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    The Mists of Avalon
    The Mists of Avalon
    The Mists of Avalon
    Audiobook50 hours

    The Mists of Avalon

    Written by Marion Zimmer Bradley

    Narrated by Davina Porter

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In the tradition of T.H. White's The Once and Future King, the author makes use of the prerequisites of the Arthurian legend: Excalibur, the Holy Grail, Lancelet's illicit love for Gwenhwyfar, the destruction of Camelot, but with a twist--she presents the entire panoramic story from the female point of view. No passive by-standers, these earthy priestesses from Avalon literally breathe life into a musty, oft-told tale. In Book One: Mistress of Magic, the Lady of the Lake--Viviane--brings about the marriage of her younger sister Igraine to Uther Pendragon. Their only child, Arthur, is believed to be the last hope in the long standing war between Saxons and Romans. Meanwhile, Morgaine, Igraine's daughter by her first marriage to Gorlois, has come under the apprenticeship of Viviane at Avalon. In spite of her great love and hope for Morgaine, Viviane is driven by an unrelenting vision. Miserable, but duty-bound, she tricks Morgaine and Arthur into becoming lovers during the night of the ritual fires. Enraged and shamed by what her aunt has done, Morgaine plans to rid herself of the child that has resulted from their union. Book one ends with Arthur's coronation and Morgaine's decision to leave Avalon.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJun 15, 2012
    ISBN9781470320881
    The Mists of Avalon
    Author

    Marion Zimmer Bradley

    Marion Zimmer Bradley is the creator of the popular Darkover universe, as well as the critically acclaimed author of the bestselling ‘The Mists of Avalon’ and its sequel, ‘The Forest House’. She lives in Berkeley, California.

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    Reviews for The Mists of Avalon

