Labyrinthe (Thrillers) (French Edition)

Made even me want to visit southern France, especially the medieval walled castle city Rating Clarification: Made even me want to visit southern France, especially the medieval walled castle city of Carcassone try googling Carcassone and see if you don't agree - breathtaking. Nov 12, Bill Khaemba rated it really liked it Shelves: 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.

Mar 20, Nanna rated it really liked it. The book, for me, really developted in the last 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. Nov 02, Alex Telander rated it liked it Shelves: The quote on the back of the paperback edition from the Kirkus Review really says it all: Labyrinth opens with one of the two main characters, Alice, working on an archaeological site in southern France, where she finds a hidden cave and two skeletons within.

She also finds a unique ring bearing an unusual symbol: Notifying the authorities of the discovered site, with the skeletons it suddenly becomes a crime scene, and the archaeologists are kicked off the site. For the duration of the book, the reader follows these two characters, as they live their lives in parallel. As Alice returns to her hotel, strange things start to happen, as strangers contact her about what she found in the cave, police telling her to describe exactly what she saw and confiscating her sketches.

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Members of the dig go mysteriously missing, as people begin to die for unknown reasons. Her strange dreams of this unknown girl from the late Middle Ages are the least of her worries. Wrapped in this dense plot is the story of the Grail, which every Christian of every group seeks, and it is only when the three ancient texts with the strange hieroglyphs are brought together, that the true way to the Grail will be shown.

But the story of this Grail is not the one that we all think we know, but something deeper and more ancient that is tied in with this mysterious symbol of the labyrinth, and reaches back into Ancient Egypt and the founding of civilization. Like the symbol, Labyrinth is a story that begins simple and straightforward, but grows more and more complex, until the denouement when all is revealed and finally understood. For more book reviews, and author interviews, go to BookBanter.

This book isn't very good. It's poorly written and badly edited. The story is okay, but you have to fight through moments of nausea, sadness and fury to reach the final pages where it almost becomes interesting but then becomes embarrassing again. By the time I reached the end of the book, I was so bored that I speed-read until I could finally call it a day. There are grammatical errors and anachronisms that I found really irritating for example, references in to 'Saint Francis' when h This book isn't very good.

There are grammatical errors and anachronisms that I found really irritating for example, references in to 'Saint Francis' when he was in fact not sainted until and some incredibly clunky prose. Some gems that I saved: He felt young again. She also uses simile to describe the subject of simile, for example the light that 'cut through the darkness like a searchlight' and 'words repeated over and over like a mantra'. It seemed to squat over the yard and buildings like a malignant Buddha.

Already a bruise was forming. There is an awful lot of blushing, a lot of emotions getting stuck in throats, a lot of waking up with sets of 4 smells penetrating people's noses and mouths, a lot of implausible emotional moments, a lot of gasping and eyes filling with tears. Basically it's like being jabbed persistently with a pin for pages and I wish I gave up on it as soon as I realised it was awful. Nov 22, Sarah rated it did not like it.

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 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 This book is too long, too slow and takes itself way too seriously! They were either perfect good people or perfect villians and she spent too much time with physical descriptions. The most important rule for them is that less is more. An author can say more about a character with a few well chosen words than he can in a page of adjectives. I had high hopes for this book because the plot soudned intriguing and I think it could have been fun and interesting with the right editor.

I couldn't get past ch. The premise has been over used lately. Nov 04, Ann rated it it was ok. I had hopes for this: Unfortunately, Mosse only seemed able to display her legit historical chops and obvious devotion to France's little-known historical nooks through a poorly-edited vomitorium of words -- the writing isn't bad , but there's too much of it, and turning a page knowing nothing is going to happen on the next one is a pretty defea I had hopes for this: Unfortunately, Mosse only seemed able to display her legit historical chops and obvious devotion to France's little-known historical nooks through a poorly-edited vomitorium of words -- the writing isn't bad , but there's too much of it, and turning a page knowing nothing is going to happen on the next one is a pretty defeating experience.

