However, after Id finished and delivered the first draft of Labyrinth to my agent in January 2004, I did buy a copy of The Da Vinci Code. July 1209: in Carcassonne a 17-year-old girl is given a mysterious book by her father which he claims contains the secret of the true Grail. As she does, an earthquake is present. Of course there were fanatics, as in all religions, who hated the World and everything in it, but for the most part Cathar followers were tolerant and accepting of other systems of belief. [1] Alice, a volunteer at a French archaeological excavation, discovers the skeletal remains of two people in a cave, as well as a labyrinth-engraved ring, which attracts the attention of unscrupulous individuals. Alice has an uneasy feeling that she has disturbed something that was meant to remain hidden. And the Grail legends, of all the classics, fit the bill in every way. The reader suffers under the weight of this fact for all 700 pages of Labyrinth, Mosse's obscenely well-reviewed novel of the Holy Grail where an obvious love for Carcassonne is besmirched by tedious characters, unconvincing dialogue, awful Hollywood clichs and lots of plain old bad writing. History and mystery are engagingly blended in British author Mosse's bulky successor to Labyrinth (2006).. Like its predecessor, this book is set in provincial southwestern France's Pyrenees Mountainsthis time, near the village of Renne-les-Bains (a nod to The Da Vinci Code)and it tells two stories, which occur more than 100 years apart and occupy parallel narratives. Oh the inner turmoil. The book, for me, really developted in the last 300 pages. Books such as The Da Vinci Code play an important part in putting reading right at the heart of things. Labyrinth drew from a number literary works for inspiration, including The Wizard of Oz, Snow White, and the Brothers Grimm, as well as the works of Maurice Sendak, Hans Christian Andersen, and Lewis Carroll.Blink and you miss it, but all of these works are on the shelves of Sarah's reading library in her room. Puzzled by the labyrinth symbol . 'Labyrinth' spans eight centuries to unite the destinies of two women - a modern-day archaeologist who uncovers a tomb in southern France with strange inscriptions on the walls and a pervading atmosphere of evil, and a 13th-century herbalist and healer entrusted with a book that contains great secrets. This article about a mystery novel of the 2000s is a stub. Digital, 9780752876702, 0752876708. On one of the skeletons she finds a labyrinth-engraved ring which she takes. Labyrinth tells two stories simultaneously: that of 17 year old Alais in 13th century southern France, and that of the academic Alice Tanner in 2005. And, oh my days, everyone in this book was just so stupid. As I was reading this I greatly disliked it at some times and was really into it at other times. She also judged the Orange/Scotsman Young Communicators Award in May 2002. Brought vividly to life by Louise Brealey's narration, this new, unabridged audiobook also includes extra content read by the author, Kate Mosse. When Dr Alice Tanner, who works as a volunteer at the archaeological site of Pic de Soularac, in France, discovers two skeletons in a long-hidden cave in the hillside, she unearths a link with an horrific and brutal past. By clicking Sign Up, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and understand that Penguin Random House collects certain categories of personal information for the purposes listed in that policy, discloses, sells, or shares certain personal information and retains personal information in accordance with the policy. What was the mystery? The inside cover stuff instantly intrigued me. The background of the 13th century is the persecution of the Cathars in Languedoc; in the 20th century it is an archealogical dig in the same area. The novel has also been translated and published in 38 languages worldwide. Kates first novel, Eskimo Kissing, was published to great acclaim in 1996, followed in 1998 by an exciting, bio-tech time-travel thriller, Crucifix Lane. Her characters are poorly developed, largely one-dimensional folk and her story suffers from a densely-packed exposition. However, in the past thirty years and more, French historians, patriots, theologians and poets -Jean Duvernoy, Ren Nelli, Claude Marti, Anne Brenon, Michel Roquebert to name but a fewhave been researching, writing, publishing, reinterpreting the history of the Cathars for the general reader, their way of life, their theology, their poetry and music for modern readers. BookBrowse LLC 1997-2023. The Da Vinci Code is based on the familiar Christian Grail legends of the 