Fantasy: Lady of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley — 1.5 Stars

by SofiaWren June 2, 2014

A new age is coming…The King will come…and he will rule forever in Avalon. Through the generations the women of Avalon prepare for the coming of the Defender, the sacred king who will guard the old ways of the Britons and save their land from destruction. On the holy isle of Avalon, hidden in the mists between the world of Faerie and the world of men, they wait.

For High Priestess Caillean, facing the Roman foe, salvation comes not through victory, but bitter sacrifice. Two hundred years later her successor, Dierna, faces a new enemy: the Saxon hordes who assail her people like savages.

By the time of Viviane, Britain seems wholly lost. But a Merlin is made amongst the Druids once more, and the day of the Defender, who will come to be known as Arthur, draws close.A spellbinding historical fantasy, Lady of Avalon links the bestselling novels in the Avalon series-The Forests of Avalon and The Mists of Avalon.

I cannot finish this book, which I have in audiobook form.

Three stories make up this book. The first I found unremarkable. I gave up halfway into the second.

I really wanted to read this book, because I loved the Mists of Avalon and Zimmer Bradley is very well renowned as an author.

It’s a tomb on my shelf sitting unread so I hoped an audiobook would make it more accessible. It wasn’t

The reading is by a well spoken woman who follows the steady tone of the book faithfully. This is a problem with the book—very heavy and not very exciting.

I couldn’t finish because I lost interest in the characters. Teleri, the main character ceased to be likeable to me. She lost everything she was when she agreed to leave Avalon.

The high priestess Caillean asks her to marry a powerful Roman general placed in Britania. Caillean agrees and leaves Avalon only to be miserable that’s she not there. Above that she become bitter at Avalon for sending her away.

Frankly I can’t pull much sympathy in this situation. Take responsibility for your choice in the matter, lady. I’m sure it sucks to be booted from a magical temple, but if you really don’t want to, don’t go.

For all her whining about leaving Avalon, Teleri is a really lame priestess. Aside from communicating with the temple every once in a while she does nothing magical. She neither performs rituals nor appreciates nature like the Druids would have. Disappointing

As for the high priestess Caillean, she becomes older and places more of the world’s concerns on her shoulders.

From her earlier work, I know Marian Zimmer Bradley is not afraid to kill important characters.

Everyone seems pretty doomed.

Bail.

Lady of Avalon on Amazon

The Mists of Avalon on Amazon (This is the good one!!)