- Hardcover: 363 pages
- Publisher: Viking Books; First Edition edition (Jun 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0670033146
- ISBN-13: 978-0670033140
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 16 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,268,314 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Ancestors of Avalon
and over 900,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'Delightful ! richly-detailed characterisation' SFX 'An absorbing read' Starburst Praise for the Avalon series: 'A most original interpretation of the matter of Britian by way of Celtic religion and the Great Mother! a remarkable feat of imagination' Mary Renault 'I loved the book so much I went out and bought it for a friend, and have told many people about it. Why did no one ever think before to tell the story of King Arthur from the perspective of the women!' Jean Auel 'A pillar of the fantasy field, Bradley here combines romance, rich historical detail, magical dazzlements, grand adventure and feminist sentiments into the kind of novel her fans have been yearning for' Publishers Weekly 'The best retelling of the Arthurian saga I have ever read. Completely compelling' Isaac Asimov
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
The full sweep of the rich history of Avalon -- from the fall of Atlantis to the founding of a new temple on the mist-shrouded isle of Britain -- is finally revealed in this magnificent tale. The priests and priestesses of Atlantis have known for many years that the Sea Kingdoms were doomed. But now the final destruction has arrived they find themselves less prepared than they had thought for what lies ahead. Micail and Tiriki, prince and princess of the last island to fall, as well as priest and priestess, are separated during the final escape. Micail and his cousin, Prince Tjalan, successfully arrive at their planned destination, a trading post in the Hesperides (the British Isles) where Tjalan loses no time in taking charge. He dreams of continuing the traditions of Atlantis and founding a glorious new empire -- whether the local tribes like it or not. Micail and the other priests dedicate themselves to fulfilling an ancient prophesy that they will build a great temple in this new land -- and set about finding a way to shift the huge blocks of granite that will become Stonehenge. Micail's beloved wife Tiriki also arrives in the Hesperides, but, blown off-course by a storm, her ship lands on the wrong shore. She and the elderly priest Chedan lead their small group in forming a new community in harmony with the local population at the sacred Tor (Glastonbury). Once the two groups become aware of each other, conflict will become inevitable. A deeply moving and utterly convincing tale of faith in the face of adversity, filled with memorable characters and haunting landscapes.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing!!!!,
This review is from: Marion Zimmer Bradley's Ancestors of Avalon (Hardcover)
I awaited this book with bated breath! And I was not at all disapointed, it follows the story of Tiriki and Micil, high priest and priestess of Atlantis. It tells of the fall ofatlantis and how the altlanteans came to Britan to found the Tor (featured in the other avalon books) and stone henge. It contains many of the things that all the other avalon books had, love,magicand the strength of mankind when faced against a tough moment. If you loved all of Marion's other avalon books, READ this. I promise you won't be dissapointed, it answers all of the questions you may have wondered during the other four books. This Marion and Diana L Paxson at their best.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
2.9 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews) 57 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Unnecessary may be the kindest thing I can say for this book,
By Ashley Megan "amazonfox" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Marion Zimmer Bradley's Ancestors of Avalon (Hardcover)
The world of fantasy lost a great voice when Marion Zimmer Bradley died. Her protégé and collaborator, Diana Paxson, deserves credit for trying to keep that voice alive.
Now please, don't ever do it again. There is so much wrong with "Ancestors of Avalon" I don't even know where to begin. How about the fact that the book is entirely unnecessary? From veiled hints and glimpses of past incarnations, astute readers will have already managed to piece together a pretty good idea of how the vows of Deoris and Domaris, the two sisters from "Fall of Atlantis," shaped the world and lineage of Avalon. Why, then, do we need to hear the specifics of how the Atlantean refugees built Stonehenge, or settled at the Tor? Short answer: We don't. Long answer: We don't, and thanks a lot for boring us with it anyway. Then there's Paxson's writing style, which is unfortunately so inferior to MZB's that I had to go back and read "Fall of Atlantis" just to cleanse the bad taste out of my mouth. Every sentence is either ridiculously expository or hopelessly vague. And the exclamation points! So annoying! Like a ninth-grader's email! Furthermore, the story just DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. I'm sorry, but Micail and Tiriki end up the equivalent of three towns over from each other, but they don't find each other for FIVE YEARS? Speaking of the characters, most are so poorly drawn that at times I literally could not remember whether certain characters were even male or female. And far from MZB's wonderfully nuanced and conflicted portrayals of, say, Riveda or Lancelot, here all we get are cartoons. In Paxon's Avalon, anyone who was rich and privileged in Atlantis will invariably become a power-mad egomaniac bent on exploiting the British natives, while her "good-hearted" characters love their savage brethren and rail against the injustices of their countrymen. Oh no! Damisa thinks. Will I join the clearly delineated forces of evil and enslave the natives so I can keep wearing silk and drinking decent wine, or will I become a force of truth, justice, and the Atlantean way by painting myself blue and grubbing in the muck in a thinly veiled attempt at atonement for my race's arrogance? Boooring. If you're a fan of "Mists of Avalon" I know you think you need to read this book, but honestly, you don't, and you shouldn't. Sometimes certain things are better left unsaid, and this story is one of them. 54 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Ancestors of Avalon Should Have Stayed Buried In The Past!,
By Kelly Houser - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Marion Zimmer Bradley's Ancestors of Avalon (Hardcover)
When I learned that a new installment in the Avalon series was published, I was thrilled. "The Mists of Avalon" is one of my favorite novels and I have read all of Bradley's other novels in the series. Diana L. Paxson who collaberated with Bradley on one of the Avalon books, decided to take on the prequal and link Bradley's Avalon series with Bradley's Atlantis novel. She should have left both alone.
Paxson cannot write. I would go as far as to call her work drivvel. It was terrible. The chacters were unsympathetic and hollow. They contained no substance whatsoever and as a reader I could not connect with them. Their speech was all wrong as well. Paxson had the characters swearing and using modern day slang! The whole novel was contrived, poorly written and not at all inline with Bradley's previous writings. I cannot advise anyone to read this novel, it was so poor. 13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
3 stars for some effort,
By Dukat - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Marion Zimmer Bradley's Ancestors of Avalon (Hardcover)
I'm a huge MZB fan, so I had to get this. I'm really discouraged by Paxon's work. The effort to make a storyline was a good one, the result was not.
There are too many characters and it's difficult to tell them apart, they're so similiar! Part of the cast ends up in one place, the other in another. While there is a list of characters and a brief, one-line description at the beginning of the novel, it's just not nearly enough. I was reading about one girl, and I was asking myself, "Who is this? Elara? Cleta? Damisa?" They're really that indistinguishable. The characters are also very static. The good ones do No Wrong. the bad ones are Suspects From the Start. What I enjoyed about MZB's books is that the characters were like real people--they made some bad choices, some good, some totally uncomprehensible. AoA does explain the transition from Sun-worship (masculine) to Moon-worship (feminine), and I'll give Paxton credit for that. |
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
