Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #220424 in Books
• Published on: 1987-06
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 912 pages

Customer Reviews

great story, not so well written
i just have to add a quick badly written review, as reading through the more negetive comments it seems most of those people think it's boring, slow but well written. i'd have to disagree on all counts.

i still have really fond memories of this book after reading it twice 10 or so years ago. a wonderful dark trajedy. yes it's depressing, but it is a trajedy, that's it's beauty.

one thing though, my wife (who has a far better grasp of literarture than i do) read it once and said it was quite badly written. i read it again, sure she was wrong, but i had to agree. i still love it though. great story. great characters. hence 5 stars.

Stunning
This book moved me more than I can say. I didn't want it ever to end. It has changed the way I look at nature, encouraging me to pay more attention and respect to the wonderful natural things in our world.

An enriching feminine perspective of the Arthurian Legends
Now a well known part of the fantasy and legends canon it seems, I'm glad I finally got round to reading this engrossing book.

Essential for anyone moved by the tragic but eternal Arthurian saga, this one has less cinematic description (as in the old simple tales), but all the deeper emotion and intrigue of the court and some thrilling tensions between characters. All this is deftly handled through the wisdom and skill of the author, who succeeds in covering the whole period.

My only criticism that stops me giving it 5 stars is it's a bit overlong, due to often and unnecessarily reminding us of the character backgrounds. However, the great story never weakens.

It is also daringly non-christian and this is the very influential and rewarding aspect of a still v. spiritual book. A new respect for an old, more flexible/natural religion is the overall message.

I also wonder how much John Boorman's film 'Excalibur' was influenced by this, as I note the dates are about the same. It seems to me that this is the underlying power behind the film (which may have changed many things to give the more heroic, male perspective). However, that film and this book (which is much more spiritually mature) combine to celebrate the tales of King Arthur in the most adult way you can experience. I'm sure there'll be some more attempts, but perhaps ...unsurpassable.