Labyrinth

Published Feb. 6, 2007 by Berkely Trade.

ISBN:
978-0-425-21397-1
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3 stars (3 reviews)

In this extraordinary thriller, rich in the atmospheres of medieval and contemporary France, the lives of two women born centuries apart are linked by a common destiny.July 2005. In the Pyrenees mountains near Carcassonne, Alice, a volunteer at an archaeological dig stumbles into a cave and makes a startling discovery-two crumbling skeletons, strange writings on the walls, and the pattern of a labyrinth; between the skeletons, a stone ring, and a small leather bag.Eight hundred years earlier, on the eve of a brutal crusade to stamp out heresy that will rip apart southern France, Alais is given a ring and a mysterious book for safekeeping by her father as he leaves to fight the crusaders. The book, he says, contains the secret of the true Grail, and the ring, inscribed with a labyrinth, will identify a guardian of the Grail. As crusading armies led by Church potentates and nobles of …

7 editions

reviewed Labyrinth by Kate Mosse

Better than expected (not the target audience)

4 stars

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, especially as I might not be the target audience (the Guardian described it as: 'the thinking woman's summer reading, chick lit with A levels for those with only a passing interest in getting a boyfriend')[1]. For a 'search for the Holy Grail' story, it's not deep into conspiracy theories, unlike The Da Vinci Code (which I've never managed to get more than a few chapters into). The parallel lives aspect is interesting and well done - there's enough linkage to keep the strands together without flicking back and forth so often that it gets confusing. The use of Occitan is a nice touch to make it clear when we're back in the past, but it's not overdone to the point where it gets annoying - just the occasional snippet here and there. It's refreshing to read a book where both the …

Review of 'Labyrinth' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

Oh dear me this was awful. I only picked up this book because it is hugely popular, and the series has got rather large so I thought there must be something good here right?

Things got off to a bad start, a scene where a woman has cut herself and a drop of blood lands on her leg, all quite normal for a book, but for some reason it is described as looking like a firework going off...why do we need that extra-long description? This wasn't enough for Mosse, a bigger description was needed, she specifies the day that the "blood firework" goes off. I couldn't take this book seriously after that, I kept laughing at the many extra words used...cheese kept being described as white again and again and a young lady's hair was tumbling one second and then writhing like a snake the next. The whole thing felt …