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lucyreads_books's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
jaiden_dantes's review against another edition
The characters were insanely boring, although the story was good. There was also way too much French in it, which was unnecessary and certain things were far too descriptive for no reason. It just made for a very jarring read. After a while it was unbelievably tedious to continue and I simply had to put it down.
egghead15's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
kimblefairy1989's review against another edition
5.0
This is the second time I've read this novel and it was just as good as I remembered.
I really love time slip novels, particularly when the stories mesh together well as they do in this novel.
All the characters were well written and this was a real page turner.
5 stars from me.
I really love time slip novels, particularly when the stories mesh together well as they do in this novel.
All the characters were well written and this was a real page turner.
5 stars from me.
orliemcdonie's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
sydney_arcuri's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5
I picked this book up about a year ago from a local used bookstore solely based on the fact that archaeology was mentioned in the synopsis. BOY I did not expect to fall so deeply in love with this book. Having not heard anything about these books I was worried, but it did not dissapoint.
The whole time reading this it gave off Dan Brown's Angels and Deamons with the whole searching for the Grail thing, but I read this before any of Dan Brown's books so now I will be comparing all of his works I read in the future to this.
I picked this book up about a year ago from a local used bookstore solely based on the fact that archaeology was mentioned in the synopsis. BOY I did not expect to fall so deeply in love with this book. Having not heard anything about these books I was worried, but it did not dissapoint.
The whole time reading this it gave off Dan Brown's Angels and Deamons with the whole searching for the Grail thing, but I read this before any of Dan Brown's books so now I will be comparing all of his works I read in the future to this.
madscarlson22's review against another edition
4.0
This book was somewhat slow to start but definitely picked up. I really liked the way it jumped back and forth between the two timelines. Each time it switched I was so engrossed that I was disappointed but it wasn't long before I'd be just as into the next storyline. I loved how the stories intertwined and the writing and plot were rich and intriguing. The story definitely portrayed a new and interesting take on the Grail, but without taking away from the characters who were central to the book. I would recommend this book and I am looking forward to read her next book.
essiewakeman's review against another edition
3.0
Meh. The concept could have been interesting, but the author doesn't quite pull it off here. Disjointed and illogical.
doritobabe's review against another edition
3.0
Let's get down to the dirty business of writing a review for a book that I am completely on the fence about. I have put this off for a few days only to remember yesterday that I have missed writing about this one due to its remaining presence in my mind.
Kate Mosse's Labyrinth was gifted to be shortly after its release in 2005. My brother bought this book for me -- yet he doesn't remember -- and recall feeling incredulous at the type of book he picked out for me. I am a fifteen year old girl, why would I want to read this fist-thick historical novel that I have no idea about? Not to mention, up until I actually picked up the book this year, I my misconceptions towards the subject matter persisted (re: my earlier comment about it being similar to [b:Outlander|10964|Outlander (Outlander #1)|Diana Gabaldon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1402600310s/10964.jpg|2489796]. THE BOOK IS NO WHERE NEAR THIS... SURPRISE!)
Labyrinth takes place in contemporary (2006ish) France over the course of a weekend (I think???) and in other parts, flashes back to medieval Carcassone over forty plus years. [HOW DOES THIS WORK, DO YOU ASK? Does it confuse the crap out of the reader? (Yes.) Does the author have to remind the reader 2/3s of the way through the book that the contemporary history only takes place over a few days? (Yes.)]
Her protagonist, young, brilliant Alice Tanner is working on an archaeological dig and stumbles upon an old cave filled with ~mystery~. This allows readers to discover that she is distantly connected to Alais and her family -- a guardian of the holy grail. Mosse may have intended this to be a magical tale about the search for the holy grail but in my opinion, this plot becomes overshadowed by the historical religious plot that comes from the literal landscape. Mosse's medieval characters tell the story of the Cathars in the Languedoc province and how the religion was wiped out during the Crusades and creates a link between the Holy Grail and Cathar-ism, Egypt (without fully developing it) and Europe.