And when your big ideas involve reincarnation and historical symmetry, and when the main manifestation of this symmetry is both heroines losing consciousness every ten pages, it basically flogs the sex and the swords into one big pile of MEH. Obviously, the true test of any Grail-themed work is how well it stands up to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade -- and even correcting for the cinematic awesomeness of immortality-hunting Nazis and the kooky knight intoning "You have chosen Mar 14, Laurie rated it it was ok Shelves: This was very disappointing, it's at least pages too long and the writing leaves much to be desired.

It starts off intriguing and the landscape descriptions towards the end are quite lovely, but I wasted way too much time on this one. Apr 22, Mymymble rated it really liked it.

Labyrinth (Languedoc, #1) by Kate Mosse

Enthralling characters and locations so fine I could place the scenes in my memory from years back. I first heard the author on radio and read it with huge admiration under the misapprehension that the supermodel and single mum Kate Moss had found time to research and write it it's weighty. I've read it again more recently however knowing Kate Mosse is a different person and it's just as good.

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Apologies Kate x 2. Nov 19, Laurel Bradshaw rated it it was amazing Shelves: Book Description from Amazon. 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 ba Book Description from Amazon. 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.

As crusading armies led by Church potentates and nobles of northern France gather outside the city walls of Carcassonne, it will take great sacrifice to keep the secret of the labyrinth safe. In the present, another woman sees the find as a means to the political power she craves; while a man who has great power will kill to destroy all traces of the discovery and everyone who stands in his way.

Labyrinth - read 2. Jul 22, Renee P rated it did not like it Shelves: I thought this was a really crap book. I feel like she only set it in France because she is enamored with the language, which she uses way too often. To justify this, Mosse stuck in a lot of explanation for "Why France? All the surprises the author had in store were painfully obvious, and she used cliches to describe everything.

All the women had beautiful legs shapely, tan, thin, milky, whatever- they were gorgeous. Almost all of the characters were stat I thought this was a really crap book. Almost all of the characters were static, unless you count Sajhe,because supposedly he grew up, and I don't.

A feast for the eyes

She was so idiotic- I wanted to slap her. Alais couldn't think for herself. The Grail part wasn't even interesting- Mosse kept writing about the Truth- what Truth? The author also seems to have a thing for pain- there is a well-described, in detail torture scene in almost every chapter after the first half of the book.

Having finished this book, I wonder, why? Also, where is that author, because she needs a good shaking. Jan 04, Kristen rated it it was amazing Shelves: The inside cover stuff instantly intrigued me. And the story of the Grail is one of the most well-known of the lesser-known histories.

While this one doesn't go into my favorite theory, it's such a page turner. You learn of both Alice and Alais in alternating chapters, and I really have to give the author credit, for both the creativity and the amount of research that went into this book. The language, the history. Truly amaz The inside cover stuff instantly intrigued me. I'd like to own this. Even though it won't have that same suspense in a second reading, I think I'll pick up on smaller nuances.

And ya know what? There's real history in there, too. Some history of the Cathars, history of France, real people that existed. Mar 31, Sheila Thoburn rated it did not like it. I have to reluctantly admit that I bought this book at a thrift store mainly because of the title and cover page. I was intrigued by the idea of an historical fiction book geared towards adults. But after reading the first two chapters I threw it away. I am not certain why as I don't remember any specific details. I do remember that I thought it was better written than many New York Times best sellers but that it wasn't for me.

Labyrinth kept me reading in bed under a nice comfortable duvet for many nights. I love the transition between the two time periods. It was done with finesse. Would i recommend this book? No I would not. Oh, dear lord, it was dire. I found so many problems with this book but I've forgotten some of them because of how long this book goes on for. That's one of the problems, by the way.

The author tells, she recounts, to a degree that you don't always need. At the same time, she also skipped some things that could have done with a fuller explanation. The french everywhere was a bit jarring. I know Parfait as a food. Didn't Oh this book. Didn't know it was a type of Monk. It's nice that there's an exposition of the backstory of the cathars, for us people who don't actually know their religious history all that well, but it's near the end of the book.

If you're like me and stubborn, you'll no doubt go along before that point hoping that you'll understand what it all means by context alone. Well, good luck with that one. I ended up giving up and googling it, so that I could understand the book better. By the time it came up in the book, I was already informed by Google and Wikipedia.

