gotta read this!
a couple days ago i finished marion zimmer bradley’s the mists of avalon and it was SOOOO good!
here’s the lengthy amazon review: “Even readers who don’t normally enjoy Arthurian legends will love this version, a retelling from the point of view of the women behind the throne. Morgaine (more commonly known as Morgan Le Fay) and Gwenhwyfar (a Welsh spelling of Guinevere) struggle for power, using Arthur as a way to score points and promote their respective worldviews. The Mists of Avalon’s Camelot politics and intrigue take place at a time when Christianity is taking over the island-nation of Britain; Christianity vs. Faery, and God vs. Goddess are dominant themes.”
i’ve noticed that there are some books that are just absolutely perfect little packages, complete in their own right. this is one! i absolutely loved it! the characters and their stories are almost perfectly worked out.
i can’t recommend this book highly enough…read it! and don’t think that just because the author is a woman and the main characters are women, that it’s an overtly feminine book…it’s just a fantastic book for anybody. 😀
i really really want to read some of her other books in the avalon series, but i’m forcing myself to jump around a bit, so i don’t become mired down in only one genre. right now i’m reading ‘treasure island’, but that’s mostly because i don’t have another book to read at work. i *think* i might move on to kim stanley robinson’s ‘blue mars’ next, having read both ‘red mars’ and ‘green mars’ in the past. ::shrug:: we’ll see.