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Summary: Firebrand, Story of a Woman Disbelived
Review: Kassandra, a princess of Troy, struggles to find her place. Her loyalties divide between the ancient worship of the Mother Earth and the duties of a Pristess of Apollo. She is born with the gift of prophecy and cursed to be disbelieved. Her twin brother falls for the beauty of the age and begins one of most terrible wars in history. This is a wonderful window into the past and an adventure that follows a girl from court life to amazon worrior to pristess and lover. Through splendor, strife, war, love and inner exploration the girl becomes a woman. The tale is enchanting and wonderfully crafted seen from a view not explored in history books.
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Summary: A masterpiece of storytelling
Review: Marion Zimmer Bradley's "The Firebrand" is, without a doubt, one of the best books I have ever read. The retelling of the 'Iliad' through the eyes of Kassandra and the other women including Helen, Andromache, and Creusa is fresh and leaves the reader wanting more. I loved all 603 pages and would have been perfectly happy if it had lasted another 600 pages. The book is of a rare kind that makes you *feel* for every character in such a way that when Troy does fall and everyone is doomed to death or slavery your heart aches for every character. Even though this book is currently out of print, I would absolutely reccomend to everyone to stop at nothing to obtain it. This is a wonderful book that anyone interested in ancient myth and Greek history would love.
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Summary: Not Her Best...
Review: The Firebrand is a long, hard read. I could put it down any time that I felt like, if that says anything. There were many times in the book that she contradicted herself, for instance, at first she said that Kassandra was set on forever remaining a virgin, and, without saying why, Kassandra suddenly leaps into Aeneas' arms. Would a woman who has sworn to chastity and kept it with zeal and pride suddenly sleep with a man who she wouldn't even miss if he left Troy? Many such discrepancies happen well over twenty times in the book. However, her use of language in any of her books is entrancing, only when she repeats herself and drifts from the tale does reading get tedious. While the Firebrand is a beautiful story, Bradley has outdone herself with boring attention to detail. She seems to be obsessed with a certain type of encounter (those who have read many of her books will agree with me), and she refuses to further her own writing. The Mists of Avalon was beautiful, and it is her best loved work because she tells the whole story and not just bits and pieces of it.
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Summary: Firebrand
Review: _Firebrand_ is a good read, and I recommend it for anyone who is interested in an alternate, in-depth version of the Trojan War. The history must be taken with a grain of salt -- they don't know if the Amazons even existed or not -- but as fiction, it is superb. This book does look at the war from the side of the losers, so it ends tragically (up until that corny romantic tack-on!). The last part was quite powerful for me, particularly since I sympathized with Andromache more than Kassandra. I read it over a year ago, and I still remember the character of Andromache quite vividly (not so much Kassandra, which says something unto itself). _Mists of Avalon_ contains some slow parts and was easy to put down and put off, whereas I finished _Firebrand_ in a day or so. Definately recommended.
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Summary: An interesting story, that fell very, very short.
Review: I've never read any of Marion Zimmer Bradley's other works- and after trying Firebrand, I don't think I'm likely too. The book was quite a disappointment. It could have been a very interesting story-in fact, parts of it were extremely interesting-but Ms. Bradley let it fall very, very short. I am a girl, and even I thought the plot was a little too feministic. By pulling feminism into a Greek epic, Ms. Bradley gave the story a twentieth century attitude that was all wrong for the story. However, it was not the feminism that made me put down the book before I finished it- it was the constance reappearance of age inappropriate material that finally disgusted me. To concerned parents- either read this book before your child, or with your child! Almost every page is full of inappropriate, very suggestive dialogue, and/or immoral, and inappropriate behavior. It is not as bad as the material contained in some books, but it was more graphically described then I felt comfortable with. I tend to be a very modest person, and extremely sensitive to that kind of thing, so I may be overreacting a bit, but I believe I felt a blush just about every time I turned a page. Finally, unable to stand the improper material, I dropped the book, and went to read some old fairy tales, in order to clear my mind. I suppose I should have heeded the warnings that flashed at me the instant I began reading the book, and read the story about Leda and Zeus. Being a die-hard fan of Greek mythology, especially of the Trojan War, I immediately noticed the big innaccuracy at the beginning. Zeus did not come to Leda in the form of her husband, he visited her in the form of a swan, after which she laid to eggs, one fathered by her husband, the other by Zeus. I suppose this is a small blip, but take it as a warning of the book to come. Overall, I was exceedingly disappointed in the story. Kassandra is probably one the most captivating characters in the drama of the Trojan War- I know I have always been interested in her. So when I picked up this book, I expected a interesting story, a new twist, a fresh, original look. What I got, was a real time waster.
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Summary: So Disappointed
Review: Mists of Avalon is one of my favorite books and I waited a while before I treated myself to Firebrand. Unfortunately it does not compare and was very disappointing. The storytelling is reasonably well done but the characters are one dimensional and over-used stereotypes. I also agree with other reviews that the portrayl, more like idealization, of women throughout the book is based on 20th century feminist ideals and further weakens the impact of the book.
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Summary: Overall, a great read!
