Lady of Light (The First Book of Westria) (Timescape Books) [Mass Market Paperback]

Diana L. Paxson (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 261 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books (Simon & Schuster); 1st edition (December 1, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671455974
• ISBN-13: 978-0671455972
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #232,264 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was brought up in southern California, but came north to attend Mills College and never left. I got my M.A. in (medieval) Comparative Literature from the University of California in 1966, the same year I put on the first tournament of what was to become the Society for Creative Anachronism. Since 1971 I've lived at Greyhaven, a hundred-year old house in Berkeley, with successive generations of family, friends, cats and dogs.

It's a literary family, including my husband, Jon DeCles, and the late Marion Zimmer Bradley, who was my mentor as a writer as well as colleague in founding Darkmoon Circle. My first published novel was Mistress of the Jewels, which began the chronicles of Westria. After I had written several historical fantasies, Marion, whose health deteriorated after she wrote Mists of Avalon, asked me to help her with The Forest House, which is how I ended up writing the Avalon series.

Much of the spiritual experience in my novels comes out of my work in the pagan community. I have now begun to publish that material in a series of non-fiction books, the most recent being Trance-Portation. My most recent novel is Sword of Avalon, set at the end of the Bronze Age, which gave me an opportunity to explore the end of the Homeric Age and the techniques of bronze- and iron-forging.

For more about my work, see:

www.westria.org
www.avalonbooks.net
www.seidh.org

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lady of Light will pull you in and send you on a journey., March 1, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Lady of Light (The First Book of Westria) (Timescape Books) (Mass Market Paperback)

Ms. Paxson can write, the Wisteria series is some of her earlier work. Lady of Light being the first in the set. Take a moment to discover the elements and the love of two gentle souls. Thank you Diana for sharing your talents with the world. Any Paxson novel you pick up is sure to be satisfaction. I suggest them all! Pamela Davis

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a keeper., July 2, 2007

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Lady of Light (The First Book of Westria) (Timescape Books) (Mass Market Paperback)

Lady of Light is another one of the nostalgia books that came from the basement of my father's house. My mission is to re-read them all in a dual effort to recapture my lost youth and to decide which ones I want to continue to lug with me through the years.

It occurred to me before I picked this book up that I could not remember a single thing about the book. It also occurred to me that I didn't move on from this to any other of the books in the Westria series. Not good signs.

I think that I see why, after finishing the book again now. Faris is *extremely* irritating as a main character. She whines, she holds back, she is even described on the back of the book as "frail". Additionally, we're supposed to believe that despite the fact that all men fall in love with her at a drop of a hat, she thinks that she is essentially unlovable because she once heroically burnt her arm. In an effort to save a dying toddler, no less. Please.

There is some plot stuff in the book too. Unfortunately, I hated Faris so much that it was really hard to care about the plot.

Any Diana L. Paxson fans out there who can point me towards a book of hers that I might enjoy? She seems to keep good company, and is generally well-respected. Did I just pick up a poor example?