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Guenevere, Queen of the Summer Country

Guenevere, Queen of the Summer Country

List Price: $12.95
Your Price: $9.71
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I had expected something spectacular to read here. But this book was very badly written. It was confusing and hard to follow. It jumped from character to character within a short paragraph. It was hard to keep track what the chapter was about. I haven't even finished the book yet and I'm already not looking forward to it. I usually love reading...but this book was a great disappointment.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A disappointing read
Review: The only part about this book I enjoyed was the plot - which of course is not original! I found the characters extremely shallow and unbelievable. The swaying of emotion from deep despair to unbelievable joy on a single page by a single character did not ring true to me. The character of Guenevere annoyed me because she was such a victim to her emotions, while paradoxically being so "strong" (as the author attempted to make us believe). I have read plenty of other books in this same "style" (eg. Diana Gabaldon's wonderful books) and this does not even come close.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A compelling version of the Guenevere - Arthur saga
Review: The premature death of the warrior Queen Maire, The Queen of the Summer Country, leaves her daughter, Guenevere, with a matriarchial kingdom shadowed by the advent of the influences of Christianity and a patriachal society. When Arthur, the newly proclaimed king, comes to Guenever's aid, they proclaim their love and devotion to one another. With their union all the Arthurian characters come alive. Merlin, Morgan, and Mordred, who weave magic and evil, all play a significant role in the downfall of Arthur as a righteous and omnipotent king, but Rosalind Miles fosters the human frailities and strengths in all her characters. Guenevere; Queen of the Summer Country is a novel that keeps one captivated with a fresh interpretation of the King Arthur legend. Spell-binding and intriguing, the novel is narrated by Guenevere, who is not merely a victim of fate, but a warrior and an equal match for the powerful and charismatic Arthur. Ms. Miles does not strip away the magic of the legend of Arthur, but she infuses a common element of humanity in her characters. A must read for anyone who has an interest in the King Arthur Legend.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Delightful adventure novel for the thinking reader.
Review: This book is a must for your summer reading list. Intelligent social commentary combines with romance and action in this entertaining historical novel based on the Arthurian legends. This most recent book by Rosalind Miles breaks bridges the fantasy, feminist, and historical fiction genres with a book that has great cross-over appeal.

Rating: 0 stars
Summary: This book was a joy to write
Review: All my books have been dear to me, but Guenevere has meant the most so far. Growing up in a market town in Shakespeare's Warwickshire I have always been interested in British Queens, and this culminated in the writing of I, Eizabeth, a historical novel written as a personal memoir by the Virgin Queen. With Guenevere I have departed from that richly-textured time into period where history overlaps with myth and legend amid the dreamy landscape of our misty British isles. The early Celtic Britons had a strong tradition of ruling queens, but the concentration on King Arthur has eclipsed Guenevere as a queen in her own right. Few people know, for instance, that she was the owner of the Round Table, and Arthur married her to get it. My story of Guenevere takes us from her girlhood through all the stages of her life. I have now completed the second in the Guenevere trilogy, The Knight of the Sacred Lake, and am writing the third, The Child of the Holy Grail, which will be the culmination of over ten years' work on this truly engrossing theme.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Wonderful scholarship but also engrossing read
Review: In response to the reader who thought this novel ,which is filled with authentic scholarship and insights into the pre-Christian religions, was derivitive of MZ Bradly's novel--look again. He mentions the word "wiccan" which is the antithesis of the spirit of this novel. It's an intensely romanctic novel founded in both thoughtful feminism and genuine research blended with a sure hand at romatic adventure fiction. This is a book for thinking, as opposed to just feeling, readers.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A wonderful read.
Review: Guenevere is a treat for Rosalind Miles fans, of which I am one, in that it represents a culmination of her scholarship (The Problem of Measure for Measure), her work in women's studies (Women's History of the World), and her sense of historical possiblity (I Elizabeth). All of this this is carried forward in a investigation of the mythic Arthurian legends, informed by the insight into the human dimension which is the signature of Rosalind Miles diverse work.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Rip off of The Mists of Avalon, with Guenevere as the hero
Review: Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote The Mists of Avalon, a retelling of the King Arthur story from a feminist/wiccan viewpoint. This book makes Guenevere the heroic pagan woman, and she is not the compelling character that Morgaine was in MZB's book. The christian Gwenyfhyr in MZB's book and the conflict between the woman and their faiths is not matched in this book.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Strong Guenevere for a change
Review: Yet another retelling of the classic Arthurian tale. This book is the first in a trilogy and includes Guenevere's early years, her marriage to Arthur, and her torrid love affair with Lancelot. This time, Guenevere is perceived in a much different light than her usual beautiful yet not-so-bright and weak stereotype. Instead, she is the powerful daughter of a "Mother-Right" line of queens who fought in battle at the sides of her knights. She is a strong woman who is "saved" by her champion Arthur at her Queening from her evil uncle Malgaunt who wants to take Guenevere for his own. But as the story progresses, her strength as a queen gets quickly overshadowed by her husband Arthur. As with a number of other female-centered retellings of the story, Arthur is a weak man who is easily influenced by outside forces (first Merlin and then the Christian monks) and doesn't appreciate the brilliance of his wife. Lancelot is written as a rather soppy character who seems too young and too innocent in his views of the world, which was kind of disappointing. All the other stories I have read so far always give him a strong, yet kind, personality who was willing to sacrafice everything he had for his Queen. Here, he is still willing to sacrafice everything, but he seems more of a boy mentally than a man and seems rather...wishy-washy.

I did enjoy most of the content of the book and it was well written. One thing that did bother me was the constant switching to thoughts in the middle of the story. It made things more confusing to figure out not only who was doing the "thinking" but also distracted for the storyline a bit. Otherwise, it was a decent read though I've found other books out there on the subject to be much more enjoyable.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Worst version of Camelot ever!
Review: When I opened this book, I expected it to be well written. I mean, it had gotten reasonably good reviews, so I figured, why not read it. However, as I started to read the first few chapters, I became disgusted. Her version of Guinevere was horrible. She made her seem like a woman who didn't know what she wanted. Also, if she was so strong willed, why didn't she stand up to Arthur and his religious decisions concerning the monks? (monks are contained in the rest of series) Although her interpretation of Gwen was terrible, Arthur was the worst. Where was Arthur's backbone, I wondered. Miles made him seem like a weak, tired, old man, especially when it concerned the Christian monks. Isn't the Arthur we know supposed to be strong and stand down to no one? And lastly, why did she protray the monks as evil anyway? Although I am not religious, I was disgusted with the view Miles gave to Christianity.
I strongly recommend not to read this book. If you love the Arthurian legends like I do, then here some good choices:
The Mists of Avalon
The Forest House
Priestess of Avalon
Queen of Camelot (my favorite)
Grail Prince
Prince of Dreams
In Camelot's Shadow
Morte D'arthur


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