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The Lady of the Sea (Tristan and Isolde Novels, Book 3) [Hardcover]

Rosalind Miles (Author)
2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)


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Book Description

December 7, 2004 Tristan and Isolde Novels (Book 3)
The final thrilling chapter in the Tristan and Isolde trilogy . . .

Isolde, heir to the throne of the queens, is now a sovereign in her own right. With the glories of the throne comes the responsibility of a queen, and Isolde knows she must return to her beloved Western Isle. She can no longer tolerate her marriage to King Mark of Cornwall, a marriage she has accepted for years in order to save her country from the threat of war and to be near her only love, Mark’s nephew Tristan of Lyonesse. King Mark, always cowardly and spiteful, is too heavily influenced by his monks and counselors, who loathe the powerful and independent Isolde. And so she leaves Cornwall for good and comes home to Ireland, where her lords face a growing threat from the warlike Picti, who live in the barren highlands to the north of England. The Picti have a bold new king, Darath, who is determined to take the riches of Ireland for his own people, whether by war or by marriage with Isolde.

Isolde gathers her armies to confront the Picti and faces a violent conflict as well with King Mark, who vows he will not let a prize like Isolde, and Ireland, slip from his grasp. Isolde is last in a line of famous warrior queens who have guarded Ireland from time before memory, and now she—and her knight, Tristan—must play out their fate and face her enemies in a final battle, a war that could spell ruin for them both.


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Women reign supreme in British feminist scholar Miles's richly textured rendering of the tale of Tristan and Isolde. In this vibrant trilogy finale, Ireland's fiery-haired Queen Isolde longs to end her loveless marriage to Mark, King of Cornwall, whom she wed only to save her beloved homeland from war. Isolde's true soul mate is Mark's noble nephew, Tristan of Lyonesse. (For readers rusty on Arthurian legend, the pair's romantic fate was sealed with a potion.) When Isolde learns that the Western Isle will soon be under siege by the savage Picts—so named for their colorful face and body tattoos—she sails home to confront their charismatic leader, King Darath, who plans to take the comely queen as his bride. Meanwhile, Tristan is torn between his love for Isolde and duty to cowardly King Mark, who, without offspring of his own, must name a successor to the Cornwall throne. Miles (I, Elizabeth; the Guenevere trilogy) writes flowery prose that borders on the florid ("Swollen clouds raced screaming through the air and peal after peal of thunder came rolling in from the edge of doom"), mingling Arthurian lords and ladies, red-robed papal envoys, sword-wielding madmen and crooning truth-tellers. Despite the author's occasional verbal excesses, fans of historical romance are sure to embrace this paean to the power of the female sex.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Miles concludes her spellbinding Tristan and Isolde trilogy with a bang-up send-off for the perpetually star-crossed lovers. Unhappily married to shortsighted King Mark of Cornwall and hopelessly in love with Mark's chivalrous nephew, Tristan, Queen Isolde returns to her native Ireland to thwart a barbarian invasion. Threatened externally by the dreaded Picts--a brutal tribe of painted warriors hailing from the Scottish Highlands--and internally by priests intent on spreading Christianity and challenging the ancient worship of the Mother goddess, Ireland stands at a pivotal crossroads. In keeping with the fine feminist tradition Miles employs in all her fiction, it takes a woman to resolve the conflict and provide a clear vision for the future. Interwoven with plenty of passion and intrigue, this mystical reworking of a time-honored fable provides an enthralling new spin on an irresistibly romantic old legend. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Crown (December 7, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0609609629
  • ISBN-13: 978-0609609620
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,385,225 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
2.3 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Exactly the ending you'd expect to the trilogy., January 16, 2005
This review is from: The Lady of the Sea (Tristan and Isolde Novels, Book 3) (Hardcover)
A brief overview of the trilogy:
Isolde is the princess of Ireland, married off to King Mark of Cornwall to protect her country, but deeply in love with his nephew, the fair and gallant Tristan. Mark is a self-absorbed, spoiled man, and his wife despises him. They never consummate their marriage, which Mark doesn't seem to mind until the third book. Tristan and Isolde seem to suffer no pangs of conscience, as they are not Christians as Mark, but follow the ancient Mother religion, and therefore believe that any woman has the choice to love and be with the man of her choosing. For twenty years Tristan and Isolde conduct an affair under the nose of the king. They navigate through seemingly endless trials and misunderstandings, never free to express their love.

Some readers may find this series more interesting than the Guenevere trilogy, for two reasons: the story of Tristan and Isolde is less well known than that of Camelot, and it's also a shorter tale, which allows the author more room for creativity. In the original myth, Tristan and Isolde both die around the events in the second book, The Maid Of The White Hands.

I was waiting for this third book for months, having finished "Maid of the White Hands" sometime in May. I wasn't exactly disappointed, but neither was I thrilled.