Then we have the sex scenes. I mean, were they really necessary? Will, a randomer Alice had met once before, years before, meets her again, they might have been in each others company for four hours, and he's pining after her and stroking her face and kissing her and Interrupting her when she's actually asking a very important valid question? He spent more time unconscious than he had in her company! And last but not least is the ending. I don't know if a book can jump the shark, but just after what I'll spoiler-freeingly call The Mirror Scene, a dying character spends what is the reading time equivalent of fifteen minutes explaining his life story.

So many words, so much purple prose, and so much time to get out of there and seek medical attention.

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And that's the crux of this review, really. 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. Books such as The Da Vinci Code play an important part in putting reading right at the heart of things.

I think that all of us, men and women alike, are attracted to epic stories, stories that take us away from the mundane and the everyday, into the big subjects, the big emotions. Love, Honour, Responsibility, Duty, Loss, Faith, Sacrifice, these are issues that most of us—whoever we are, wherever we live, whatever our experiences in life—can understand. Many of us are also fascinated by the way that history becomes myth, myth becomes legend. Readers enjoy being literary detectives, tracking stories back to their origins, working things out.

The classic stories, stories with stamina, tell us not only about times past, but also throw new light on time present. I also thought that if such a thing as a Grail— grail —did exist then it would be as much of a curse as a blessing and there would be a serious purpose to it, a reason why one person was chosen and another not. In Labyrinth the purpose of the grail is to allow someone to live in order to bear witness.

In medieval times, as today, history is written by the winners, not those who are defeated. As a novelist, I use the idea of extended life as a way of telling, through hundreds of years, the conquest and subjugation of the independent Languedoc. I think most of us, despite what we read in the newspapers every day, are looking at ways to connect with other people rather than the opposite. Good, action-packed, moving, well-researched novels, with universally-recognizable characters, are just one way of achieving connections with other people. And the Grail legends, of all the classics, fit the bill in every way.

What are the origins of the story of the Grail? Why has it taken so many different forms over the centuries? Kate and her husband live in West Sussex and Carcasonne, France. What inspired you to write this story? Why are there so few adventure heroines, and even fewer female adventure authors? Who were the Cathars, and why do they figure so prominently in your book? Why do you think there is such continuing fascination with the subject of the Grail? What effect does this have on how you, as reader, begin the novel?

Also in the prologue, there are glimpses of the two time periods. Do you think it is important that, after the prologue, Kate starts the novel proper with 10 chapters set in the medieval past? How did you feel when the action moved to contemporary France in chapter 11? How quickly did you discover that some of the modern characters mirror or echo characters from the past?

Which ones did you spot first? What were the clues? Have you ever felt, like Alice, such an affinity with a place that you seem to know who must have previously lived there and the emotions they enjoyed or endured? And have you visited our website to learn more about these people—www.

Kate wanted to tell an adventure story in which active women shaped their own destinies. Is this aspect of the adventure important to your enjoyment of the novel? Although the Labyrinth story and the trilogy of special books have a spiritual element, they exist alongside Catharism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam, not as part of any of these religions. How do you think Kate handles questions of faith? Learn More About Labyrinth print. It's hard to imagine that any film could beat it in a context other than Cannes where they have marked preferences, bordering on obsession, for certain directors.

Let's hope that the late December opening favors an Oscar nomination which it should win hands down, unless some other work of genius appears on the horizon. That doesn't seem likely because at Cannes the somewhat disappointing array of films was attributed to the fact that not much great product is being released this year. For me, it displaced all three of my top films of the year. I do love The Departed but, luckily, that's in another category which does not threaten Pan's access to Oscar.

If I had to choose the very best picture of the year, without limitation by category, it would most assuredly go to Pan's Labyrinth for it demonstrates del Toro's originality and brilliance as both writer and director. Explore popular and recently added TV series available to stream now with Prime Video. Start your free trial. Find showtimes, watch trailers, browse photos, track your Watchlist and rate your favorite movies and TV shows on your phone or tablet! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Full Cast and Crew. In the falangist Spain of , the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.

Our Favorite Trailers of the Week. Share this Rating Title: Pan's Labyrinth 8. Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Top Rated Movies Won 3 Oscars. Learn more More Like This. Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus. A Clockwork Orange Requiem for a Dream V for Vendetta The Sixth Sense A boy who communicates with spirits seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist. No Country for Old Men Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind