Two converging timelines (13th and 21st centuries) portray the never ending quest for the Holy chalice and its contents. There is some interesting historical information, such as the ancient Egyptian origination of the chalice myth and the persecution of the Cathars in southern France by the Catholic Church. The plot and characters were flat and static in this overlong audible listen.

This book is too long, too slow and takes itself way too seriously! I got about halfway through the book and i was still waiting for something to happen! The author was still developing the characters 200 pages into the book.This book had the potential to be historical fiction, suspense or romance and the wuthor's wrtiing style leaned a little too close to the romance genre for my tastes. Her characters were too typical and too perfect. They were either perfect good people or perfect villians an...

The book, for me, really developted in the last 300 pages. It took me a long time to get past the first part of the book (mainly because of all the not so important descriptions of everything), but after that an amazing and mysterious story was created, which was what I expected when I started to read the book. I would love to give it five stars, but because of the first part I must give it four.

A reread, because I had forgotten absolutely everything about it. At some point I acquired the second book in the series and have yet to read it, so...A Grail story, at heart, set in two time periods – modern(ish) day and the early 1200's during the Albigensian Crusade. (This was interesting to me, having recently read A Booke of Days, which is set during the First Crusade. It's handy to be adding to the same framework. The author notes that the Albigensian Crusade is the first where Christians

A surprising mix of historical fiction, fantasy and ghost story all very well rolled into one intriguing novel. I got this book in an airport and I've to say it was not the best idea. Not because it was a bad choice, but because after I started reading I couldn't stop, so I didn't sleep in the eleven hours that took to land. Needless to say, I got down the plane tired but utterly fascinated by the world created by Mosse. The book is written as two stories that run in parallel time-lines. One in

As I was reading this I greatly disliked it at some times and was really into it at other times. It was hard to get into, but overall I liked it more than not. Mosse's writing made me cringe at times. So much unnecessary description. (Who did her editing? They should be ashamed.) And the passiveness of characters telling each other the story while the reader "listens in" bugged me. I would have preferred just to have the historical storyline. But I understand why the author needed to have the pr...

Oh the inner turmoil. Did I enjoy Labyrinth by Kate Mosse or not? Hold on... what Kate Moss the supermodel lady has written a book?No, Kate Mosse the author, not THE Kate Moss ... come on, keep up people.My two inner voices have clashed over this story and so I've given this book a middling 3 out of 5. Here is what my chatty inner voices are bickering over:LUMPEN ADVENTURE SEEKING BOOK LOVING WEEKEND SOFA SURFER BRAINBrilliant. Archaeology ladies get into all sorts of European adventure hi-jinx

I've read a lot of books on the Holy Grail in my time (some may say an obsessive amount, I prefer to think of myself as thorough) from Le Morte D'Arthur to The Da Vinci Code and sadly this falls into the latter category. The main difference between Kate Mosse and Dan Brown is that Kate appears to have done her research. Her story's relationship to legend and even actual historical events is a little less tenuous that Brown's, her grasp of English is infinitely better (not hard), as is her grasp

I read this book some time ago, and have recently been reminded of its sorry existence by the fact that a dramatisation is due to be screened in the not so distant future. Personally, I am proud of having made to the end where so many others fallen in the effort. The writing was diabolical, the plot completely over-blown and all over the place, and the characters were pitifully one-dimensional. Although, I do think it takes a special kind of genius to come up with something this bad, I really do...

2.5 stars From the start I had a love-hate relationship with this book. One minute I was excited the next I was bored out of my mind.Review athttps://edwardsghostengine.wordpress....

For a long time, The Da Vinci Code put me right off books about the Cathars or the Holy Grail, so I was hesitant to pick up Kate Mosse's book. Still, I gave this book a chance, as I'd been impressed with Kate Mosse's work as an interviewer on the BBC's Radio 4. I'm glad that I read it. This book focuses on the Cathars, a gnostic sect centered in the Pays d'Oc, (modern southwestern France). Several legends have been told about the Cathars, including that they practiced ancient mystical rituals an...

This was a bed time read; the time when I will read things I otherwise may not. In this case historical fiction in the guise of yet another (yawn) grail quest. All these medieval storytellers (Chretien de Troyes; yes I do mean you!) have a lot to answer for. This is split between early 13th century France at the time of the Cathars and France in 2005; the main protagonists being Alais in 1205 and Alice in 2005 (Of course there isn't a link of any sort; familial, psychic or anything!!!!) . The ba...

"We carry the past within us, in our bones, in our blood," I went into this book thinking about how long and historical it looks, But on the contrary I was captured from Page 1. Kate Mosse really challenged me as a reader, to expand my horizon from my normal books to Historical Fiction and by God I'm glad, because this book It was so thrilling jumping back in time and the beautiful scenery that is Paris... I loved this book

LABYRINTH BY KATE MOSSE: If only Kate Mosse had published her novel not in 2006, but shortly after the astonishing success of the Da Vinci Code, it perhaps would’ve received the literary respect it deserves, instead of coming last in a slew of novels involving the subjects of the Holy Grail, the Knights Templar, and what they mean in the present day. The quote on the back of the paperback edition from the Kirkus Review really says it all: “A quickly paced adventure that wears its considerable le...