First of all, the book very definately follows Miles' typical style. The longing for lost loves, the mystical nature of the various Ladies and the Mother-right religion, the condemnation of Christianity, the idealistic resolution, were all there. If you've read the Guenevere novels and the first two in the series, you know exactly what I mean.

One thing I enjoy about Miles' work is the unique take on well-worn stories. I enjoy the way Miles both uses the myths as a framework and moves beyond them. I also enjoy the play between the Goddess worship and Christianity, rather than the strictly Christian viewpoint usually seen (in the story of Camelot/Holy Grail, etc.)

I found Isolde more likeable in this last book than previously, when she seemed to be ruled by circumstance and pride rather than her own will. Tristan, however, I'm not so found of. In this book the lovers are supposedly forty years old, yet Tristan does not seem to have matured at all. He maintains his blindly idealistic belief in honor, which hurts Isolde and puts them both in danger. Mark crosses the line from self-absorbed and foolish to violent and evil. His nephew Andred is a completely static character, his actions fully foreseeable. Also present are the scheming Christian prists, Merlin, and Queen Igraine.

This book seemed to me a rush job, and not a labor of love. Some finer points of logic were overlooked. Mark's actions grow increasingly outrageous and illogical (Isolde's treatment was witnessed by many, yet supposedly no one knows the truth); things are done by major characters that seem to have no consequences (particularly Tristan, at the end). Also, Tristan is king of Lyonesse, Isolde is queen of Ireland--yet Tristan apparently hasn't been back to his country in ten years or more, and Isolde has been away from Ireland for very long periods too. Wouldn't ambitious people like Andred try to take over in the monarchs' absences?

Second, although I realize authors don't want to just give things away every time, Miles creates artifical suspense by having characters be anonymous for several pages. For example, when Tristan and Isolde are hiding in a secluded castle, the author goes out of her way to make an approaching man seem ominous and dangerous, only to have him be a friend. This approach is overused, especially in the second half of the book. There are constant plot "twists", a number of which aren't terribly surprising, merely irritating because the build-up and mystery were not necessary.

Thirdly, the repetition of certain things grows very irritating. How many times now has Tristan appeared to Isolde disguised from both queen and reader for several pages? How many times does he ask "do you not know me, my love?" when he's been concealing himself deliberately? How many times does Isolde have imaginary conversations with her dead mother/"Mawther"? How many times now has she thought Tristan dead? And how many times do the words "No tears, no fears" have to be repeated? The refrain of "Goddess, Mother..." becomes grating after six books (Guenevere and Isolde both), as does "Erin. Ireland. Home." We get it already, Ireland is Isolde's home. Even within this one book, certain phrases are just plain overused.

I did enjoy this book, but it took longer than usual to read it because of all the mild irritations and frustrations. It resolved the trilogy in pretty much the way I expected, there's lots of chivalrous romance and adventure, and it's got a happy ending. Anyone who has previously enjoyed Miles' books will enjoy this one, but someone on the edge may find it a slogging, difficult read.

For a new reader of Miles' work, I would suggest starting with the Guenevere trilogy, as I found it much more enjoyable.
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Time for the story to stop., January 17, 2005
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This review is from: The Lady of the Sea (Tristan and Isolde Novels, Book 3) (Hardcover)
This is the third in the Tristan and Isolde Series by Rosalind Miles and the story is tired. The first several chapters are a dull recap of the previous parts of the trilogy and do little to pull you into the new book. When finally the story did liven up and I felt it pulling me along to the next chapter, I was easily 90 pages in already. Even then, the story is much of the same. The author offers little new material and seems only to rework her previous ideas. The same characters are up to their same tactics to keep Tristan and Isolde from being together and being happy. Father Dominion is back to "bring Isolde down" and the lepers are back too. Again - same thing - new cover art. The new character of Darath offered some promise as he pledged his sword to Isolde; but I was disappointed that the story line came to an abrupt end and the character never reappeared. The most interesting part of the book was the opportunity to see the demise of so many characters who have been plodding along for 3 books. I enjoyed the first book greatly. The second was also interesting and my heart ached for the star-crossed lovers. Now, I'm a bit tired of the whole saga and I hope they live happily ever after because this story has been beaten to death.
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14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars Mind-numbing., November 22, 2005
By 
Knikkki (Northern Cal) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Lady of the Sea (Tristan and Isolde Novels, Book 3) (Hardcover)
I felt obligated to finish the trilogy. It was a mistake. This book was so unbelievably boring. You see, Tristan and Isolde get separated. Then Tristan is beset by something and then Isolde whines to the Goddess, oh my love my love. Then they get back together, and then they get separated and then Tristan is beset by something and Isolde whines to the Goddess, oh my love my love. Repeat. It's horrid. I wish I could get a refund. Truly, don't waste your time. Try the Kushiel series by Jacqueline Carey, it's a way better investment in your time (and reading dollar.)
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