Rating: 
Summary: Not great; puts Avalon events into historical perspective.
Review: This book reads like it was written mainly to answer questions about how history got from events in The Forest House to Mists of Avalon. It seldom comes alive otherwise. There are three sections. In the first section we find out the fate of Eilan's son Gawen and learn just how it was that the holy isle of Avalon became separated in time from the world and surrounded in mists. The last section ends with the introduction of Viviane and the story behind the birth of Morgause. The storytelling itself isn't up to the level of the two books that it links. It wasn't very absorbing and I ended up just skimming through through the last two sections.
Rating: 
Summary: Lyrical and moving
Review: I found it beautiful and completely absorbing. I have read it and re-read it and am always amazed by the lyrical descriptions and moving events. All the characters were fleshed out and human. I don't think it's right to compare this book to Mists because it is totally different and has its own merits, just as Mists does.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Forest House, worse than Mists
Review: I don't think that anyone in the world is capable of writing two books like Mists in one lifetime, even MZB. After reading TFH, I almost didn't buy this book when it came out, I couldn't stand seeing MZB lower herself like that again. However, I finally screwed up my courage and bought this book. I don't regret it, even though it had no hope of matching Mists in terms of complexity and scope. It was still a moving book. It was better than TFH, though, it wasn't just a romance novel with some historical facts worked in. It earns the title "Prequel" in that it actually relates to TMoA, with similar themes and characters we know, unlike TFH, which kind of came out of the blue.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Mists of Avalon,Forest House, but worth it
Review: Lady of Avalon jerked me around too much with sudden breaks and leaps in time, not to mention emotional cliff-hangers, but connects Forest House(which was wonderful) to Mists of Avalon (also great) so it's worth the read. If you're a hopeless romantic like myself, be prepared for gut-wrenchers.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful view of history from the women's perspective
Review: I'm always bored by historical fiction mostly because I prefer to know about the daily lives of women and there is so little and rarely written this well
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read
Review: Normally, if the name of the author isn't Anne Rice, it takes me three tries to start reading it. A couple of months ago a friend gave me a copy of The Mists of Avalon. Three starts and three completions. An awesome book to say the very least. *g* Well, to make a long story short, if MZB writes it, I read it. But, unlike many, I don't expect any book to match The Mists. Lady of Avalon doesn't have the Arthurian characters to fall back on but new personnas are developed in each part. Characters that I can see, relate to, love and feel a loss when they die. I guess I just like to read a great book by a great author and didn't feel cheated here at all. I'll have to take a trip to England just to visit the sites.
Rating: 
Summary: Ack....
Review: Of the Avalon Trilogy, this was my least favorite. Long, boring, and with uncomfortable breaks betwen sections/chapters, it was very confusing. The only saving grace was that it linked the Forest House and Mists so that they could be better understood when allusions to historical events were made. Read it, but don't expect fireworks.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not Mists
Review: I guess I'm echoing the sentiment of a lot of other readers when I say that this book is very good reading on its own - but, having read Mists first, I was a bit disappointed. The characters just didn't seem to come to life the way they did in Mists (exception - Viviane), and the story did seem to repeat itself. Bottom line: read this one before you read Mists, and you'll like it better. Save the best for last!
Rating:
Summary: Could have been better!
Review: MZB repeats herself a few times in several ways. For instance she has a few catchy lyrical phrases that she uses frequently. . .many are straight out of Mists. Also, in "The Forest House" there is the same concept which involved Arthur, Morgaine, and Mordred: a forbidden conception of a child, and the child ends up influencing history. Only in this instance, the child ends up doing good, as opposed to Mordred, who brings destruction to Camelot. The sex scenes are rather disappointing: MZB seems to have weakened in that area. And i don't know about you but i had this compulsion to compare every little detail to Mists. Perhaps this is because Mists was so incredibly phenomenal that Lady of Avalon and The Forest House seem a bit anti-climactic (I love that word!) But MZB does a good job on the whole. In these two books she delves more into Celtic/Druid lore than she did in Mists. The reader is introduced to more Celtic festivals, rituals, songs and ceremonies. Especially in Lady of Avalon, which gives detailed descriptions of some of Avalon's celebrations, and a few lovely Celtic songs. One thing that caught my attention was her narration. A large portion of The Forest House, it seemed, was narrated by the male character. This was rather disappointing because MZB does sooo well at telling stories from a female's point of view. Her language and imagery are still strong, but the characters don't seem to be as well defined. The only reason that i can account this for is that, as opposed to Mists, MZB didn't have a plethora of legends to refer to when she wrote the prequels. Many of the characters had to come from her own head to fill in the gaps between the historical Roman Britain and the legendary Avalon. Lady of Avalon was a bit confusing as it centered around reincarnation. MZB has three parts to that story. And she implies that each story is the same people, just reincarnated. I don't know how to explain this but when you read the book tell me what you think,! because i couldn't understand who was reincarnated from whom in some instances. And its also kind of like she just wanted to hurry up and make the deadline so she quick made three little parts, basically all the same. I guess from this review it seems that i didn't really like the books. Well I did, but i have to say they were a little disappointing in places, and I am still forever faithful to Mists. I have yet to find a book to better that one.
Rating:
Summary: VERY GOOD - SPELLBINDING!!!
Review: MZB has done it again! The LADY OF AVALON is a wonderful book to connect the Forest House and The Mists of Avalon to. I could never put this book down! I am a fan of MZB, and I LOVE ALL OF HER WORKS! The Lady of Avalon with keep you on that couch and you'll never be able to put it down. So, with a click of a button, but this book here, sit back, relax, and enjoy your book which will never bore you!
|
