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Most Helpful Favorable Review
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
Could not put down...
I am so glad I bought this book! I am so not disappointed with my purchase. This story takes place in modern-day and 1200s Southern France (Languedoc). There is mystery, love, betrayal, murder, conspiracy...everything that makes for a great story. It's also about so...
I am so glad I bought this book! I am so not disappointed with my purchase. This story takes place in modern-day and 1200s Southern France (Languedoc). There is mystery, love, betrayal, murder, conspiracy...everything that makes for a great story. It's also about something that has intrigued people throughout history...The Holy Grail. Of course, there is the whole labyrinth mystery and what it has to do with the holy grail which makes this story different and exciting from other grail stories. There are some questions left unanswered in the story, but keep in mind that the grail is something we may never completely know or understand. I enjoyed how this story went back and forth in time and I particularly liked how there was a parallel between the characters in the present and the characters 800 years prior. Kate Mosse did an excellent job in her descriptions of the people and places. The writing is also excellent. If you like history, mystery, grail, and interesting places, read this book. You won't be able to put it down, and when you're done reading you will want the story to continue. I hope Ms. Mosse writes more stories like this in the future. She has a new fan in me!
posted by Anonymous on May 4, 2006
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1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Can't finish and I refuse to torture myself
If an author is writing 'stories' just to try and prove how smart she is, I don't want any part of it. It's okay if people speak other languages, I have no problem with that. My problem is when these same people, who are supposed to be story-tellers first and foremost...
If an author is writing 'stories' just to try and prove how smart she is, I don't want any part of it. It's okay if people speak other languages, I have no problem with that. My problem is when these same people, who are supposed to be story-tellers first and foremost, are interrupting my reading time to go look in the glossary (and yes, there is one in the back) to find out what all the French words mean. That's not why I read novels. Mosse, write stories in plain English and you might have a bigger following.
posted by Sarah_N_NC on September 25, 2009
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Anonymous
Posted May 4, 2006
Could not put down...
I am so glad I bought this book! I am so not disappointed with my purchase. This story takes place in modern-day and 1200s Southern France (Languedoc). There is mystery, love, betrayal, murder, conspiracy...everything that makes for a great story. It's also about something that has intrigued people throughout history...The Holy Grail. Of course, there is the whole labyrinth mystery and what it has to do with the holy grail which makes this story different and exciting from other grail stories. There are some questions left unanswered in the story, but keep in mind that the grail is something we may never completely know or understand. I enjoyed how this story went back and forth in time and I particularly liked how there was a parallel between the characters in the present and the characters 800 years prior. Kate Mosse did an excellent job in her descriptions of the people and places. The writing is also excellent. If you like history, mystery, grail, and interesting places, read this book. You won't be able to put it down, and when you're done reading you will want the story to continue. I hope Ms. Mosse writes more stories like this in the future. She has a new fan in me!
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted March 5, 2008
A great mystery in Southern France...
I was immediately drawn into this story which takes place in Southern France, in the Languedoc region. Sometimes, I thought, gosh this book is long, but then, we all read J.K. Rowling! If you hang in there, it does begin to fall into place, with lots of twists and turns. As a student of French language, I loved the references to the langue d'oc. And, as a believer in reincarnation, I loved the characters and story. When I love a good book, I will reread it and this is definitely the case!
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted August 10, 2007
Different than I expected
I agree with everyone who's said that 'Labyrinth' had a slow start and a exciting finish. The beginning section 'basically the first 180 pages of the book' seemed somewhat boring to me, and I couldn't really get into the novel. Once the second portion started it got better, and toward the last 200 pages I couldn't put it down. One thing I think was both a blessing and a curse was the fact that the book took place in both the 1200s and 2005. It was interesting to get the two stories and see all the parallel events between them, but it was annoying because you would just be getting into one time period's story and then it would switch again. I really did like the characters, however. Alais 'the woman from the 1200s' especially you really grow to love her character. One thing I want to clarify, though, is that the back cover says 'of high literary quality than the Da Vinci Code.' I think the author's writing style is probably better, but the story itself I think was a tad weaker. 'Da Vinci Code' grabs you from page one and gets more in-depth with the story of the Grail, whereas 'Labyrinth' touches little on the Grail and goes into a lot of details you didn't necessarily need to know. However I would still recommend this book to anyone who likes a good story. If you can make it past the first chapters, the ending is most certainly worth it. Overall I'd say 4 and 1/2 stars.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted November 17, 2008
UNREAL
This author shows us that there are some people out there that can come up with their own great ideas.I'm not usually such a fan of these types of books, but it's A MUST READ !
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Mystical Historical France
Amazing book. I think I liked Sepulchre better, but this one was still fantastic! Half of the story takes place in the 13th century, as the Cathars are attacked by the precursers to the Inquisition. Amidst that, there is a secret that must be protected. The other half takes place at a modern archaeological dig. A volunteer is suddenly the victim of attacks after she found an underground labyrinth. Mosse does an incredible job of interweaving the past and present while maintaining suspense in both.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted April 2, 2008
one-trick-pony?
