Ravens of Avalon by Diana Paxson

Despite being a part of the "Mists of Avalon" series, this book was not actually written by Marion Zimmer Bradley.  However, it was written by a woman who did co-author several books with her, and the similarity of their voices make it seem as if they are one and the same.

Ravens of Avalon tells the story of Boudica.  Boudica was actually a real life queen who waged war against the Romans.  This fictional telling of her story has her start life as a young royal who is sent to train with the druids and priestesses of Briton.  Instead of choosing a destiny as a Priestess, she decides to return home and serve her family and people best by marrying.  During this time the Romans have forced a truce with the different tribes of Briton and become increasingly antagonistic, which spurns a war that Boudica must lead.

Boudica is an interesting woman in history.  Because you don't hear of very many warrior queens (although there are a notable few).  I liked how I got quite a bit of her backstory in this book and what her life could have possibly been like before she was Queen.  But I don't think I got to see enough of her warrior side, and I was slightly disappointed in that.  Lhiannon was also somewhat of a disappointment.  I didn't really like her character in The Forest House (same series) but thought maybe her younger self would be more interesting.  I still saw her lead around by the will of others and of a certain Priest and although she thought she was free, she never really truly seemed to be free.

This book had a slow pace.  But not quite as slow as some of the other books in the series.  Both Bradley and Paxson enjoy detail and spend a lot of time building up history and people in the books.  This one in particular covered a lot of people in their younger days and the quarrels, loves, and aspirations that they held.  I did think that the war scenes were well done, although a tad brutal.  Since this was the story of Boudica you'd expect their to be some battles, but more time was given to history and character building than to gory descriptions and bloody scenes.  There was also some magic as well, which, depending on your stance of myth and legend, is what really made this a work of fiction.

I don't think it was the best of the series, but it's not a bad prequel.  Just one you'd probably not want to read until after having read all of the others.

Ravens of Avalon
Copyright 2007
394 pages

Lady of Avalon

Lady of Avalon is one of the books in the Mists of Avalon series.  That being said, it doesn't seem to matter what order you read these books in.  They jump around in time and were written in random order so they all can stand on their own.  It does help to have read Mists of Avalon for some of the background stories, but it is not necessary.

Lady of Avalon tells the stories of three of the High Priestesses of Avalon.  There is Caillean, who left the Forest House to start a new life for the order in Avalon and her struggles with keeping it safe from the outside world.  Dierna, who loses her sister but gains another and wishes for Avalon and Britain to be protected from Roman rule.  And Viviane, who will orchestrate the birth of Arthur and see him made High King over the land.  All three women have their struggles and opposition despite their strong will to do what they believe best for Britain.

All of these women are strong women, stubborn, prideful, and thinking they know what's best ultimately leads to their downfall.  It happens in every single book.  You would think there would be one who is meek and mild, but there's not.  So I guess only a certain type of person is called into the role of a Lady of Avalon.  The other characters live to support them as well.  It doesn't matter who the other priestesses are, sometimes the druids are rarely mentioned by name, and you can tell the ultimate focus is on these women.  Which is fine, it is their story.  But it'd be nice to see them through the eyes of others more often than you do.

It does seem a theme that nothing ever goes as plan.  This carries across all the books.  And it makes you wonder why their Goddess keeps pressing them to do these things if it isn't working.  Or that a more active role could be taken to preserve the knowledge and keep the faith alive rather than setting a path and letting each person screw it up in their own way.  Just once I would have liked to have seen them succeed and I never really feel as if they do.  I'd also like more back story on the past lives they live as it is mentioned here and there in the books but never really fully expanded on.  But for all my complaining it is still a compelling story and does provide a lot of history for those who have read the other books.  You want to see Avalon, to step through the mists and learn the Mysteries.  So great detail in making you believe the book.

Not a bad one but it certainly isn't as developed as the original book in the series.  I do plan on continuing to read the other books though to have all my questions (hopefully) answered.

Lady of Avalon
Copyright 1997
456 pages

Priestess of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

The Mists of Avalon took the story of Arthur and changed it so that the perspective was from a woman.  And then a series was spawned from it.  Priestess of Avalon is one of those books in the series, although I couldn't tell you what order they should be in as it doesn't seem to matter what order you read them in.

Helena, also known as Eilan, was born of the Lady of Avalon and also caused her death.  She is sent to her father as a child and only returns to Avalon ten years later, to start her training as a priestess.  There she clashes with the new Lady of Avalon, who is her aunt, and it comes to a head when she substitutes herself as his priestess at a ritual.  She is cast out of Avalon and travels with this Roman man as his companion, becoming his wife in all but name and eventually bearing his son Constantine, who will be a great man in his own right some day.  But she still feels the call of Avalon from time to time, and misses her sisterhood of priestesses.

Helena is mostly Helena in this book and not really her British side.  She spends the majority of her life with the Romans and as a wife and a mother rather than a priestess.  She does call upon her powers from time to time but this is more the story of a noble lady rather than an Avalon priestess.  I do appreciate that she liked her dogs though and had many throughout the story.  I really couldn't care either way about any of the other characters.  They weren't described as much as Helena and seemed only there to prop her up on her journey rather than be their own persons.  Except for her son Constantine, he was so fervent in his desires that it was hard to like him.  Although he did get a lot done.