    4/5

    107 ratings88 reviews

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    • 1/5
      Well I cannot even begin to explain my disappointment in this book. I kept on trudging through it thinking "of course it is going to get better! Look at everyone's reviews!" Well it never got better for me. I wasted SO much time reading this book. It honestly seemed to me like a bunch of SILLY girls ruining the world of Arthur!! And their CONSTANT bickering and STUPID mistakes! I am ALL for strong women characters but EVERY single one of the women in this book seriously irritated me! The only person I liked in this book was Arthur! He was the only one I could relate to and I am a woman!! Plus the Pagan vs. Christian storyline was just BICKERING and CONSTANT! I feel like half the book was a repeat of same bickering about religion over and over and over! And I like THEOLOGY! Okay so maybe I am a 23 year old reading a book primarily written for 16 year olds, but as this book is nearly a "classic" I had to give it a chance and I am sorry I did. It was my 1st Arthurian book and I am happy that I kept on going with the Arthurian genre and picked up Queen of Camelot by Nancy McKenzie. Now her book is MUCH better!!! I can relate to the characters!!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      Normally, I really enjoy Arthurian lore, but this book was painful, I couldn't get through it.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      It was the loving depiction of incest, the religious permission given for it, and the weak-ass moral platitude -- and incredibly stupid reason for this platitude -- on the precise whens and wherefores the incest was and was not wrong that did me over. I'll grant that the incest is of traditional importance to the King Arthur legend and is necessary in this retelling... but how Zimmer Bradley has opted to embellish it? Ick.I know this is an award-wining work of literary significance and I read it avidly enough as a teen. But I can't say I enjoyed the read even then, and honestly, reading it now as an adult? Just... no.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      I read this forever ago, don't think I even finished it. It was just "girl power" gone horribly wrong.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      This is a very well written retelling of the King Arthur legends, focusing on the women of Camelot, specifically Morgan le Fay. That said, I was a bit put off by the pagan, or rather anti-Christian, tone of the book. If Ms. Bradley's portrayal of the Christianity of the time is accurate, all I can say is that I'm sure glad Martin Luther came along and made it fun again. I also often felt like I was reading a Mary Sue story. Morgan le Fay, or Morgaine, as she's called in the book, learns the druidic lore of Avalon, lends her magic to the power of Excalibur, and attracts the affections of Arthur and Lancelot. (though not to the extent of that simpering ninny Guinevere.) Then again, who's to say that every retelling isn't a bit of a Mary Sue tale? The old, lasting stories are often retold and infused with the passions and beliefs of the raconteur, claiming the tale for another generation. All in all, like I said, the book is well written. I enjoyed the drama and the truly three-dimensional characters. I'll probably hang on to the book, keeping it close to my beloved copies of White's and Malory's Sir Mary Sue tales.--J.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      some things i found interesting--seeing the characters age, die or just disappear, how christianity took over and wiped out previous culture, very little focus on battles and fighting because this is a woman's story. but as a woman's story it was also interesting that the women characters were generally not very likeable.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      "By what men think, we create the world around us, daily new."--What a fabulous quote! I love this retelling of the Arthurian myth/story. I see connections between this and some aspects of The DaVinci Code. This is one of those books you'll return to many times to re-read, it is such a joy. Just fun to read.
    • 3/5
      This was a good read. Eventually I tired of King Arthur stories, but this was a better one than many. Better than the Bernard Corwell series on the same subject.
    • 5/5
      One of my favourite books of all time. Zimmer Bradley really pulls you into the world of Avalon. It is such a fresh perspective on the whole Arthurian period. It is so through yet remains so interesting. A book which span lifetimes but leaves you wishing it would never end. I would recommend this to anyone.
    • 4/5
      I wrote my bachelor's thesis on Le Morte'd'Arthur. I studied Arthurian romance in college and grad school. I consider myself an amateur Arthurian scholar (cause I'm that cool). Needless to say, I'm incredibly finnicky about Arthurian re-tellings. This is one of the only 20th century attempts to retell the legends that I actually like. It holds true to a lot of the more important aspects of the medieval stories while putting a great, not too modern, spin on things, and it pays homage to the origins of so many of the familiar tales (such as Lancelot being French). It also stays true to the idea of Arthurian legend as a collection of patriotic myths, with it's focus on anti-invasion and British autonomy.
    • 5/5
      i still argue with teachers when learning about king arthur from text books because i was so enthralled by this story that i have come to base my entire knowledge of that period on this one book. It will change everything you thought you knew.
    • 3/5
      Davina Porter is a wonderful narrator, but I was only able to get through the first book. I listened to the summary of the second and just didn't feel interested enough to stick with it. Overall though it was a very well written version of King Author's story.
    • 5/5
      The women of Camelot are far more appealing than the men in this wonderful retelling of the Arthurian legend. Loved it. Couldn't put it down!
    • 3/5
