Return to Avalon edited by Jennifer Roberson: A Book Review

Return to Avalon

Author: Jennifer Roberson (Editor)

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Anthology

Publisher: DAW

Publication Date: 1996

Pages: 400

Source: Personal collection

Synopsis: Retellings of several Arthurian tales follow such plots as Merlin's defeat of Vortigern and Guinevere's sacrifice to a grail-seeking knight, and include the works of such writers as Melanie Rawn, Judith Tarr, and Katherine Kerr.

My Review: Marion Zimmer Bradley is renowned for her classic novel, The Mists of Avalon. Return to Avalon is an anthology that pays homage to Marion Zimmer Bradley by having twenty original tales. Most of these tales are told from a female perspective set in medieval time periods. Some of the tales are retellings of famous Arthurian legends. Some of the authors include Diana L. Paxson, Kate Elliot, Katherine Kerr, Laura Resnick, Jennifer Roberson, and many more.

I was intrigued by this anthology because it pays homage to Mists of Avalon, which is one of my favorite books. It also included a short sequel to the Mists of Avalon titled “Lady of Avalon”. Therefore, I could not wait to dive into this anthology! However, I didn't really like most of the stories in this book. I did like “Lady of Avalon”. However, I wished it was a novel instead of a short story. This is because I would like to see how Avalon has vastly changed after Morgaine’s story. I also liked “The Stone Mother’s Curse”, which was an interesting retelling of the fairytale, “Rapunzel”. I also liked “Dark Lady” by Jane M. Lindskold, which tells of the romance of William Shakespeare and a female actress. I also liked “The Lily Maid of Astolat” by Laura Resnick, which was a retelling of “The Lady of Shallot”. Finally, I liked “Guinevere’s Truth” by Jennifer Roberson in which Guinevere explains how she has been misunderstood by her subjects. As for the rest of the stories, I liked them but they failed to grip me. This is because most of them were very preachy.

Overall, this anthology is about justice, feminism, and first love. While I liked all of them, only a few of them stunned me. I also found it to be an easy read! I enjoyed the Return to Avalon anthology, Out of Avalon was much better. I admit that if this anthology did not have the sequel to Mists of Avalon, I wouldn’t have bothered to read it. While “Lady of Avalon” is certainly a must-read to Mists of Avalon fans, Return to Avalon is a forgettable anthology! Still, I recommend this for fans of Judith Starr, Kate Elliot, and Esther Freisner!

Rating: 2 ½ out of 5 stars

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