Lady of Avalon

Rating:
Summary: A good prequel to The Mists of Avalon
Review: I read this book after reading The Mists of Avalon, but I have not read The Forest House. I would recommend reading this book before reading the Mists. I assume it would be best to begin with The Forest House.

This book is divided into three distinct sections in which the characters reincarnate into new characters over time. Their task is to remember who they are and decide whether they will give their lives to fulfill their destinies. The characters struggle to learn whether they are hearing the true voice of the Goddess or their own egos.

In the first two parts, I found myself flipping back and forth quite a bit to the map of historical
Britannia. I found some of the details on warring factions and battles tedious.

My favorite section is the third, in which we learn about Ana, the high priestess of Avalon, and her daughter Viviane. I love the way she developed these characters, and the mother and daughter power struggle. The setting is mainly in and around Avalon itself. I also enjoyed learning about figures who we also found in the Mists of Avalon.

Rating:
Summary: A Shame
Review: This was a disappointment in comparison to "Mists of Avalon" and "Forest House." For some reason after the first part was finished I seemed not to care about the characters anymore or what happened at Avalon before "Mists..." The other detractor was the return of Druid/Christian conflict which, through important to the historical accuracy of the novel, is a tired subject. So when the characters entered into a theological argument I tended to skip paragraphs and began to loose interest.

Rating:
Summary: Better than the Forest House...
Review: Well, I was finally getting there, I was still waiting for an available copy of the Mists of Avalon and I'd finished The Forest House so I figured, why not read Lady of Avalon. Okay, it was definitely better than The Forest House, in Lady of Avalon, you actually see Marion Zimmer Bradley's scheme, to link The Forest House with her bestselling Mists. (I don't really see the importance of The Forest House though, I guess it was just tracing back the history of the Druids in Britain.)

In Lady of Avalon, we learn about the sacred island of Avalon, hidden by mists to keep out unwanted trespassers, namely the Christians. so Gawen (son of Eilan and Gaius from the Forest House) plays out his destiny, which I didn't find much significance in, and leaves behind a daughter. The daughter grows up and becomes a High Priestess, and a whole line of High Priestesses pass until we come into focus in the story of Viviane, Lady of the Lake. Viviane, who had been fostered during her childhood, is called to Avalon by her mother Ana, who wants her to be the next High Priestess. Viviane learns about her mother and alternatively loves and hates her, but in the end accepts her mother's judgement.

This book was really only good for giving us background for Viviane, who is a prominent figure in the Mists. I still say cut the chase and just read Mists of Avalon, but again, my pardons to fans who love the series.

Rating:
Summary: Incredible!
Review: The three parts were three interweaving stories, showing the beauty and pain or rebirth and of continueing the work you've left behind. It shows the battle of forbidden (and sometimes not forbidden) love between two people who are meant forever, and how love is different. It shows how some power can get to you, and the strength of that little voice inside that says you're wrong. I adore this book, and it was worth every page. A wonderful fiction book of the Ladies of Avalon

Rating:
Summary: least enjoyable of the Avalon trio
Review: Having just finished all three of Bradley's Avalon novels, I am hard pressed to recommend her latest, but weakest, contribtuion to the "saga". Composed of three separate but somewhat related stories, they are uneven, rushed, and perilously close to "bodice ripper" plots. After reading "The Forest House," the events in "Lady of Avalon" become repititious and predictable, with a palpable lack of imagination and wit in the story lines. It is "deja vu all over again," and again, and again. I was bored, and I had the distinct feeling that Ms. Bradley was bored, too. One wonders if she could have written this book if her use of the exclamation mark was prohibited. "The Mists of Avalon" stands as the best of these chronicles, and can be enjoyed without feeling obligated to read "Lady of Avalon."

Rating:
Summary: More connections
Review: I finished reading "Mists" only a month ago, and was enraptured, so I quickly went on to the next MZB book I could find, which was "Lady." Like "Mists," "Lady of Avalon" is equally intriguing, but like another reviewer, I felt the Gawen portion of the story to be somewhat rushed. MZB does such a marvellous job of creating her characters, that this brush with Gawen seemed almost a shock. However, I concede that this book is about the "Lady," and it does a wonderful job with the interplay of the female characters. I can hardly wait to start on "Forest House."

Rating:
Summary: The Link
Review: I was confused as to what order I should read "Forest," "Mists," and "Lady," so I started to read "Mists" before "Lady." I am so glad that I stopped because I was confused! "Lady" definitely belongs between "Forest" & "Mists." This book tells the tale of how the priestesses came to be on Avalon & how Avalon itself became separated from the rest of the world. You won't understand all the characters & their past relationships in "Mists" unless you read this book. Although this book is well written, you can tell that it was meant to be the link between the other two--the characters are not COMPLETELY developed, and the action moves VERY fast.

Rating:
Summary: review by erin
Review: I read Lady quite awhile ago, but i thouroughly enjoyed it..the way it moved through time was intriguing. The whole concept there was very interesting. The characters were captivating and Ms. Bradley did the Avalon series justice in this book. It really did fill in the events between the forest house and the mists. It is definitely worth reading if you're an Avalon fan, and if you've never read any of the books, well...begin at the beginning! have fun and happy reading! erin

Rating:
Summary: An interesting link
Review: After reading the _Mists of Avalon_, I considered it totally impossible for any book to even approach that elegance of writing. However, with _Lady of Avalon_ one does find trace elements of that wildly beautiful imagery that Marion Zimmer Bradley so masterfully captured in _Mists_. I would definitely recommend this book as a...stepping-stone, if you will, to greater understanding of MZB's Avalon.

The story itself is fairly straightforward, in three parts: the life and death of Gawen, son of Eilan; the Roman-era Carausius and High Priestess Dierna; and the more familiar Viviane's life as a young adult, from her childhood through the day she became High Priestess.

With Gawen, one finds the continuation of the Sacred Line as was started by the High Priestess of the Forest House at Vernemeton, Eilan. Those who have read _The Forest House_ have already heard the long tale of Eilan's and Gaius Macellius Severus Silucirus' forbidden union which produced Gawen. In _Lady of Avalon_ it is revealed that after his mother's and father's violent deaths, Caillean took Gawen to the Vale of Avalon. There, he grew to manhood,had a child with the daughter of the Queen of Faerie, Sianna, and subsequently was murdered by Romans (a common theme in MZB's Avalon, isn't it?).

After that sad episode the Sacred Line goes through many generations (MZB talk for "time passes") until the era of the Roman Empire in which Carausius and Dierna are the incarnations of the Sacred Line. Because of a twisted love triangle, they end up conceiving a child, after which Carausius is subsequently murdered by Romans.

Many years later, Ana is the High Priestess, the Romans are somewhat of a joke, and her only living daughter, Viviane, is taken to Avalon, where she eventually becomes a priestess and has her short-lived daughter with the son of Vortigern.

In all, this book was passionate and fantastical, while remaining true to MOA. I would definitely recommend it to any Arthurian fan.

Rating:
Summary: Oh! Goddess!
Review: This is the third book I've read by Marion Zimmer Bradley. She does an excellent work, and, I, who had already read "The Mists of Avalon", have fallen in love once more with MZB's stories.

"Lady of Avalon" speaks of the ancient Britain, and, if I would choose one of the three parts of the book, I would choose the three ones!

Read it and love it!