12th centurypoets such as Chrtien de Troyes, Robert de Boron and the great German writer, Wolfram von Eschenbach. "[9] Reviewing Labyrinth for The Philadelphia Inquirer, David Hiltbrand praised the show. In Labyrinth the purpose of the grailis to allow someone to live in order to bear witness. And the consequences of this still haunt the Catholic Church today. I wanted the girls to have the swords, rather than find themselves always waiting to be rescued. I should have known better the second I saw this described as "if The Da Vinci Code were feminist!" Instead, the double narrative of modern versus medieval offers only confusion to the reader. Although she cannot understand the symbols and diagrams the book contains, Alais knows her destiny lies in protecting their secret, at all costs. This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers. Just for joining youll get personalized recommendations on your dashboard daily and features only for members. Find books by time period, setting & theme, Read-alike suggestions by book and author. Best Selling in . Like all writers of historical fiction, libraries, museums, and books, books and more books! So we were supposed to believe that Alas was good and kind and smart because Mosse kept telling us she was, instead of her doing anything legitimately interesting or intelligent. Kate Mosse. You can opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information anytime. The Cathars were Christian Dualists who believed in a universe of equal and opposing forces, permanently and finely balanced: light versus dark, good versus evil. What matters is whether or not a book is well written and whether or not it happens to be your cup of tea. When eventually I started reading I was fascinated from the first page and found it a riveting story. Ultimately the story becomes a quest for the Holy Grail. $8.00. From National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree, a debut novel set in 1950s Alaska about two unlikely homesteaders. Come on, Kate. The region became a central character for me and I came to love it. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked in publishing. Personally, I am proud of having made to the end where so many others fallen in the effort. Well, it's actually an adaptation of the 2005 award-winning bestseller by Kate Mosse, a 700-page work of commercial and historical fiction masquerading as a Holy Grail story. The plot and characters were flat and static in this overlong audible listen. Alice dreams about Alaiss life, allowing Alice to be guided in her own quest to guard the Grail. She is the author of several of the Orange Prize education initiatives and chaired the judging panel for Orange Futuresa promotion supporting the work of women novelists aged 35 and under. What effect does this have on how you, as reader, begin the novel? I would love to give it five stars, but because of the first part I must give it four. We are experiencing technical difficulties. What I hope is that someone visiting Carcassonne, for example, or any of the key towns mentioned in the novel will be able to use Labyrinth as a guide book! The more I thought about it, the more I realised that many of the traditional characteristics of top class adventure writingstrong lead characters, action, peril, quest, challenge, a cliffhanging climax and final showdown, the defeat of the baddies by the goodieshave actually been appropriated by crime/thriller novelists, as well as historical writers. I also have discovered that as I read more and more historical fiction, I hate supernatural twists. Eight hundred years ago, on the night before a brutal civil war ripped apart Languedoc, a book was entrusted to Alais, a young herbalist and healer. Alice finds herself dreaming of Alaiss existence in Carcassonne as she attempts to protect the labyrinths secrets, against the backdrop of French Crusaders coming to Carcassonne to rid the land of heretics. This pulled at me and repulsed me simultaneously. In the first instalment of a revealing two-part interview, Kate discusses her involvement in the Women's Prize for Fiction (this year won by Maggie O'Farrell for Hamnet), her love of the. Labyrinth by Kate Mosse Orion 9.99, pp527. She has written and presented several programmes for BBC Radio 4 on the arts and sponsorship. 