Marion Zimmer Bradley's Ravens of Avalon

A Novel

By: Diana L. Paxson

Narrated by: Lorna Raver

Marion Zimmer Bradley's Ravens of Avalon follows the journey of Boudica, a Celtic princess, and Lhiannon, a priestess who is Boudica's mentor on the Druid isle. When the Romans conquer Britain, Lhiannon fights them, while Boudica is married to a king who has surrendered. Theirs is a great love story, but when he dies, the Romans brutalize her and her daughters. In rage, Boudica raises the British tribes and nearly succeeds in driving the Romans from Britain, claiming a place in history. Lhiannon survives and becomes the guardian of the Druid traditions in the new Roman Britannia as high priestess of the Forest House.

Epic in its sweep and peopled by the remarkable women who have always inhabited Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley's Ravens of Avalon expands the legendary saga that has enchanted millions of readers over the years and is sure to please Bradley's loyal readership - and anyone who loves wonderfully told stories of history, myth, and fantasy.

©2007 Diana L. Paxson (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"Paxson's bright fusion of fact and myth is a fine tribute to Bradley and the real-world triumphs and tragedy of Boudica." ( Publishers Weekly)

annoying narration

not my favorite dull over descriptive in some areas maybe would've been better with better narration

Excellent Story!

I very much enjoyed the story. It has made me want to research the actual historical figure of Boudica. I found the narrator's voice to be a bit grating at times although the performance was good.

The reader was so distracting

Just so terrible! Who thought American accents was a good idea? I am so disappointed to end the series on a sour note.

Great book

Best read as the second book in the series. Good start and carries one to want more. Wish I had read the series in order.

Disappointing due to narrator

The change of narrators was significant & disturbing.

It would have been easier to deal with if the narrator had a British, Welsh, or Scottish accent, not a nasally American sounding voice. In my own opinion, it took away from the story & I found myself feeling annoyed & wishing I’d have sampled it first, or at the very least read some of the reviews, I didn’t consider they would change to an American narrator, had I anticipated & listened to a sample first, I would have got the ebook instead. I will be trying to return the title. If I can’t, I’ll slog through it but will get the final book as an ebook. I don’t know how narrators are chosen, but this one was a really bad decision.

Disappointed after the other books in the series

Not a bad story. Narration was uneven in volume with the dialog harshly shouted or very loud, then the text far too soft. I found that my volume setting went from ten during some annoyingly loud dialog to forty-five to catch all of the words of text after it. Not a fan of this narration.

Amazing

I love the women archetypes, the narrator, and story. Was so action packed and violent it left me stressed. There should be a warning that it contains so much rape though.

Good story

While I loved the story, I struggled desperately listening to the narrator. Happy to keep the memory of Boudeca alive. She truly was a strong woman. Although I book is a work of fiction, I believe the author held true to what is known about Boudeca.

Wonderful book/Horrible, dreadful narrator!

This book is equally as good as the woman screaching her way through this prose. She completely ruined it for me. I will NEVER get another book narrated by her.

Not Bad

Good story line, I love the historical references. The story almost moves to fast, skipping two or three years at a time. This might be partly the reader as she never pauses to segment a difference in time, but it does get a little confusing at times.