This is a branch off of a book Bradley wrote with two other authors, The Black Trillium. Haramis is now faced with the rebellious Mikayla and her unwillingness to separate from a friend. Haramis means for Mikayla to be the next Archimage, but the princess has a mind of her own. Against the wishes of Haramis, she continues to have contact with her childhood friend. With the help of her friend she learns her lessons from the Archimage, but some of the results of that contact are very unexpected and at times amusing. I enjoyed this book very much due to its plot, wording, ending and just about everything else. There are a few slow points, but the twist in the end is worth it. I highly recommend getting this book, it is one of Marion's good pieces of writing.

Another bradley anthology, will all the quality one would expect.

This is Marion Zimmer Bradley's third anthology of sword and sorcery fiction devoted to stories where women are the protagonists. They come in many forms, warriors, thieves, mages, healers, wise-women, adventurers and wanderers. MZB sticks to her guns throughout-these are not romances, nor are they stories where women are the sidekicks, or simply women to be overcome by a more powerful male. Instead, this anthology holds a wide range of stories, and an infinitely wide range of heroines. Since the first Sword and Sorceress anthology, these stories became increasingly popular, so that MZB had received rampant submissions for this third anthology from hopeful writers. Most of her intro delves into her editing methods, and what she expects from a story. Readers get to see a bit of the process behind selection, as well as MZB's sharp and humorous personality that I personally found delightful.

MZB once more serves up a range of voices; from familiar returning favorites, to brand new first sales. Probably one of the most noteworthy new authors, in my opinion, is Mercedes Lackey. "Sword Sworn" is, I believe, Misty's debut as a published author, and is certainly the first introduction to her unforgettable mercenary heroines, Tarma and Kethry who are the protagonists of Lackey's later novels; OATHBOUND and OATHBREAKERS. Lackey has gone on to quite a career since then, but even this first short story showcases her talents as a writer. As to returning favorites, MZB has included an interesting tale of a dragon and a young nature-wizard "Dragon Amber" by Deborah Wheeler (noteworthy, in part because Bradley tends to dislike any sort of 'cliché' dragon story), "Valley of Shadow" by Jennifer Roberson, "Journeytime" by Dana Kramer-Rolls, "Marwe's Forest" by Charles Saunders, and "The Mist on the Moor" by Diana L. Paxson.

"Journeytime" by Dana Kramer-Rolls, "The River of Tears" by Anodea Judith, and "Sword Sworn" by Mercedes Lackey are more serious ventures, dealing with the transformation of character and the journey, both physical and spiritual, these characters make. Unlike her first two anthologies, number three has a greater number of serious stories, the balance of humor is not as prevalent, still there are one or two that lighten the mood. "Orpheus" by Mary Frances Zambreno is about an unusual pair of women adventurers sent to retrieve a soul from the underworld, and "Bargains" by Elizabeth Moon where the bargains in question, may be no bargain at all.

Among my favorites is "A Tale From Hendry's Mill" by Melisa Carpenter, an interesting take on the 'rape and revenge' theme, and one very likable heroine. "More's the Pity" by L. D. Woeltjen is a haunting tale that works its spell very effectively in a few short pages. As mentioned above, "Sword Sworn" by Mercedes Lackey is her introduction to two female mercenaries, and a powerful story of both sword and sorcery-and vengeance. Perhaps the most intriguing story is Jennifer Roberson's "Valley of the Shadow". It's one you'll just have to read.

All of the stories in this anthology are strongly written and well selected, although there are quite a few longer, more serious pieces than in the last two anthologies. I still consider this collection worth five stars, but could have wished for one or two shorter humorous pieces interspersed in the mix. For any reader who enjoys reading stories about women in fantasy, this is definitely a good place to find them! If you have read this anthology and have enjoyed it, I highly recommend finding the first two anthologies-they're just as well written!

