Archive for May 4th, 2009
Mists of Avalon
May 4th, 2009 Posted 7:39 pm
I must say I was very apprehensive when I picked up the book. I knew I was about 10 years too old to be in the targetted audience and that I was very *very* attached to the story of Arthur from the movie Excalibur, so it was a very pleasant surprise to enjoy the first half of the book so much. The story was interesting and historically less silly than the movie (re Romans and Saxons and no full plate armour) and the character of Morgane was a lot more interesting that the one-dimensional Morgane of the movie. (ok so now you’re wondering why I even liked the movie in the first place? The Music, The Costumes, Merlin & Uther)
Unfortunatly it was predestined to change when Gueneviere got some page-presence and proceeded to suck away whatever hope I had that the book would show decent women. Nope. We have stron women that are so independant nobody wants to be like them… and whiners that put t shame shy 7 years old girls who stick to their mother’s skirts. Nothing in the middle. How realistic. I hate to be the one who criticizes and complains all the time but to have a main character afraid to go riding on a horse in medieval England just tops it. To have her Queen on top? forget it! I’m glad I read it, now I’ll go back to Althea, Cersei, Paks and Eowyn? I know most of those women are not always intelligent, brave or strong, but even if they’re faillible they always try.
In the end, if I ever find the sequel I’ll keep it for easy beach reading 