Audiobook14 hours
Priestess of Avalon
Written by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxson
Narrated by Rosalyn Landor
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
When a British princess falls in love with a Roman officer destined for imperial greatness, their forbidden desire exacts an unexpected price: banishment from Avalon. Journeying outside the enchanted isle, Helena grows from maiden to mother to wisewoman, experiencing both joy-with the birth of her child-and loss, when politics forces her lover to choose between the Empire and her.
Then Helena's son, Constantine, becomes Emperor, and her position as Empress-Mother propels her to prominence at a crucial turning point in Western history. Seeking a way to bridge the pagan world of the Goddess and the new Christian Empire, Helena embarks on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to find the truth that transcends both the old religion and the new.
Then Helena's son, Constantine, becomes Emperor, and her position as Empress-Mother propels her to prominence at a crucial turning point in Western history. Seeking a way to bridge the pagan world of the Goddess and the new Christian Empire, Helena embarks on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to find the truth that transcends both the old religion and the new.
Author
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley is the creator of the popular Darkover universe, as well as the critically acclaimed author of the bestselling ‘The Mists of Avalon’ and its sequel, ‘The Forest House’. She lives in Berkeley, California.
Related to Priestess of Avalon
Titles in the series (10)
Mistress of Magic: The Mists of Avalon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The King Stag: The Mists of Avalon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mists of Avalon: The High Queen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forest House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lady of Avalon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marion Zimmer Bradley's Ancestors of Avalon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Prisoner in the Oak: The Mists of Avalon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Priestess of Avalon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword of Avalon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mists of Avalon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related audiobooks
Lady of Avalon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marion Zimmer Bradley's Ancestors of Avalon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forest House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marion Zimmer Bradley's Ravens of Avalon: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword of Avalon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mists of Avalon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mistress of Magic: The Mists of Avalon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unbroken Line of the Moon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Let the Drum Speak Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daggerspell Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Time of Omens Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Honeycomb Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dragon's Gold [Dramatized Adaptation] Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Prisoner in the Oak: The Mists of Avalon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The King Stag: The Mists of Avalon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mists of Avalon: The High Queen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Two to Conquer Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Darkover Landfall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5City of Sorcery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fall of Neskaya Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Forbidden Tower Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thunderlord Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Zandru's Forge Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Spell Sword Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Stormqueen! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Children of Kings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Heritage of Hastur Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hastur Lord Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Shattered Chain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Fantasy For You
A Court of Thorns and Roses Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Court of Silver Flames Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Court of Mist and Fury Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fourth Wing Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Court of Wings and Ruin Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Parable of the Sower Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5From Blood and Ash Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stardust Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Omens Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hobbit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Iron Flame Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fairy Tale Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Return of the King Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Court of Frost and Starlight Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alchemist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Two Towers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Omens: A Full Cast Production Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outlander Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Gods [TV Tie-In]: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Name of the Wind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of The Oxford Translators' Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The House in the Cerulean Sea Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Legends & Lattes: A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Neverwhere Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Farseer: Assassin's Apprentice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stardust: The Gift Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Darker Shade of Magic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Priestess of Avalon