Happy reading! ^_^ --shanshad

This book is the sequence of the facts and "karmas" that were created in Web of Light. The story of Domaris, the oldest sister, who fell in love to Micon (from Atlantis) and had his son. She needs to survive Micon death and deal with it. It's also the story of Deoris, the youngest sister, that starts her studies with Riveda, a man who she falls in love, and it's consequences. This book show the relationship of these two women, feelings and emotions that would change the world balance and actions that would last trough generations. One special note is that if you read carefully the book Ghostlight from MZB you will have a surprise...

This is the story of Domaris and Deoris, these two women are divided by love, hate and fear and theirs acts would change the world balance. It's also the story of Rajasta, the leader of White Tunics, studiers froma magical art. They meet Micon, a man from Atlantis who is tortured by dark and evil men. He was almost killed but survive with consequences such as loosing his vision. He falls in love to Domaris and they decide to have a baby to keep Micon's power far from the evil men. By the other side Deoris meets Riveda, a strange man, who leads the Grey Tunics. Behind these people are the Black Tunics, the evil men who trapped Micon and tortured him, and looks forward his power.

Hawkmistress! is valuable to Darkover fans as part of the history of the Swordswomen/Renunciates and as a tale of one of the more unusual forms of laran to be mentioned.

However, since I had just finished reading Stormqueen! (IMHO, the best of the series), almost anything would have disappointed me at that point. And I just couldn't warm up to Romily the way I did to Renata Leynier or Magda Lorne (my two favorite Darkover heroines). My original impulse was to post a three-star review, but the book did improve on re-reading, so four stars it is.

I have recently gotten reaquainted with the Darokover novels and found myself very taken with this book. It has a lot of elements that make it a good read: a heroine who has a great power and is able to work with what she has and in various situations; the idea of working within an animal's mind and being one with it; the fact that using weapons which hurt innocents is immoral; trying to stay neutral in a war but how you may need to choose sides eventually. With a lot of adventure in between, to me, this book is great for Darkover fans.

This darkover novel is my personal favourite in the entire darkover series, it involves a daughter of the MacArran clan, who has the laran of the MacArran clan as a help or hindrance on her adventure. Her father refuses to send her to a tower to have her laran trained, and then tries to marry her against her will. Read the book to find out more! It's a good read

Nearly everyone is familiar with the ancient stories of King Arthur and the Round Table, but for anyone who has ever longed for deeper investigation into the hearts and minds of the characters (and especially the too-often ignored female characters), Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon is a breath of fresh air. This epic novel, which is based the traditional Arthurian legends, primarily Malory's Morte d'Arthur, retells the classic saga through the eyes of the women involved.
The story is told primarily through the eyes of Morgaine Le Faye, Arthur's half-sister. Traditionally, Morgaine was considered Arthur's nemesis, a pagan, power hungry fairy-woman who caused distress and mischief in the kingdom. This is not so in The Mists of Avalon. The novel makes Morgaine the heroine, and develops a deep, loving, complex, believable relationship between her and her brother. Zimmer Bradley also tackles and further develops the traditional legend that the two have a child together, taking the controversial subject to a deeper, more introspective level, and replacing ancient assumption with stimulating, new ideas.
A major theme of the novel is the tension between the newly introduced Christianity and the old, Mother Goddess religion. Even in the traditional Arther legends there is evidence of this conflict. In some stories, Arthur is the quintessential, pious, Christian King, while in others (including Morte d'Arthur) he is taken by the Lady of the Lake to the pagan isle of Avalon after his death. The conflict and convergence between the two theologies is exquisitely expressed in this excerpt from the book: "...a dying man in need of the Mother's aid, where all men come at last. Even the priests know this, with their ever-virgin Mary in her blue robe; for she too becomes the World Mother in the hour of death." Zimmer Bradley develops a vivid, in-depth depiction of the religion of Avalon, and raises interesting questions about the influence of both this and Christianity in the lives of all the characters.
Marion Zimmer Bradley brings to life many of the Arthurian women who were once nothing more than names. The story opens long before Arthur or Morgaine's birth, with the conflict of their parents, especially their mother, Igraine, who struggles with her dedication as a priestess of Avalon and her marriage to a Christian man. Her sister, the Lady of the Lake is shown as a real, human woman obsessed with the preservation of the religion of the Mother Goddess. Even Gwenefar (the original spelling of Guinevere) is developed in depth. A dedicated Christian, she struggles with the pagan ties of her husband and his sister and despairs that she is unable to do what a good, Christian woman should - bear her husband a child. The famous love triangle between Gwenefar, Lancelot, and Arthur is also intricately developed with a few added twists...such as a threesome instigated by the King...
The Mists of Avalon is a brilliantly captivating novel, for those who love the classic legends, hate them, or even know nothing about them at all. It is an epic achievement of love, violence, loyalty, lust, power and enchantment. The multi-dimensional characters come to life on the page, forcing the reader to care, feel, and think about their lives and the relevance their struggles still have today. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to read a gripping tale filled with the excitement and power of the human experience, which is, all at once, so very magical and so very real.