      Held my interest for most of the book, though lagged quite a bit at the end. Confusing amount of characters with similar names, who were children of various combinations of parents and were raised by different families, creating foster-brothers, foster-aunts, etc. Also several characters went by nicknames that were completely different than their names.The book centered around the fight of the Druid religion, centered in Avalon, to stop the takeover of Christianity as the primary religion in Great Britain. The priestesses of Avalon try to interfere in the British royal family to bring about their goals.
    • 5/5
      An excellent retelling of the King Arthur legend told by the women of the story's perspective. Narrated by Morgaine (aka Morgan Le fey) we meet and get to know her, as well as Vivianne, who as The Lady of the Lake is a high druid priestess trying to keep the old relgion alive in a changing Britian. Chronicles the struggle between the early christians who are trying to convert the people, and the druids who want to keep the goddess alive in their hearts, all while Saxon invasion looms and threatens both religions. Arthur tries to appeal to the followers of both, and bring them together to fight the Saxons and save Britian. Highly detailed and the characters are richly portrayed and well fleshed out. I love this book, definitely one of my favorites I've ever read. highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      Best fantasy book ever written.
    • 2/5
      this sort of proved to me that i wasn't going to be a fantasy head. i like the cloaks and the swords and the clothes, but that's really as far as i take it. i'm certainly not a medieval-revisionist-activist thing.
    • 5/5
      I was amazed when someone I lent this book to said it didn't hold his interest. So maybe this is chick fic. All the other borrowers were female and unable to sleep more than two hours a night until they had finished reading it. This is undoubtedly Marion Zimmer Bradley's finest writing--an imaginative re-telling of the King Arthur legend (but no closer to the truth than the traditional legend), with an emphasis on the changeover from goddess worship to god worship. This is the only book I've read three times, and if I can get it back from the last person I lent it to, I'll read it again.
    • 3/5
      A fantastic re-telling of the Authurian legend, from the female point of view. I Have read it approx seven times and never get sick of it.
    • 5/5
      Simply amazing. No other words are necessary.
    • 5/5
      Very intriguing novel about the legend around King Arthur, the knights of the round table, Merlin and, of course, Avalon -- an island hidden in the mystic mists of time. The story is told by Morgan Le Fay, and thus, through the eyes of a woman and high priest. Actually, the story is only loosely related to the well known legend but instead ...
    • 4/5
      A King Arthur chronicle from the women's points-of-view. This story is told through Arthur's mother, his aunt, Queen Morgause, and later his sister Morgaine and his wife Gwynhefar. Morgaine, or Morgan le Fay is our main guide, and the magical character who drives the book. Zimmer makes much of the timing of the King Arthur legend to develop the brilliant setting. The Romans have left leaving a power vacuum, the Saxons are raiding. Christianity is strengthening it's hold and about to to become the dominant religion, while the Celtic religions are fading away. Zimmer creates a magical Druid religion that centers in Avalon, a place only loosely connected to the rest of the world. It requires some magic to get into the mists of Avalon. However, the Druid's and their Goddess are losing their influence. Morgaine, who comes from a line of powerful Druids, is part of the effort to save her religion from fading away. Gwynhefar, and devout and somewhat insanely pious Christian, wants the heathen religions banished. If you know the story, and where Arthur fits in this all, you might see the tangled mess this can lead to...not to mention some interesting religious debates. At almost 900 pages, this is a long book. It covers everything. It's a book to get lost in, to carry you away to a very distant time and place. Unfortunately it didn't do that for me, and the length really wore me out, especially the first 700 pages or so until the tone of the story begins to change. I found the ending very rewarding, wonderful actually, worth the length.
    • 5/5
      This retelling of the legend of King Arthur is one of the most powerful and captivating I've encountered. I've read this book four times and every time I read something new! Marion Zimmer Bradley never fails in her attention to detail. Whether it is some point of historical accuracy or her descriptive style, she brings the story vividly to life. She tells the story of Arthur from the perspective of the women involved, giving often misunderstood characters motivations that make them relatable and human rather than evil. Her writing skill and style make the emotions of the characters palpable, visceral things. I find this aspect consistently lacking in other versions of the Arthurian legends. Only occasionally did I find her a bit wordy, and sometimes I felt as though the story were dragging a little. I think that occasional drag and wordiness may just be inevitable when taking on a task as monumental as the complete re-envisioning of such an important and complex story. Overall I would recommend this book to any woman, to anyone interested in paganism, to any lover of myth, or to anyone in need of an exceptional read.
    • 2/5
      I'm actually a fan of MZB and of Arthurian stories, but compared to her Darkover books, and Arthurian novels such as those by TH White and Mary Stewart among others, I just didn't find this a compelling read or at all original. I do have a friend who is a Pagan who counts this as a favorite book, even life-transforming, for how it wove pagan motifs into the narrative, and I know others who enjoy it because of the feminist perspective and what they see as strong female protagonists, particularly Morgaine, and the book was unique for making her sympathetic, and not a villain. I'm afraid I find the feminist and paganistic aspects rather heavy handed here--again, in contrast to her Darkover books. I think with Darkover it also helps that's the author's created fantasy world--but with a novel like this one with a historical basis she never convinced me I was reading about Dark Age Britons versus characters with her modern New Age values superimposed on them. I felt the theological parts dragged down an overlong book and none of the characters ever engaged my sympathies, particularly the central trio of Arthur, Lancelet (Lancelot), Gwynhwyfar (Guinevere). Arthur is a weak leader, Lancelet shallow, Gwynhwyfar a timid, narrow-minded religious bigot. (God, how I hated this vision of Guinevere!) Merlin is downplayed.I'm rather sorry actually that of all of MZB's books, this is the one that is her blockbuster bestseller and that people are likely introduced to her through this book. I have a lot of MZB's works on my bookshelves--yet not this one--this is the one I don't consider a keeper.