Rating: 3.639722933025404 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
433 ratings8 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Marion Zimmer Bradley's Priestess of Avalon tells of the life of Helena, the Roman emperor Constantine's mother. A his-fic, you might think, however little is actually known about Helena's life, and this is where Avalon comes in - at the time of this story, Avalon has existed uninterrupted for thousands of years as an isle which bridges the mundane world and the world of faerie. This is where Helena's story begins as the 10-year-old daughter of a noble Roman, yet also the daughter of Rian, high priestess of Avalon. The theme, however, is not a star-crossed relationship between an Avalonian and a Roman (see Bradley's earlier Avalon story, The Forest House), but the tale of a woman who spends much of her life alone.Helena tells her own story, which begins in Avalon with a prophecy that will change her days as a trained priestess of Avalon, into a life filled with the political intrigues of Rome, circa 250-329 AD which happens to be the time when Christianity is first adopted as the preferred religion of the Roman empire. I couldn't have been more interested in this particular time period, when the Roman empire is fragmented by various barbarian invasions, the corruption of its own leaders and the introduction of a brand new theology from the middle-east. In fact, I wish there had been more drama in the book, that was more involved with this theme of political and religious change throughout Europe, but I guess I'll just have to go read more history for that. The story of Helena's life as a pagan priestess, who, cast out of her home, becomes a sympathizer of the new religion, is a sad one. This woman begins as a rather bold, precocious child just learning the ropes as novice of a life-affirming, female-based faith. But once she is cruelly dismissed by her high priestess for choosing to fulfill her destiny, she must surrender her independence, her nerve and boldness, as well as prejudice against Christianity:"In the realm of idea, the great principles behind the forms that we see are the same," says Helena's first tutor Corinthius. Helena doesn't believe at first that all the world's gods are just facets of one single deity, but this skepticism dissipates with the rest of her resolve as the story continues, until finally she surrenders to the future ahead: "There is power here, I thought, as the drama of the Mass came to a conclusion. It may not be the only truth in the world, but in some way, this story they are telling is true." I couldn't help but feel sorry for Helena. Most of the female characters of Bradley's books seem to watch life happen to them, and she is no exception. Women are ruled, in the Avalon novels, not by men, but by women (and the Goddess). This ironic sort of feminism usually makes for some great reading - prophecies and the fulfillment thereof, the will of the gods, the fight for or against destiny. But something was missing in this book that was present in The Mists of Avalon, and I think that is an interesting, fiery female protagonist. I did not find myself any more attached to Helena by the end of Priestess of Avalon, than I was at page 142 when she began her Roman life. She does not fight for what she believes in, and I'm convinced that after she left Avalon she just didn't care anymore. In light of this, I think the novel may have been better from a different, more emotional perspective, or from the third-person to get a better glimpse of events and daily life during this time period. A decent book, but sadly twice-read (once to review it) was more than enough for me.emilysanecdotes.blogspot.com
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book had me on a bit of a seesaw. On some occasions, I couldn't wait to find out what happened and couldn't put it down. At others, the language really put me off and I was bored with it. I enjoyed reading the context it was in, because I haven't read a lot based in that era, but sometimes the story got lost in the language. 2.5 stars.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Quite enjoyable but not to be compared with 'Mists' or 'Atlantis'
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5While no where near the epic tale that was "Mists of Avalon," this book is still a wonderful tale of a woman who gives all for her destiny and later finds that she changed the world, for the worse, through her destined son Constantine. Bradley has a way of making history seem tangible and characters seem very sympathetic and understandable. She is one of the master's of her craft, I think few would dispute that. An enjoyable read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is the final book in the Avalon series. In it a young princess goes to Avalon to train as a priestess. However, she falls in love with a Roman officer and that forbidden love causes her to be cast from Avalon. When I went to the library, it was to seek out the Mists of Avalon which I haven't read, but came away with this one when the other wasn't available. While this was a fine stand alone book, I would have preferred to have it center around Avalon. Instead, it is about the Roman Imperial families, warfare and traisping across Europe and beyond. There was a lot of Army A conquered Army B who conquered Army C and who was deposed along the way--all following the prophecies of a vision Helena had back on Avalon.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I had a very hard time getting into this book, but once I did I really enjoyed it. Contrary to many of the tags on Library thing, this book is much less about Arthurian Fantasy as it is about the Roman Empire just before it's conversion to Christianity. If you read it for what it is, a historical fiction of the romans instead of an Arthurian story, you will enjoy it.Many parts of the novel could have been further expanded as well. But overall I enjoyed it in the end.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Started off terrible, ended great. Not enough detail, somethings just flew by when they could/should have been expanded on. Romance was good but too short. Good characters.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Another Mists of Avalon prequel that cannot be considered in the same class as Mists.