Lady of Avalon

Marion Zimmer Bradley

If you are a fan of the Arthurian legends of early Great Britain, you will probably enjoy this book. Bradley wrote Mists of Avalon before (which I have not read) and this book leads up to it. Avalon is a sacred place where its members worship the Goddess. Druids and priestesses live there and travel from their magic soil to Bretagne as needed.

Three different time periods of Avalon are related. The first time includes Caillean, the high priestess of Avalon, Gawen, the son of a hundred kings, and Sianna, the Fairy Queen's half human daughter. We learn how the fairy folk intermingle with humans, how the early Christians got along with Avalon, and how Avalon became magically separated, yet still a part of, Bretagne.

The second period includes Dierna, the high priestess of Avalon, Teleri, her protege, and Carausis, the Roman Admiral protecting Bretagne. Dierna senses that even though Carausis is part of the Roman empire, he carries within him the old spsirt of Bretagne. She arranges a union for him with Avalon that should strengthen Bretagne against the invading Saxons.

The final period leads directly up to King Arthur's immediate ancestors and characters involved in Mists of Avalon. We meet Anna, the high priestess, her daughter, Vivianne, Vortimer, the king's son trying to unite Bretagne, and Taliesin, a druid bard. These people set in motion the final steps needed to bring Arthur to rule a united Bretagne.

This fantasy tends to mire down at times, especially during the second time period. Not having read the previous books that relate to this, I did not realize when I picked it up I would be getting into the Arthurian legends. But it was obvious before the end of the first section that this was the case. Gawen proves to be an ancient ancestor of Arthur's. It is interesting enough, and will be especially appreciated by those who have already read Mists of Avalon.

Notice: Strong sexual content