werd. the mists of avalon IS the definition of the ultimate work of historical fiction. it's so superbly realistic in its fantastical description of love and trechery and christianity v paganism in the arthurian area. reality and fantasy and inseperable in this believable story.
i think that i loved and hated each one of the characters at time, which makes them so, so real. i read this 900 page book in two weeks, and every moment of my spare time was devoted to it. the story starts with the death of the king before uther and ends with the death of arthur, it spans three or more generations. its amazing when you're on page 600 and you start thinking of how many years have gone by... its almost unfathomably.
the dissarray that the end of the book is incredibly moving. i was jolted at the closure of the story, and found myself weeping even though almost everyone knows what became of arthur.
words cant begin to describe how much i loved this book. as soon as i read the other books pertaining to this one (the forest house is the one im on now, its not quite as good as the mists of avalon.) i will surely read this book again.

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Thomas Mallory gave me nothing but bland, two-dimensional smoting and swoons. I was ready to turn my back on the whole story when I heard about the Mists of Avalon from a friend. It seemed awfully long, but the New York Times Bestseller sticker convinced me to try. I had to wait an extremely long time for a copy of this book at the library and read some other books that I don't care to think back on while I was waiting.

I finally got to read the Mists and found it every bit worth the praise. Marion Zimmer Bradley, whose thorough details in her other books seemed dull, brought life and feeling into the story of the women behind King Arthur's rule. They are strong and intriguing and really bring the story to life. The book is mostly about Morgaine, Morgan le Fay, and portrays her as I like to think, intelligent and independent, and not some evil, crazy witch. Gwenhwyfar (Guinevere), the other main character, is said to be radiantly beautiful and devoutly Christian, which disturbs her in her decision-making: to love Lancelet (Lancelot) or no, to hate Morgaine or no. At the beginning of the book, she appeared overly frightened and weak, probably to keep her from rivaling Morgaine's spotlight.

Other women who are in the story are Igraine (for the first hundred or so pages; that was enough because she really annoyed me! She was so self-contradicting and dumb), Morgause (who they kept saying is evil but she sounded as reasonable as the rest!) Viviane, Elaine, Niniane, and Nimue. They are all interesting and good in their own way - a bit different than their characters in other Arthurian books, but of course we all have different viewpoints. I only wish this book didn't get so sexual... Otherwise it was great. Have patience and read it!

As far as I'm concerned, Marion Zimmer Bradley is the master of injecting new life into old stories. Her retelling of the Arthur legend, The Mists of Avalon, is a phenomenal book (as anyone who has read it will tell you, if they have any sense!).

In The Firebrand, Marion Zimmer Bradley takes on the Iliad of Homer. The story is told mostly from the point of view of Kassandra, prophetess of Troy and sister to Paris, son of Priam who spirited Helen away from Sparta and became the catalyst for the 10-year-long Trojan War.