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. Isabella-Rose Tsinonis as Bertrande, Alais' daughter. Did I enjoy Labyrinth by Kate Mosse or not? The series aired in Canada, Korea, Poland and Portugal in autumn 2012, in Sweden in December 2012, the UK in March 2013, the U.S. in May 2014, and was set to air in Austria and Germany early 2013. These elements all read as an attempt to set Labyrinth apart, but unfortunately serve to further confuse the narrative. (For example, Raymond-Roger Trencavel, Agns de Montpellier, Simon de Montfort and others.) To redeem, copy and paste the code during the checkout process. It is forbidden to copy anything for publication elsewhere without written permission from the copyright holder. I got about halfway through the book and i was still waiting for something to happen! The cinematographer is Australian Robert Humphreys[4], The series has a total running time of 180 minutes and is split in two parts. How are the two novels alike and different? Start earning points for buying books! I gobbled up anything I could lay my hands on, from medieval theology, 13th century French history, battle craft, architecture, churches to Occitan poetry and music. Having thoroughly familiarised myself with all aspects of my medieval time period, I then researched Grail legends and gathered information about the development and proliferation of pavement and walls, labyrinths in medieval Europe (and beyond). She is best known for her 2005 novel Labyrinth, which has been translated into more than 37 languages. This information about Labyrinth was first featured All from $11.18 Used Books from $11.18 Hale added "Labyrinth is too plodding and literal to rise to the level of camp, which could have saved it. Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. by Kate Mosse Book three in the Languedoc trilogy It's 1942, and in Nazi-occupied France, Sandrine - a brave and vivacious nineteen-year-old - is drawn into 'Citadel', a Resistance group in Carcassonne comprised of ordinary women who are prepared to risk everything to fight for what is right. Search String: Summary | Rather than a traditional action hero, I wanted the women to get to do the swashbuckling for once. [10], "John Hurt, Sebastian Stan and More to Star in Ridley and Tony Scott's Mini-Series Adaptation of Labyrinth", "Labyrinth snags Tom Felton, Tony Curran", "South Africa: Bestseller Filmed As Mini-Series in Cape Town", "Game of Thrones' Emun Elliott, John Hurt to Star in Labyrinth Miniseries", "Christopher Smith Quests for the Holy Grail in Ridley Scott Produced Labyrinth", "EXCLUSIVE: First Photo of Ridley Scott's 'Labyrinth' Miniseries", "Labyrinth Part 1 of 2 MOW - SCHEDULE - showcase.ca", "Complex historical thriller 'Labyrinth' is smart, sophisticated", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Labyrinth_(miniseries)&oldid=1116691300, Danny Keogh as Bertrand Pelletier, Alas and Oriane's father. The most egregious failing, in my book? Nobody had any emotional growth, nobody went on a journey, nothing happened - and it was all tell not show. Kate Mosse. And because of how often she withheld even the most basic of information for the sake of 'mysteries to be revealed', it just meant that by the time we finally had enough information to care about any of this quest, too many pages had gone by for me to give a single flying fuck. Format: Digital. But if you are looking for a gripping and well-executed historical thriller, I would probably suggest looking elsewhere. An archaeological historical thriller which came across as a very commercially motivated English-language novel written by Kate Mosse, in light of the success of the. It almost always rings false and is always off-putting, and because I notice this in French rather than any other language, the French is almost, Which brings us to the second problem - the pacing. We could have lost the entirety of one of the two timelines and the story would not have suffered from it at all. I was a little worried people might think I was jumping on the bandwagon, but the sheer volume of research (and length of the book!) What few Cathar writings have survived talk of human being as spirits encased in tunics of flesh, waiting to be returned, through reincarnation, to Heaven. Her books have been translated into 38 languages and published in more than 40 countries. What the success of The Da Vinci Code shows is that the reading public has an appetite for such stories mixing history, myth and mystery, which can only be good for authors and good for reading. This article about a historical novel of the 2000s is a stub. Labyrinth is an archaeological mystery English-language novel written by Kate Mosse set both in the Middle Ages and present-day France. Although I was a little dissapointed by some stinted writing and bad editing, Labyrinth still had me sitting on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what is going on. 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