Book Review: The Mists of Avalon

Book: The Mists of Avalon

Author: Marion Zimmer Bradley

Recommend: It was a great re-imagining of the author legend for most audiences…

Okay, does anyone remember when TNT (I think) made a movie based on this book? Well, at the time, I was a crazy busy college student and only caught bits and pieces of this three-hour long marathon film. However, what I saw, made me want to read it. At the time though, I had no time for heavy reading. So it ended up on my mental list of books I would eventually get to. Well, it’s been over 10 years. I’ve had it my hands multiple times but have just never gotten around to reading it until now.

Movie Cover

Take the legend of King Arthur and his knights. Flip it on its head and look at it through the eyes of Morgan la Fey. I would compare it to Wicked and the Wizard of Oz in that this tells the ‘villain’s’ story. This is the first time that I’ve read a decent excuse for Mordred.Ever. All of the characters have great depth and their motivations become very clear to the reader.

This is NOT a book for every audience. First, while it isn’t the central theme of the book and only put in for essential plot purposes, there is some mature sexual content. It was easy to deal with though. I think the bigger issue, to me, is the glorification of paganism that is prevalent through the book. While the author never directly attacks God or Christ, she does attack the intolerance of the church heavily. This would not be a good book for a Christian who is not solidly grounded in their faith or is easily swayed.

While it was a great read and an experience I’m glad I had, I don’t know that this one will be something I tackle again personally. Not a book for everyone but definitely a fabulous read.

Final Rating:

Buy it new 🙂