    • 3/5
      An extremely long book, but that's hardly surprising considering it covers the span of Arthurian Legend, from Ambrosius to Mordred and beyond. Though this tale is from the viewpoint of many of the women of the legend (Igraine, the Lady of the Lake, etc.), the primary characters are Morgaine (whom you probably know as Morgana or Morgan Le Fey), half-sister of Arthur, and Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere), Arthur's queen. Many of the names are unusually spelled: Lancelet (Lancelot), Caius (Kay), Ectorius (Ector)...and yet, along with all these crazy names, Taliesin's successor as the Merlin is named Kevin Harper. The name sticks out awkwardly, making me wonder if Bradley was honoring a friend named Kevin. But all that aside, it's still a good read. The length isn't all that noticeable because the story does not drag much at all. I did get bored of the near-constant religious arguing, with each side mindlessly clinging to notions just as crazy as the other, but in the end things are more or less resolved peacefully. I liked Morgaine, for the most part. Gwenhwyfar was an obnoxious harpy and I couldn't figure out why Lancelet and Arthur were so smitten with her, but whatever. This book is perhaps better for those who, like me, are already quite familiar with the legend, because the way things are worked into this version are often quite ingenious. All in all, I'm glad I read it, but it didn't make a lasting impression on me.
    • 4/5
      I couldn’t wait to be finished with this book until I finished it, and then I was really sad. It’s over 900 pages, so settle in. This epic Arthurian tale is from the female perspective and has much to do with love, religion, and kingcraft through a few different generations. It beautifully features orgies, heresy, gay and lesbian love, time warps, gruesome deaths, lots of adultery, threesomes, and love triangles. Gwenwyfar is overzealous and unintelligent, Morgaine is the star-crossed villain who is resigned to deny her heart and only serve her religion, Arthur secret is that he wants only to please everyone else, and Lancelet is only strong enough to be a little bit bad, which is worse than being all the way bad. There are dozens of other characters too, and the author is talented enough to distinguish them pretty well. I also like the perspective on medieval life- they only eat cheese, bread and meat, for instance, even the royal women are illiterate, and their culture is slowly being integrated with Roman ideals and Christian beliefs. This precarious keeping of balance between varying religions, genders, loves, lands, and warring tribes all has an underlying promotion of moderation and equality.
    • 5/5
      Great Book! This recording though has very soft background chatter unfortunately but narration was stellar and an incredible listen.
    • 4/5
      This was on my summer reading list for my freshman year of high school. I remember that I felt like it was my first exposure to King Arthur. I also thought it was a little racy for freshmen, but maybe I was naive!
    • 4/5
      Before you start reading, this may be a spoiler for some of you even though it's not intended that way. Be warned. After reading Mists, I have a much different understanding of the Arthur legend than I did. Who knows what's real? The whole legend is supposedly just that, legend. So for me this book does a really excellent job of telling the story from start to finish. My only criticism is that it's a little too long.The book highlights the large role that women play in this legend, from Viviane and Igraine at the beginning, to Morgaine, Gwynhwyfar, and Niniane at the end.Religion brings a large part to the story. It is constantly a struggle between the old ways(pagan, priestesses of Avalon) and the new ways(Christianity). The less well to do folk tend to do things the old ways, while the upper classes seem to be turning to Christianity for the most part.Beauty also is a theme running through the novel. One example is how Morgaine tends to resent being compared to the faerie folk (in looks) while Gwynhwyfar is blond and blue-eyed. Kevin, the Merlin of Britain, is crippled and scarred. He scares people with his "monstrous" appearance, yet he can play the harp more beautifully than an angel.The love stories that run through the novel can best be described as the corners of a square made up of Arthur, Gwynhwyfar, Lancelet, and Morgaine. The downfall of the kingdom is due less to any unfaithfulness on Gwynhwyfar's part, than it is to refusal by Arthur to decide who he really loves. There is also a thread of possible homosexuality running through Arthur/Lancelet relationship. One other cause of his downfall is Arthur's lack of spine when it came to recognizing his blood heir. He had a son with Morgaine whom he hid until his teenage years. This shows a lack of character, as well as his indecision in what to do with Gwynhwyfar.Ms. Bradley did a fantastic job with all the genealogical details and her descriptive skills are superb. This is an all around enjoyable novel that I am sure I will read again and again.
    • 5/5
      The retelling of Authur and his sister Morgaine from a feminist point of view, incorporating the meeting of Christianity and the Maternal Goddess is wonderful. Some of the passages are poetic and comforting guideposts for us today. (ex: 868 "you did not fail..." or pg 876 "Mother forgive me. I thought I must do what I now see you can do for yourself") The concepts are originally told.