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Title: Guenevere, Queen of the Summer Country by ROSALIND MILES ISBN: 0-609-80650-5 Publisher: Three Rivers Press Pub. Date: 11 July, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.12 (57 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Another version of the tales, with little to add
Comment: I read most current versions of the Arthurian legends; most of them are no great shakes. This one, sadly, falls into that category. This is not a /bad/ book, it is just not a terribly /good/ one.
Like many current works pertaining to the tales of Arthur, this one is set nebulously in "historical times". There are trappings to make it seem like tale takes place just a bit after the Romans pull out of Britain, but only hints. There are a host of anachronisms which would not stand out if only she had placed the tales outside of time, much as Sharan Newman did. Of history, there is little. Of fantasy, there is little, also -- no dragons, no magic, just a lot of very strong-willed and weak- willed people. In fact this is one of the problems -- her main characters cannot make up their minds as to whether they are dynamic leaders or merely swept along by events larger than themselves.
Guenevere is neither a truly strong nor engaging character. At least half of her dialogue takes place in her head; she seems incredibly reticent to speak her mind. Her love for Arthur is immediate and wholehearted, without any real reason. She leads a group of vague pagans who all worship The Mother, a wholy benign being who seems to insist on a lot of sex, very little ceremony, and no strong thought other than "We Are Not Christian". Apparently Guenevere should be a warleader as well as a political leader for her people, yet despite the fact that she is 20-odd years old when we first meet her, she has had no training in battle. On the other hand, she has an immediate grasp of tactics the moment she views a battle.
I rather like the fact that Merlin is a dark character in this work -- so many Merlins since TH White have been such nice, sanitized people that one forgets he was a figure of mystery and even terror in the early legends, the product of a nun and a demon. On the other hand, his characterization is again rather shallow -- somehow he is connected to the Pendragon household and is determined to see it continue in a position of power, but he has these visions of nubile young things that taunt him in is unguarded moments. Once he finds a woman, he is imprisoned as a madman. Poof. End of Merlin.
I put this book in the same rough category as Nancy McKenzie's "Child Queen", Joan Wolf's "The Road to Avalon", and Helen Hollick's "Pendragon's Bannder series" -- not bad, but not really good. If you are looking for a good version of the tales from a female perspective, I heartily recommend either Vera Chapman or Fay Sampson. Ms. Miles' work is merely there, another novel that will go through a single printing and be forgotten.
Rating: 5
Summary: superb!!!
Comment: I was a little leary of reading this book - the reviews did not sound all that great. I am fascinated and passionate about the Arthurian legend and have read various wonderful fictional series as well as non-fictional accounts of the "real" Arthur and the characters associated with him. What has always seemed to fascinate me the most was the "religion" of the legends - primarily the "Great Mother" Goddess worship - the female rule - and it's real relationship to the introduction of Christianity in religious history. It is fascinating to me that this is in fact a very real part of Christian history and heritage - and it was portrayed in this book in a potent manner despite it's simplicity.
This was basically a very simple book to read - but this in no way distracted me from loving it. It very passionately portrayed Gwenevere as the queen she was revered as. I did not understand the various reviews which described her as cold and unfeeling. She was the ruling queen of her people - she was a strong woman - sensual and bold in her own right - capable of the greatest love and compassion. Love is the tragedy of her story. I loved her character. I loved her spirit. I loved her story in this book.
It is true that this book adds no new "twists" to the old legend - the same characters appear (though not always in the same roles) fighting in the same battles - in their hearts as well as their battlegrounds - but for those who read a story such as this because of a love of the romance, chivalry, magic and mystery of the legend it will not be a disappointment. The re-telling of this story through Genevere's eyes and heart was simply a good "twist". It has the same aura (though not quite) of the incomparable Mists of Avalon - a high compliment coming from me! I look forward to reading the sequels.
Rating: 1
Summary: Really dull, irritating and horrible
Comment: I have lost track of the number of Arthurian retellings I've consumed in 30-odd years of insatiable reading. I have no problem that there are so many out there; the Matter of Britain is one of the central mythologies of Western European culture. But I really expect that a writer who feels moved to deal with the subject should have something new to say. Rosalind Miles really doesn't and what she does say is so superficial, characterless and just plain wrong that this book is a trial for an educated person to read.
Here we have Gunevere presented as a Pagan Celtic Queen of a Matriarchal tradition (a la Persia Woolley's books). I have no problem with this idea. But it becomes obvious fairly early on that Ms. Miles doesn't actually know anything about Pagan religions, either modern or ancient, besides the names of the holidays and the fact that women practice(d) some kind of sexual freedom. I tried hard to say "this is only a fantasy novel," but I happen to know that a great many people take what they read about such things in novels as absolutely true. So when Ms. Miles related that Imbolc--a Pagan spring holiday celebrating new life and healing--was sacred to the "dark maiden of death" I about blew a gasket.
That was one problem. Next was that the book is utterly ungrounded in any timeframe. Although it goes back to Welsh tradition, most of the Arthurian legend we are familiar with is based on 12th & 13th century French romances. The fashion currently is to draw on the older sources and try to find a possible historical basis, making Arthur a Roman Legionary, a Celtic Warrior King, or anything else that would potentially be possible for a dark ages leader of about the 6th century. Rosalind Miles chose to ignore this and her work harks back to Mallory in its castles, tournaments, and code of chivalry. I am not categorically opposed to this. But trying to merge a Middle Ages sentiment of that sort with a Neo-Pagan Matriarchal basis Just Didn't Work. It was very jarring and, rather than gving a new interpretation of the events, it just made them seems arbitrary.
Another thing that really bothered me was the way Ms. Miles jumps around in time without regard to events and without letting the reader know what's going on. One minute it's Beltain and the next it's midsummer, seemingly without transisiton. One day Arthur's setting out to deal with the infant Mordred and when he returns a week later Mordred appears at a tournament seven years old or so. No one seems to remark on this.
I could go on about how flat the characters are and how, although she seems to try to give people basis for their actions, Ms Miles' falls far short of the mark when it comes to creating real, believable situations. Most of the action is sensationalist. I get that the Matter of Britain deals with a lot of sensational stuff like rape and incest. But I'm looking for more than the bare bones these days.
If you've never read any reimagining of Arthurian myth, this book may not actually annoy you. It won't really teach you anything, either. I'd recommend giving it a miss. There's a thousand better boks on the subject than this travesty. I'd give it zero stars if I could.
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Title: The Knight of the Sacred Lake by ROSALIND MILES ISBN: 0609808028 Publisher: Three Rivers Press Pub. Date: 12 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: The Child of the Holy Grail : The Third of the Guenevere Novels by ROSALIND MILES ISBN: 0609809563 Publisher: Three Rivers Press Pub. Date: 28 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: The Maid of the White Hands : The Second of the Tristan and Isolde Novels by ROSALIND MILES ISBN: 0609609610 Publisher: Crown Pub. Date: 19 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: Isolde, Queen of the Western Isle : The First of the Tristan and Isolde Novels by ROSALIND MILES ISBN: 1400047862 Publisher: Three Rivers Press Pub. Date: 24 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: I, Elizabeth : A Novel by Rosalind Miles ISBN: 0609809105 Publisher: Three Rivers Press Pub. Date: 25 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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