Review: Although The Mist of Avalon was probably her strongest work, The Firebrand was undeniably fascinating. I first read The Illiad in school and have been sort of obsessed with it ever since. This retelling brought the legends to life in a way that really hits home with today's modern reader. The conflict between cultures and the character caught between (Kassandra of Troy) kept me reading night after night. Although some reviewers have taken issue with the decided feminist spin on the tale, I must say that I felt that the strong, feminine point-of-view was thrilling. I don't agree that with other readers who say that every male character was brutish and every female character was heroic. Indeed, Hektor was quite sympathetic, as was Odysseus, Charon, Patroclus, and Aeneas. They were not perfect, of course, (Hektor was insufferably condescending at times and Odysseus was a lot like an off-color uncle) but they rang true to this reader. The women, along a similar vein, were not all perfect models of strength and righteousness. Penthesilia barely disguises her dangerously superstitious view of twin children. She belives that they ought to be strangled at birth because they only share one soul between them. Hardly admirable! Andremache thinks more of fashion than fighting--not really very feministic! I must agree, however, that at times the narrative passages are a bit heavy-handed. They lack the style and grace of Avalon, but still provide interest and action. OVerall, a great book.
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Summary: A Non-MZB Reader Weighs In
Review: While I am somewhat familiar with modern science fiction and fantasy, I had never read anything by Marion Zimmer Bradley before "The Firebrand"---which I came to through my wife, who knows of my interest in ancient Greek literature. I am happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Bradley is a wonderfully vivid writer, and her "take" on the Trojan War seems well within the bounds of logic and creative license. Kassandra herself is a fully three-dimensional character and I found myself caring about her, even as I already knew (as does any reader of "The Iliad") what was going to happen. Indeed, this novel is a great example of how much more important character is than plot---all major events are telegraphed well before they happen, yet Bradley holds the reader's interest anyway. It is not a question of *what* will happen, but *how.* Unlike some male readers on this page, the feminist slant didn't bother me; there were a few speeches which seemed a tad anachronistic, yes, but these are minor, and on the whole Kassandra's perceptions seem very believable for a woman of her personality and time. One aspect of the novel which did disappoint me, however---and the reason I give the novel four stars rather than five---is the Epilogue, which unfortunately drops us down to the level of romance-novel writing. Having a new male character suddenly appear, deus ex machina-style, to walk off into the sunset with Kassandra at the very end, seems jarringly out of place. For me, the novel would have been ended much more strongly a few pages before, at the point that Kassandra is beginning her journey to Colchis. The story is over then; it really doesn't matter whether she ever arrives at Colchis or not. The point is, she is finally her own woman, and will live or die on her own terms. But in a 560-page novel, this is a quibble. Overall "The Firebrand" is a wonderful novel, highly recommended to anyone with any interest in Greek literature or mythology. But be forewarned: the story is so engrossing that you may have to cancel prior engagements in order to finish it!
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Summary: We never hear it from the woman's point of view...
Review: Men record history. In general, this is the way things have been since the beginning. It follows that history has a male bias. The thing I love most about "The Firebrand," as with Bradley's "The Mists of Avalon," is that we finally get to see some of the most famous historical events ever recorded from a point of view that has been sorely neglected over time. A point of view shared by fully half of the world's population. Through the eyes of women. Seeing the events of the Trojan War unfold through the eyes of Kassandra makes the story come alive for me in a way that Homer's epic never could. I finally get to see what motivates Helen. I get to see why Klytemnestra hates Agamemnon. I see the amazons not as the big-breasted blondes painted by men but as hard-muscled and fiercely proud warriors. The people in Bradley's story are full of life, emotion, and conflict. The conflict was the most interesting part for me. Women in history are usually painted in a very two-dimensional fashion. In this book, the female characters all have issues to deal with that are glossed over in other narrations of the tale. Yes, this is a work of fiction. Yet, it is based on a chronicle of an event that did take place centuries ago. If Homer could tell it his way, why can't Bradley tell it hers?
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Summary: I LOVED THIS BOOK!
Review: HI!I THOUGHT THAT THE FIRBAND WAS A GREAT BOOK. I NEVER READ THE MIST OF AVALON BUT I DID READ THE LADY OF AVALON AND THEY WERE BOTH GOOD. THE CHARACTERS IN FIREBAND WHERE EXELLENT THAT IS MY OPINON. THE ONLY THING THAT I WISHED IS THAT KASSANDRA AND AENEAS STAYED TOGEHTER AT THE END. SHE FINALY FOUND A MAN THAT SHE LOVED BUT AT THE END SHE HAD TO GIVE HIM UP. KASSANDRA AND AENEAS SHOULD BE THE ONES TO BUILD A NEW KINGDOM. THEY HAD TRUE LOVE. THIS BOOK TOOK ME 10 DAYS TO READ BUT IT WAS WORTH IT. I WAS SO SAD THAT I FINISHED THE BOOK WHEN I WAS DONE READING IT. THIS BOOK HAS WAR,ROMANCE,MYSTERY, AND MORE. I COULDN'T WAIT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO AENEAS AND KASSANDRA IN THE STORY. IAM 15 AND I DONT NORMALLY READ BOOKS LIKE THIS BUT THE LADY OF AVALON WAS EXCELLENT AND I COULNT WAIT TO READ THE FIREBRAND IF IT WAS AS GREAT AS THE LADY OF AVALON AND IT WAS.IF U FIND THIS REVIEW HELPFUL IT WAS GREAT WRITING IT FOR U GUYS TO READ.BYE
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