Despite this being a large book it was exceptionally fast paced.  The course of eighty years is told in it and it flies by with big jumps in time with each chapter.  It was a little confusing because of that, but luckily at the start of each chapter the year was given so that helped a little.  This being a story about a cast out priestess was different from the rest of the series too as most usually take place close to Avalon and Helena traveled all over the Roman empire.  I can't say that it held quite the same charm and power that Mists of Avalon did, but it was still a pretty good story in its own right.

If you like the works of Bradley, you'll like this one in the series.  It follows a strong woman and her adventures in a world that doesn't always appreciate strong women.

Priestess of Avalon
Copyright 2002
394 pages

The Forest House by Marion Zimmer Bradley

The Forest House is the second book in the Avalon series, coming after Mists of Avalon, but actually preceding it in the timeline. 

It tells of the time just after the slaughter of Mona, when the priestesses were confined and controlled by the druids in a small complex in the woods.  Rome was still in charge and a rebellion was rising up against them.  So when Eilan, a girl born of a druid family, falls in love with a half Roman half British man, their love is denied and she enters the Forest House to be a priestess instead.  But fate has bigger plans for her and because of one night of passion, she'll have to form large secrets that could come back to haunt her later.

Eilan is ok.  I never really feel like we actually know her.  We know some of her desires, but the larger part of her thoughts are kept from us.  Her assistant we actually know better and was in many ways a stronger woman.  She also seemed to have the best interests of everyone at heart as compared to Eilan.  Dieda, Eilan's cousin, I could have done without.  She was spiteful and didn't really add anything to the story except to be a source of contention, and even then she was never a real threat.  And then there were the Druids.  What a sad lot this group was.  I couldn't find a redeeming quality in any of them.

The plot moved slowly on this book as well.  I normally like Bradley's detail, but in this case it just kept the book from progressing.  Well, when it wasn't jumping through time in fits and starts.  It would be nothing to spend quite a few chapters on a particular timeline and then all of a sudden have it be four years later.  All that being said, it was interesting to hear about the times before the Mists of Avalon, and how the Priestesses were treated differently.  It is amazing to think how easily one group can be controlled by another, even though it's something that happens in the real world every day.

I can't say this was a wonderful book.  It had some history that was interesting, but that was it.  Mists of Avalon was far better.

The Forest House
Copyright 1993
417 pages

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Arthurian Legends.  They're a whole genre unto themselves.  But Bradley does a few things different with her rendition of the famous Arthur and his court.  She tells it from the eyes of the women involved. 

We start with Igraine, married by her sister the Lady of the Lake to a man for political reasons. She has a daughter she names Morgaine, but later the Lady decides a different fate for her and she bears a son named Arthur to the new King of the land.  Morgaine's and Arthur's fates intertwine in ways not expected and will be friends, family, enemies and more.  With Morgaine as a Priestess of Avalon and Arthur drawn to the Christian faith, their relationship is as contentious as any out there, especially since both believe they are doing right by their people.

Morgaine is complicated.  And I like that Bradley didn't paint her as the evil witch so many of the Arthur legends portray her as.  She has depth, flaws, and caring in this book.  And she's probably the main character, which is a relief as I didn't really enjoy the first part of the book that involved her mother.  Igraine wasn't nearly as interesting and tiresome in her complaining.  Arthur was somewhat weak in character in this book.  I don't mean that he wasn't a strong King and did well for his people to the best of his ability, but more that he was easily led by the people around him.  Mordred was involved in this book, but I didn't really find him that menacing or compelling.  He was kind of just there.

I had forgotten just how dialogue driven this book is.  Sure the characters more around do stuff, but they talk and think about things more.  And some of the conversations can get repetitive whether it be about lineage or the difference between Christianity and the Priestesses of the Goddess.  There will be some who are offended by the references to Christianity in this book as well.  They don't have a good relationship with the people of Avalon and the distaste is clearly shown in the book.  You have been warned.  But I do think that Bradley does a great job of capturing some complex characters in this book.  It may be wordy, but for good reason, this is a tale drawn out over half a century with several key players and intrigues that every detail has to count on. 

If you like complicated books, this is one to read.  The movie isn't half bad either.  And, if you do like it, it became a series and there are more books to read that coincide with this one.

The Mists of Avalon
Copyright 1982
876 pages

Gravelight by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Well, this book was better than the first in the series, but still not that great. As the third book in the "Light" series, it doesn't necessarily have to be read in order, but it does help with some of the background.

Sinah has come back to where she was born to try to rediscover some of her past. The problem is, the townsfolk vehemently deny that she belongs there or that her relatives have ever lived there. Wycherly too is there, trying to escape nightmares and slowly drowning himself in alcohol. And Truth and a gang of people from the Bidney Institute that researches the paranormal are also in town. And there's something aside from the location that connects them altogether. A powerful magic, one that's out of control, and that's slowly claiming the lives around it.

