So after I read The Forest House I wanted to read more of the Avalon Series. I didn't have the next book, Lady of Avalon, but I did have Priestess of Avalon, so I read that. It was okay skipping around because this book seems to stand on its own a little more. At some point I would like to have all the books and read them in order, but it may take a while. This one follows a Druidic Priestess named Eilan (Helena to the Romans) from her birth, her training at Avalon, her meeting and romance with Constantius, her banishment from Avalon, her birth of a son (Constantine), and eventually her life as the Empress Mother. As Empress Mother she works to find understanding between the old religion of the Druids and the new religion of Christianity.I really liked reading about this time period. It was a time when things were changing a lot and it was interesting to think about how people might deal with something that big. I also really liked getting attached to the one character and following her as she moves through the world, experiences many different positions in life, and seeing how her thinking and beliefs both change and stay constant.
All of my thoughts on Marion Zimmer Bradley's writing style from The Forest House apply here, it feels a lot the same even though this one was completed by her writing partner Diana L. Paxson when Marion Zimmer Bradley died. Again if you have read Mists of Avalon and loved it I totally recommend Priestess of Avalon but if you haven't, I would start with Mists of Avalon first.
1 comment:
I enjoyed your summation of the book--not really a review because you didn't get into issues. I think it works well as a historical novel. It really gets one into the mindset of people living in the 3rd century. I believe the writing is mostly Diana Paxson's. Still, I think one needs a mystical bent to properly appreciate Priestess of Avalon.
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