my life seemed to direct me to a realm that I had never known before. Everything happens for a reason, one theme that was continuously proved throughout the book, and will always hold true in my life. Every story has two sides, two perspectives. When these are are changed, the hero of one story is the antagonist of the next, and so on. "The Mists" causes you to question you surroundings and to never take anything for what it seems. There are many planes and levels in this complex world, and they can be rediscovered if you just look beyond the physical. Marion Zimmer Bradley reached a new height through the creation of "The Mists of Avalon." I recommend this book, not only because it is another perspective of the Arthurian legend, but a chance to experience another, mystical reality.
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Summary: The power behind the Pendragon's throne.
Review: Many, many manuscripts have been published on Arthurian legend. All depict Arthur as totally good, Guinevere as a terrible adultress, and dark Morgan le Fay pictured as the planner of her brother's downfall. "Not so!" is the message conveyed by Ms. Bradley in her spectacular work. "The Mists of Avalon" tells the story of Morgaine, with occasional inserted comments by the character herself. She is Morgaine, Morgaine of the Faries, Morgaine the Queen, and, eventually, Morgaine Lady of Avalon. She is misunderstood, shunned for being a priestess of Avalon in a Christianizing England, and hated by herself for later shunning Avalon.
Guinevere, known here as Gwenhwyfar, is the unwilling bride to Arthur. A strict Christian, she is confused by her hate for pagan Morgaine and her sinful lust for Lancelet. Viviane, Lady of the Lake, struggles to mend a fast-breaking Avalon. Igraine allows herself to be used as Avalon's royal puppet and marries her true love Uther. Niniane is raised to a position she doesn't understand because of her family relation with Taliesin, Merlin of Britain.
Morgaine, Gwenhwyfar, Vivane, Igraine, Niniane. These were the women who shaped the future of Britain, they were the true power behind the Pendragon's throne. Their's is the tale in "The Mists of Avalon". Your's is the power to read this epic, and decide for yourself who tells the untruth: the many other writers of Arthurian legend, or Morgaine, who is mocked "Fairy", who rules as the Queen of North Wales, and who ultimately becomes the Lady of Avalon.
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