Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-24691863-20140328091420/@comment-24691863-20140328130312

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. First published in 1982.

The women of the Camelot legend are the protagonists in this version. Morgaine is the main character. Her mother is Igraine and her father is Gorlois. Arthur is her half-brother, who was fathered by Uther Pendragon. Not so different from the TV series so far. However! Merlin is an old man from the very beginning, a wise and respected counsellor both to the Christian kings and the high priestesses of Avalon. He is a Druid scholar himself, and a seer. Most startling is that he is Arthur’s and Morgaine’s biological grandfather! Igraine is his daughter. I wonder what our young series protagonists would think about that!

I'm now about a quarter of the way through the book. Lancelot has showed up. He’s Arthur’s cousin, son to Viviane, high priestess of Avalon. Gawaine is also Arthur’s cousin, son to Morgause, who is Morgaine’s aunt. Are you keeping this all straight?

I liked this novel very much when I first read it in the 80’s. It is still very interesting but I find all the detail and repetition a bit boring. There is essentially no humour and Gwenhwyfar is a real wimp. She and Arthur are just about to get married as I write this, so there is a lot left to read.

What I find most interesting is the conflict between the Christians and the people of magic. This is a historical development, that is to say that as Christianity gained power in Britain in the 6th and 7th centuries they declared all magic evil and all sorcerers instruments of the devil. This is one of the historical developments I explore in Merlin – After http://merlin-after.blogspot.se/ Somewhat tedious however is the emphasis on the religious aspects of the Avalon gang. Gods and goddesses aren’t all that much more interesting than the priests with all of their narrow minded prejudices.

As the conflict sharpens, the mists hiding Avalon from the Christian world thicken...

A must read however for anyone interested in learning more about the legend.

All the best,

Rhuddem Gwelin

http://merlin-after.blogspot.se/