Many wonderful details make the characters, like the Amazons or the Kentaurs, amazingly human and real. Ms. Bradley has an enviable gift that makes her readers care about each and every one of her characters. At the center of the story lies a conflict, embodied in Kassandra herself, between the Earth Goddess and the newer Greek gods, like Apollo and Athena. As in the Iliad, the gods seem to meddle in everything, fathering children or bringing down plagues.

I really enjoyed this book because it puts a new spin on the old story and gives the female characters attention that they well deserve. Kassandra is a strong, consistent character, struggling with her vows of chastity to the free-worker Apollo and the Sight given to her by the Earth Goddess. For angering Apollo, Kassandra is cursed with seeing terrible things and having no one believe her. Helen, the wife Paris stole from the Spartan king Menaleus(sp?), is also well-developed as a character. She does, however, remind me strikingly of Gwenhyfar from The Mists of Avalon. Besides having the face that launched a thousand ships, Helen has the sort of strength that inspires admiration even in the unwilling. She, too, like Kassandra, is a pawn of the gods. Other strong women, like the Amazon Queen and Andromache, prove that the war was not fought by the soldiers alone.

Surprisingly scary, Akhilles(spelled scarily, too!) along with Agamemnon are Troy's, and Kassandra's, greatest enemies. Aeneas, the future founder of Rome,is a rather unlikely, but extremely likable, romantic hero. Pretty much the only nice man in the book...where Kassandra is concerned, anyway!

I will say that the plot really seemed to fragment toward the end. I liked the writing, but I felt that the storyline lacked the strength of the previous parts of the book. There are, however, a few delectable and - for readers familiar with the Iliad and the Odyssey - unexpected surprises in store.

As a sort of halting scholar of the Ancient Greek language wrestling with my first attempts at translating Homer, The Firebrand provided me with inspiration and gave me a more personal attachment to the characters, for which I am extremely grateful. It's obvious to me that Ms. Bradley is an extremely well-researched writer, who has a wonderful creative vision that makes the Iliad her own, while at the same time it remains the same wonderful story. Anyone who likes these sort of legend retellings should read this book! And then recommend it to a friend!

I began reading Marion Zimmer Bradley my sophomore year of high school when my english teacher (surprisingly) assigned the book at summer reading. Now I know a lot of people have read The Mists of Avalon, especially because of the tv movie, but if you are able to get a hold on this book, I strongly suggest it. It is almost the same as The Mists of Avalon, but set in mythical Troy instead of Camelot. We see through Kassandra's eyes, the prophetess cursed by the god Apollo. Just The Mists of Avalon, this book is also a feminist view in a male-dominated world. We see Hector, Achilles, Priam, Agamemnon, Paris and Menalaus, but they are not the heroes of the war. Intead, Bradley makes the women Kassandra, Hecuba, Andromache, Helen and the warrior Amazons the heroes. I really liked this book more than The Mists of Avalon, and it got me interested in Ancient Greece. If you like The Mists of Avalon and can find a copy of this book (because it is unfortunately out of print), I would suggest that you try this one. :)

Before reading this book, I had read a lot of criticism about it, alluding that Ms. Bradley tried too hard to make the character of Kassandra too much like Morgaine from her more popular "Mists of Avalon" epic. While I can see some definite similarities, I feel that Bradley's Kassandra has enough of her own "personality" to withstand such criticism and take her rightful place among the few strong female characters of contemporary fiction. The story was inspired and, while deviating substantially from the Kassandra mythos of "The Illiad", had enough of a ring of truth to make an unbelievable Grecian fable come to life -- by dispelling the nonsensical misogyny that is characteristic of Greek mythology. As we've come to expect from Ms. Bradley's historical novels, "The Firebrand" is superbly written and a welcome collection to my personal library. Who else but MZB could convincingly bring rationality to ancient patriarchal myths without destroying the sacredness of the goddess lore from which they sprang?