Truth is usually a good character. But she was just different in this book. Colder in some ways and more prone to temper in others. Her fiance Dylan, I absolutely detested in this book. He was nothing like he was in the previous two books and it seemed that the author just randomly changed his personality to cause some strife in the book even if it wasn't the way he would have normally acted. Sinah I didn't really care for either. She was too weak a character and despite this, used entirely too much. And then there's Wycherly. Aside from wondering what the heck was going on with his name (as a first name it is just not working), he was a constant stream of drunkeness and bad decisions and his redeemable qualities just weren't authentic.

For a plot there wasn't a bad one. Untapped magic, evil powers, people trying to get on with their lives despite conflict; there's enough here to make it interesting. But because of the less than stellar characters it just didn't make it into that realm of being a great book. It's very readable though, and despite some of the magic and occult references being beyond me, I found myself becoming somewhat immersed in the story. Unlike the other two, there were references to sex in this one, which surprised me since it wasn't that style of writing in the rest of the series, but it wasn't very graphic or offensive so I don't see it being a problem for most readers.

I can't say that I'm going to go out of my way to find the fourth book in the series. I'm just not invested enough in any of the characters or the plotline as a whole. This is just an average fantasy series.

Gravelight
Copyright 1997
350 pages

Witchlight by Marion Zimmer Bradley

After the mess that was Ghostlight (book one in the Light series) I was relieved to find this one was written a little better. It isn't really necessary to read them in order, although you will miss out a little on the backstory of some characters. And there's been some uproar about the fact that this book was co-authored (ghostwritten, completely written, noone seems to know for sure) by someone other than Marion Zimmer Bradley, despite her name being on the cover.

When Winter Musgrave finds herself in an old house all she remembers is that she released herself from a mental institution. The rest of her past is fuzzy, and strange occurrences keep happening around her, the worst of which being the mutilated animals on her doorstep. Having been a powerful trader on the stock exchange, Winter is surprised to learn that she once went to the local college and was studying the arts, but left before she was to have graduated. Realizing that the phenomena happening is getting more violent though, she desperately seeks her friends from back then, hoping they can fill in the gaps before it is too late.

Winter bounces all over the place in personality. She goes from being cold to hopeful to reminiscent and back again over the spectrum. This is to be expected, she's undergone a lot of stress. But it just didn't feel genuine at times. In fact, the only character who really felt real was Truth, and maybe that's because she was in the first book. The rest were just flat characters who were there to serve a purpose. At least they had some interesting histories though, so you did care about where they came from.

This book started out great. You really wanted to know what happened to Winter and cheered for her when she started making discoveries about herself. But by the end of the book, the pace was all off and things started happening too quickly. The author also assumes that the reader has more than a base knowledge of the occult/magic/etc. and if you don't, it can make the concepts of this book difficult to understand. I had a general idea of what was going on, but I suspect I missed a lot of the nuances that having a broader knowledge depth would have given me. It just made the book more difficult to read.

I think someone more familiar with the occult and magic in different forms might enjoy this book more than the average person. It definitely has a specific audience unlike some of the other books with Bradley's name on the cover. I've got one more of the Light series at home that I'll probably read, but they're definitely not books I would seek out otherwise.

Witchlight
Copyright 1996
303 pages

Ghostlight by Marion Zimmer Bradley or Rosemary Edghill

Ok, well aside from the fact that Bradley did not truly write this series (apparently an author named Rosemary Edghill did), I can find plenty of other faults with it. What should be an interesting look into magick and rituals, instead becomes a drama with weak characters. And considering this is the first book in a series of 4, there's a whole lot of mess to wade through.

Truth is a researcher. She puts everything forward in cold logic, well aside from the fact that she works with the paranormal. But she has a bit of a dark past. Her father, who disappeared when she was a toddler on the same night her mother died, was associated with the occult and had been leading a ritual that went terribly wrong. But, with certain things being brought to light, Truth decides to research and write his biography and to do so, she goes back to the house where everything went down.

Truth is a weak character. She claims to be logical and disbelieving of so many things. But then she immediately starts to "see" things and wonder what's going on. All while still claiming she doesn't believe any of it. It's quite maddening actually. And she does that same waffling on her feelings about the other characters in the book too. And Julian, how she couldn't see his true character is beyond me. It's quite obvious even without the heavy handed hints the author gives as to his background. All the other characters are filler and really aren't that interesting. Which is a shame, because I bet their stories would have been just as interesting as Truth's.

For most of the book the plot is slow-paced. But then, immediately at the end it speeds up and is way too fast. Add in the fact that the author thinks you understand what's going on without having been given any description or explanation, and it can leave you thoroughly confused. I'm still trying to figure out what's going on with the Michael character. While I thought the instances of magick were interesting, the character's conversations about it are repetitive and dull. If not for that little bit of action, the rest of the book would be Truth wandering around thinking about different things and being indecisive.

It just wasn't a well written book which is unfortunate because I have the next two books in the series waiting on my bookshelf to be read. And now I don't really want to. But alas, I intend to finish what I start. I can only hope they'll be better than this one.

Ghostlight
Copyright 1995
304 pages