There is not doubt that Ms Mosse is an outstanding writer, able to weave a well written plot with beleivable characters. I first read Sepulcher, Ms Mosses 2nd book, then backtracked and read Labyrinth. Basically the same plot line. The heroine has a link to the past, which she does not understand, but little by little through flashbacks and intertwining an ancient story with present time happenings, the connection slowly unfolds... Because I had already read and enjoyed Sepulcher, Labyrinth left me a little cold because of it's familiarity. A good read non the less. Just wish it had held surprises that I had not already read.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted September 25, 2009
Can't finish and I refuse to torture myself
If an author is writing 'stories' just to try and prove how smart she is, I don't want any part of it. It's okay if people speak other languages, I have no problem with that. My problem is when these same people, who are supposed to be story-tellers first and foremost, are interrupting my reading time to go look in the glossary (and yes, there is one in the back) to find out what all the French words mean. That's not why I read novels. Mosse, write stories in plain English and you might have a bigger following.
1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Would make a good movie.
This book took me a while to read, but only because I had to stop and translate the conversations that were in French. Most of the book is in English, but if you don't speak French this one might take some time. The story line was great, it was a little had to follow starting out because of the changes in lifetimes, but once you get into the book and start to meet new characters it is hard to not want to know what happens next. I am reading the second book now, I'll let you know what I think when I'm done.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted March 19, 2008
Interesting story, but I won't recommend to my friends
Labyrinth was an interesting story with a lot of details that frankly should have been trimmed. I did enjoy the multiple timelines and there were a few interesting twists.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted August 4, 2007
Slow Start - Great Finish
I agree with the other reader who said it had a slow start/setup but finished as a page turner. The writer truly loves the topic and spends a lot of time setting up the scenes but it pays off in the end. I read this one past my bedtime and got up early the next morning to fit in a few more pages.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted July 9, 2007
A reviewer
I promised to stick with it for 100 pages but ended up doing twice that and still don't like the slow pace or the fact that it is very difficult to keep track of both stories. Not enough action....what is the point!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted June 29, 2007
Good read, but slow begining
I really enjoyed reading Labyrinth and would definately reccommend it, but not without first warning readers that the begining is quite slow and a lot less intriguing then the latter part of the story. If you can get through the first 100 to 200 pages (I know that sounds like a lot) the story then begins to unravel. As you continue on it only gets better as more and more is revealed. I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish the book, as I just could not put it down. If you enjoy a bit of history wrapped up in a tale of courage and heart, than read Labyrinth.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted March 7, 2007
Couldn't put it down
This was a well-written story about two women connected by fate, circumstance, and blood. Mosse cleverly tells parallel stories about Alice and Alais--two women who lived hundreds of years apart, yet they share a connection in the present. The characters are well-thought out and very intriguing. I could not put this book down as I always wanted to find out what happened next.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted February 28, 2007
Kept me awake!
As a busy mother of three I look forward to some down time with a good book at night before bed. Too often, though, I end up falling asleep before reading too much. Kate Moss' Labyrinth succeeded in keeping me interested and awake. Through Bzzagent I learned of this book and it's similarity to The DaVinci Code in that it involves a search for the Holy Grail. As I started reading it I learned that aside from that fact it is a very different story. In fact, Labyrinth is actually two stories that are wondefullly woven together. The book jumps back and forth from present day France, where a young woman named Alice stumbles across something that eventually puts her and others in danger, and 13th century France, where another young woman named Alais learns that her father has been the guardian to an ancient secret. With each new chapter I became more engrossed in the two stories. I was always surprised when the story would again move 800 years - and at the same time I was excited to learn more about each story. The closer I got to the end of the book the more curious I was to see how these two stories, these two women, would ultimately come together. I was not disappointed.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted February 2, 2007
Loved it!
I enjoyed Mosse's writing style. Though separated by time Alice and Alais stories run parallel while told in a linear manner that flows very well. This fictional lesson in Southern France middle age history shows us the cruelties of power and religious fanaticism.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted January 22, 2007
Good, but not great
I bought this book on CD to listen in my car as I drive to and from work. The story was slow, and would have lost my attention, if it had not been an audiobook. I didn't care too much for the ending, and found it to be a bit too perdictable.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted November 20, 2006
AMAZING
An amazing feat of story telling intertwined between the centurys. An adventure old as time, is brought into a fresh light. Mosse actually brings you into the past to the point where you feel you could be 'Alais.'
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted August 3, 2006
Not impressed....
I really did not enjoy this book. I found it confusing and predictable. Half of the book I did not know what was happening, half of the characters/things/towns all had the same or very similar names. Granted, some of that is expected when there are two different time periods being depicted. You could tell that the backstory was favored by being over-developed and boring and the present story was not developed enough although more interesting. Basically, I would not waste money on this book unless you are really into strange, long, predictable history books.
1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted October 2, 2006
Other 'Grail' stories are better
I was disappointed in this book. It was bogged down in too much detail concerning the battles that took place and was otherwise disjointed and confusing. Your time would be better spent reading 'The Eight' by Katherine Neville.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted July 7, 2006
Story Connects Ancient Facts With Present Day Adventure.
This work by Kate Mosse is a certain page turner to those who are open minded and willing to search for proven facts in our past. She's a master of her subject, worthy of recognition and respect from her peers. Enjoy this epic. If you cannot travel to the South of France physically, the story, vicariously, takes you there and and you live it along with Kate's characters.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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