I was delighted to return to Darkover, but I have some reservations about its new chronicler. There's no way Ross can satisfactorily imitate Bradley, so all Darkover fans have to accept that there has been a change. Perhaps some constructive criticism can be offered to help with the awesome challenge Ross faces as Bradley's successor. For example, more care with diction would be a good thing. I believe that Bradley was careful not to use words or expressions inconsistent with Darkover's own history. "Neskaya" has quite a few that I think Bradley would have avoided as too redolent of Earth: topiary, "trust a fox to guard a coop of chickens" (are there foxes on Darkover now?), flat-fell seams, war-room, various herbs from earth in food for the first time, and dragons (there weren't any before). Finally, I think this book is too long by about 20% and that Ross flirts with sentimentality in both plotting and writing. Bradley was pretty tough-minded, and Darkover is a tough place. In spite of these reservations, I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next from Ross, even while I ask if this is really going to sustain a trilogy.

When MZB died a couple of years ago, I truly expected that there would be no more Darkover novels and that her literary estate would have sense enough not to farm her creations out to lesser writers. Gladly, that is not the case. Ms. Ross is an absolutely excellent heir to the entire Darkover milieu. While she superbly echoes Bradley in much of the content and even style, she aptly adds to the mythos in important details and concepts. Her extrapolatory gifts appear great. The book is truly a page-turning delight with memorable characters, as heart-achingly real as MZB's own. I greatly anticipate much more from DJR, especially the promised final two volumes of this Clingfire Trilogy.

Any lover of Marion Zimmer Bradley and Darkover will rejoice at the release of this new book. With Deborah Ross on board, Darkover will live on in its grand tradition. I have read many of Ms. Ross's short stories in Marion's Sword & Sorceress anthologies, and was delighted to see she has picked up the Darkover "torch." I cannot wait to see where she takes us in the next book.

Well, for just a fantasy novel it's average. The story isn't very original, and it's not written very catching. For a book by Marion Zimmer Bradley it's simply disappointing. I don't know Andre Norton, but I read quite a fine book by Mercedes Lackey, and I don't know why they didn't manage better. It was quite boring and not the least intriguing. If it had been other authors I might not even have finished it. For some reason they managed Tiger burning bright quite well, so I don't know, why this is so disappointing. OK, sorry it wasn't Mercedes Lackey, I got mixed up, but anyway.

Review from Roz: I'll admit I wasn't too thrilled with the book at first. The whole first chapter, in which the royal family is beseiged in the Ruwenda Citadel, seemed almost melodramatic to me. I remember reading the first part of the book with a lot of skepticism. I was thinking, "Well, this is okay, but it's just not the best book I've ever read." However, once I got past the first few chapters, I COULD NOT PUT THE BOOK DOWN. It's just simply a wonderful story. I think most of the appeal lies in the characters--the three princesses who are so different from each other, the dangerously charming bad guy. The history and the setting are very well-thought out. There is an entire side-culture of the "Oddlings", the other sentient species on the World of Three Moons. The history of the place is textured--besides the surface story of the princesses' quests, there is a deeper, interesting layer underneath: the mystery of the Vanished Ones who have left their strange technology behind. When you really start to think about it, the plot of this book is a little tired. Some things are a little too cliche or contrived. But the bottom line is: Who Cares? It's an effective, interesting, enjoyable book, and I loved it. The characters are the best part. Well done.

When I first read this book I was "coming of age" as we like to call it. I don't even remeber how I got the book. I didn't read fantasy. In fact my favorite stories were horror stories. As I began to read this tale of three girls coming into there own, I could see my self in each girl. I felt what I imagined they were feeling. I was so wrapeed up in this story, I read it again as soon as I finished the last page. I go back every now and again to re-read this wonderous story. I remeber how I felt trying to grow up. I remeber how this book, even though it was surrounded by fantasy, reminded me of the real world. Three girls, three sisters, each unique taking three very diffrent paths to come to the same end, the same conclusion. Being yourself is its own reward and we are all meant for something that we have yet to figure out. This is still my favorite book, even though I'm still not big on fantasy stories.