Skip to main content

Out of Avalon: An Anthology of Old Magic and New Myths edited by Jennifer Roberson: A Book Review

Out of Avalon: An Anthology of Old Magic and New Myths

Author: Jennifer Roberson (editor)

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Anthology 

Publisher: ROC 

Release Date: 2001

Pages: 336

Source: Personal Collection 

Synopsis: Where Magic Was Born and Legend Lives On…


     Avalon. Mist-shrouded, wrapped in magic. The legendary island of the Goddess, resting place of Arthur. This mystical island’s legacy has remained strong over the centuries, becoming a symbol of hope and wonder.


     Out of Avalon presents fifteen original stories of magic, adventure, and romance from an era lost to history—yet always remembered by those with imagination…


     My Review: The legend of King Arthur is one of the most enduring literature of all time. This anthology pays homage to the King Arthur legend by creating fifteen original stories based on the tales. Most of the stories are told from a female perspective. The mythical island of Avalon is the heart of these fifteen stories. Some of the authors are Marion Zimmer Bradley, Diana L. Paxson, Diana Gabaldon, Jennifer Roberson, and many more!


    I was intrigued by this anthology because I had a love of the King Arthur legend. It also featured a new “Avalon” story from Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana L. Paxson. Therefore, I could not wait to read it! However, most of the stories in the book did not captivate me. I did not care for Marion Zimmer Bradley’s and Diana L. Paxson’s new “Avalon” story. It provided no depth to the characters I loved in Mists of Avalon. My favorite story was “Secret Leaves” by Tricia Sullivan which tells of the doomed romance between Niniane and Merlin. I also liked “Lady of the Lake” by Michelle Sahara West which tells the origins of the Lady of the Lake. “The Mooncalfe” by David Farland was also a very compelling read. As for the other stories, I liked it but it did not really captivate me. 


    Overall, these stories are about loss, love, and friendship. While I liked all of the stories, only a few of them wowed me. I did find them all to be an easy read. Thus, I enjoyed this Avalon anthology. I can’t wait to read the next Avalon anthology, Return to Avalon next! I recommend this for those who love reading everything about King Arthur! I also recommend this for fans of Marion Zimmer Bradley, Diana Gabaldon, and Jennifer Roberson!


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Enheduana: Princess, Priestess, Poetess (Routledge Ancient Biographies) by Alhena Gadotti: A Book Review

Enheduana: Princess, Priestess, Poetess (Routledge Ancient Biographies) Author: Alhena Gadotti Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Routledge Publication Date: May 2, 2025 Pages: 132 Source: Personal Collection  Synopsis: Enheduana: Princess, Priestess, Poetess offers the first comprehensive biography of Enheduana, daughter of Sargon of Agade and one of the most intriguing, yet elusive, women from antiquity.      Royal princess, priestess, and alleged author, Enheduana deserves as much attention as her martial relatives. A crucial contributor to her father’s military ambitions, Enheduana nonetheless wielded religious and economic power, as evidenced by primary and secondary sources. Even more interestingly, Enheduana remained alive in the cultural memory of those who came after her, so much so that works attributed to her were integrated into the scribal curriculum centuries after her death. This book aims to situate Enheduana in her own histor...

Enheduana: The Complete Poems of the World's First Author by Sophus Helle: A Book Review

Enheduana: The Complete Poems of the World’s First Author Author: Sophus Helle Genre: History, Nonfiction, Biography, Religion Publisher: Yale University Press Release Date: 2024 Pages: 228 Source: Personal Collection  Synopsis: The complete poems of the priestess Enheduana, the world’s first known author, newly translated from the original Sumerian.      Enheduana was a high priestess and royal princess who lived in Ur, in what is now southern Iraq, about 2300 BCE. Not only does Enheduana have the distinction of being the first author whose name we know, but the poems attributed to her are hymns of great power. They are a rare flash of the female voice in the often male-dominated ancient world, treating themes that are as relevant today as they were four thousand years ago: exile, social disruption, the power of storytelling, gender-bending identities, the devastation of war, and the terrifying forces of nature.       This book is ...

The Seven Sisters (The Seven Sisters #1) by Lucinda Riley: A Book Review

The Seven Sisters (The Seven Sisters #1) Author: Lucinda Riley Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance Publisher: Atria Release Date: 2015 Pages: 463 Source: My State Public Library Synopsis: Maia D’Apliese and her five sisters gather together at their childhood home, “Atlantis”—a fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva—having been told that their beloved father, who adopted them all as babies, has died. Each of them is handed a tantalizing clue to her true heritage—a clue which takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once there, she begins to put together the pieces of her story and its beginnings. Eighty years earlier in Rio’s Belle Epoque of the 1920s, Izabela Bonifacio’s father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into the aristocracy. Meanwhile, architect Heitor da Silva Costa is devising plans for an enormous statue, to be called Christ the Redeemer, and will soon travel to Paris to find the right sculptor to ...