"Fantastic fantasy"

Temple of the Light Guardian Tiriki and her husband Prince- Priest Micail know between the dreams and the violent tremors that the mountain is awakening with already three devastating tremors in two days. Although they would prefer to remain in each other's arms, each has duties and responsibilities. Micail must provide leadership to the frightened inhabitants while Tiriki perform the ritual to reinforce balance at the Omphalos Stone.

However, in spite of their heroic efforts and those of others like Aldel the Acolyte who sacrificed her life to save the Omphalos Stone, the end has arrived for the islanders of Atlantis. It is time to sail away by from Atlantis where many die and a rich heritage is almost certainly buried beneath the sea. Tiriki and Micail are separated probably forever.

While most mourn the loss of their culture and the adaptation that will needed when the survivors reach the Isle of the Mighty, some see opportunity not loss. Acolyte Damisa feels the new world gives her a choice of following the path of a priestess to a religion she no longer believes in based on the recent cataclysm or a power grab to become Queen. Only Tiriki could potentially stand in her way.

ANCESTORS OF AVALON may be the best of the Avalon tales. The story line stands alone due to the strength of the characterizations especially the two surviving female rivals, yet also interconnects the myriad of plots from the previously published books that actually occur after the events of this saga. Series fans will see the tree trunk that leads to the numerous branches. In Darkover- Avalon heaven there is surely a smiling female author pleased with the results.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted May 28, 2004

Summary

Once again, Diana L. Paxson has beautifully elaborated on Marion Zimmer Bradley's beloved Avalon saga with this dramatic new installment, which for the first time reveals the past of the ancestors of Avalon, from their beginnings on the doomed island of Atlantis to their escape to the mist-shrouded isle of Britain. It follows the extraordinary journey of two powerful women whose destinies will shape the fates of their physical and spiritual descendants: Tiriki, a high priestess exiled by the fall of Atlantis, torn between the claims of love and duty, and Damisa, a young acolyte of royal blood, tempted by ambition to forsake her spiritual path. Hints of this mysterious past have haunted all the novels of Avalon, but until now the full sweep of this rich history has not been revealed. Dramatic, peopled with the remarkable women who have always inhabited Avalon, and set in a world of enchantment that will sweep readers to a richly imagined time and place, Marion Zimmer Bradley's Ancestors of Avalon is another spectacular epic that is sure to please Bradley's many ardent readers.