Book review on "The Priestess of Avalon" by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Diana Paxton. 480 pages

Marion Zimmer Bradley in her novel, Priestess of Avalon, tells the story of a girl named Eilan and follows her for her life story. Princess Eilan is the daughter of Rian, priestess of the holy isle of Avalon, and Prince Coelius of Camulodunum in Britannia, circa 300 A.D. When her mother dies giving birth to Eilan, her father raises her in the Roman manner. Then war threatens Camulodunum, Princess Eilan is sent to Avalon to …

…may be too late to draw some readers in. The novel is an intriguing example of fiction that weaves oral and historical records to produce a convincing story, but beside its predecessor, The Mists of Avalon, it feels lacking. Sadly, it's rarely a good idea for one writer to try to enliven a dead colleague's vision, no matter how vital that original vision or how strong the connection between the two writers may have been.