Gwenhwyfar: The White Spirit - Mercedes Lackey

Gwenhwyfar: The White Spirit
Mercedes Lackey
DAW Books
Copyright Date: 2009
978-0756405854

The Amazon.com blurb:

Gwenhwyfar moves in a world where gods walk among their pagan worshippers, where nebulous visions warn of future perils, and where there are two paths for a woman: the path of the Blessing or the rarer path of the Warrior. Gwenhwyfar chooses the latter, giving up the power that she is born into. Yet the daughter of a King is never truly free to follow her own calling. Acting as the "son" her father never had, when called upon to serve another purpose by the Ladies of the Well, she bows to circumstances to become Arthur's queen-only to find herself facing temptation and treachery, intrigue and betrayal, but also love and redemption... 

I read Gwenhwyfar: the White Spirit back when it first came out in 2009, enjoying it greatly as my previous review shows. Going over that review right now, it feels as though it hit all the high points of my feelings this time too.

Otherwise, what really struck me was the combination of similarities and differences to Marion Zimmer Bradley's novel The Mists of Avalon. In Bradley's book, Morgaine is the main character of the story and is "good", whereas in this book, she is one of the villains of the story - her more traditional role. In part, it was something of a reminder just how differently done The Mists of Avalon is to most Arthurian literature.

This re-read was inspired by reading Anne McCaffrey's Arthurian novel Black Horses For The King.