The Mists of Avalon is my favorite book and I had been wanting to read this prequel for years. While nothing could surpass the original, The Forest House is a very good book in its own right. I enjoyed the story of the priestesses but found the focus on both Gaius and Cynric during battles and military maneuvering less interesting. Even though it is a prequel, I could see readers enjoying it without having to have read The Mists of Avalon. A highly entertaining read with less depth than the original. ( )

Half-baked, badly researched, over-written tripe. My ancestors would have eaten Zimmer Bradley's Celts for breakfast. ( )

Geweldig boek!

Fascinated by "The Mists of Avalon" I immediately bought this prequel in 1994, but was bitterly disappointed, it turned out to be just one of the usual, not so special Zimmer-Bradleys ( )

This book, a prequel to Bradley's more reknown Mists of Avalon, reminds me of a little sister of the Mists of Avalon. The story is not as epic, the characters are not as interesting, but it's an overall well-written novel and honestly if you liked Mists, you'll enjoy this read.

Bradley, at least in this series, does not write in typical fantasy style. I believe I would characterize it as tragic fantasy. Most fantasy novels develop flawed, human characters that persevere despite their flaws and end up saving the world/themselves (i.e. Hobb). Still another motif is to create a practically flawless character and just pit them against extraordinary circumstances to have fun watching them eventually kick ass (i.e. Goodkind, Jordan). I'm convinced that Bradley (at least in the Avalon series) creates good characters, spends the first third of the book getting you to like them and showing their point of view, and then breaks them down. She does this through not only plot movement but also strange unexplained character shifts. Her characters tend to be not just complex, but also fickle. So you spend most of the novel watching this downward spiralling train wreck that usually leads up to some ultimate tragedy. Then in the end you are left crying not bittersweet tears, but just bitter ones. This novel follows that formula to a T; the end of the novel is characterized by a series of seemingly random, unfortunate incidents that result in disaster, for very little moral or world gain.

I find it likely that I will read more of her, but I definitely will have to mix it with some books that don't take such a bleak outlook on the outcome of life. ( )

This book was a good mix of historical fiction and fantasy. I liked learning about the effects of Roman occupation in the British Isles and how local leaders either fought or tried to maintain some tentative peace. Gaius and Eilan's forbidden romance made a good backdrop to the Roman/Briton tensions at the time. I look forward to reading the first book in the series, The Mists of Avalon. ( )

Although not as good as Mists of Avalon,this book is a nice bit of escapist reading if you enjoy tales where the central characters are wise women. ( )

Although this book is ostensibly a prequel to Mists of Avalon, it's set pretty far back in the past, and would certainly work okay as a stand-alone. This book mainly serves to give the historical backdrop of events in Arthur's time, namely, the mixing of Briton and Roman blood in Arthur's ancestors, and the founding of Avalon. Knowing why these things are important later gives this book more weight, but it would be understandable and enjoyable without them as well. While I enjoyed reading this book, I do agree with other reviewers that it's fairly slow moving - it certainly lacks the scope and sweep of Mists, and its narrower focus stretches out over more pages than it really needs. However, I found the slow pace to be tranquil rather than boring, really allowing me to fall into Bradley's world. I also found all of the characters very empathetic, especially in the beginning (everyone - but especially the two leads - becomes a little unlikeable in the last 50 pages or so). Overall, this book isn't a barn-burner, and it's a little uneven, but I thought it was a nice, meditative, enjoyable read. ( )

It's been a while since I read the book, and I don't remember much of the story or characters, but I remember enjoying it a lot and finding it very beautiful.
It also helped me get a few bonuspoints with my English teacher because we were studying some other historical text from this period about the same time as I read it, and it helped me understand the material better. ( )

not the greatest. i think i outgrew marion's works before this was published. ( )

A sort of pre-quel to "Mists of Avalon," although it's set well in the past from that book, IIRC. I wasn't particularly impressed with this book. Kind of boring. ( )

Again, too dull to finish. Perhaps it has something to do with it trying to connect to The Mists of Avalon, but being completely different, and just two characters that have been created to have a romance, a Roman, and one of the priestesses of the local religion. If you like that sort of Tristan and Isolde thing, then this may well be for you.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2006/11... ( )

One of the prequels to Mists of Avalon, Forest House tells the story of Eilan, a British priestess and Gaius, the Roman soldier she falls in love with. It can be rather slow at times, but overall the story is still compelling, and the world well-realized. It has more of a historical setting than Mists.
If you really liked Mists, and want to know the backstory, read this and the other prequels, but don't compare it to Mists. It's pretty good in its own right, but don't expect it to be as good as Mists. ( )