The most exciting part of the book was learning about the religious history and events. As I mentioned above, Mosse may have intended for the story of the Holy Grail to be exciting and take precedence, but it does not become fully developed and ends with much unexplained. Additionally, the history of the Cathar war takes place over MANY, MANY years, leaving Mosse to sum up the events through one of her character's narratives rather than detailing/fictionalizing it to the reader.
The research put into the novel seems thorough and Mosse's writing style is above average. I enjoyed how much detail she put into all of the characters in order to build up the mystery. I also liked how she linked characters through time without being TOO obvious (although still obvious enough). However, some of the previous critiques are correct in saying that the research done was choppy, and the language used (French and Occitain) were not used in more sophisticated ways than a phrasebook at hand. Additionally, the was easily predicted, yet not explained to the reader.
I would read more of her books, has I have marked the rest of this "trilogy", but I realize now that they are not really related at all? Since this book was ~700 pages, and if the others are as well, yet nothing carries over, should I read the rest? Did I learn all of that for nothing?
I started watching the mini-series on youtube and actually may think that this is one of those instances where the abbreviated adaptation might be a better watch than spending the hours on the read itself.
Kate Mosse's Labyrinth was gifted to be shortly after its release in 2005. My brother bought this book for me -- yet he doesn't remember -- and recall feeling incredulous at the type of book he picked out for me. I am a fifteen year old girl, why would I want to read this fist-thick historical novel that I have no idea about? Not to mention, up until I actually picked up the book this year, I my misconceptions towards the subject matter persisted (re: my earlier comment about it being similar to [b:Outlander|10964|Outlander (Outlander #1)|Diana Gabaldon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1402600310s/10964.jpg|2489796]. THE BOOK IS NO WHERE NEAR THIS... SURPRISE!)
Labyrinth takes place in contemporary (2006ish) France over the course of a weekend (I think???) and in other parts, flashes back to medieval Carcassone over forty plus years. [HOW DOES THIS WORK, DO YOU ASK? Does it confuse the crap out of the reader? (Yes.) Does the author have to remind the reader 2/3s of the way through the book that the contemporary history only takes place over a few days? (Yes.)]
Her protagonist, young, brilliant Alice Tanner is working on an archaeological dig and stumbles upon an old cave filled with ~mystery~. This allows readers to discover that she is distantly connected to Alais and her family -- a guardian of the holy grail. Mosse may have intended this to be a magical tale about the search for the holy grail but in my opinion, this plot becomes overshadowed by the historical religious plot that comes from the literal landscape. Mosse's medieval characters tell the story of the Cathars in the Languedoc province and how the religion was wiped out during the Crusades and creates a link between the Holy Grail and Cathar-ism, Egypt (without fully developing it) and Europe.
The most exciting part of the book was learning about the religious history and events. As I mentioned above, Mosse may have intended for the story of the Holy Grail to be exciting and take precedence, but it does not become fully developed and ends with much unexplained. Additionally, the history of the Cathar war takes place over MANY, MANY years, leaving Mosse to sum up the events through one of her character's narratives rather than detailing/fictionalizing it to the reader.
The research put into the novel seems thorough and Mosse's writing style is above average. I enjoyed how much detail she put into all of the characters in order to build up the mystery. I also liked how she linked characters through time without being TOO obvious (although still obvious enough). However, some of the previous critiques are correct in saying that the research done was choppy, and the language used (French and Occitain) were not used in more sophisticated ways than a phrasebook at hand. Additionally, the
Spoiler
immortality of some charactersI would read more of her books, has I have marked the rest of this "trilogy", but I realize now that they are not really related at all? Since this book was ~700 pages, and if the others are as well, yet nothing carries over, should I read the rest? Did I learn all of that for nothing?
I started watching the mini-series on youtube and actually may think that this is one of those instances where the abbreviated adaptation might be a better watch than spending the hours on the read itself.