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. Although Alais cannot understand the strange words and symbols hidden within, she knows that her destiny lies in keeping the secret of the labyrinth safe ...
July 2005: Alice Tanner discovers two skeletons in a forgotten cave in the French Pyrenees. Puzzled by the labyrinth symbol carved into the rock, she realises she's disturbed something that was meant to remain hidden. Somehow, a link to a horrific past - her past - has been revealed.
I WANT TO GO BACK TO CARCASSONNE AND THE LANGUEDOC REGION.
Ahem.
I was in the Languedoc region of France in May of 2015, and this book has made me yearn for it. Kate Mosse's descriptions took me right back to the day that I visited Carcassonne's walled city.
Medieval France is my jam, so I had a really good time with this book. It's historical fiction mixed with adventure, mixed with mystery, and a bit of romance added into the mix. It's well-paced and each narrative doesn't outstay their welcome. I was hooked almost instantly with this book. I liked how Mosse split up the POV between multiple characters - it mostly follows thirteenth century Alais and twenty-first century Alice, but it follows the people around them, as well - it kept the story flowing, and you got a feel for everyone's motivations and intentions. I did find some of the "villainous" characters to be a bit too villain-y. If they were men, I could picture them twirling handlebar mustaches and laughing maniacally. But, by the end of it, I was rooting for the two heroines to succeed.
The history in this book, while fictionalized for the purpose of the story, is really well-researched. Since I'm a medievalist, I knew a lot about the Crusades, castle-building, Cathars, and the overall history of France as a whole. Kate Mosse uses her research well to her advantage, and it works well for the story she is telling with this book.
Kate Mosse creates a very intriguing world, and her writing style is unique. The world she has created in this book is so intertwined, and the payoff when you realize the connection between the two lead characters at the end. The set-up and payoff are done wonderfully and seamlessly. There are a few editing quibbles I have, mainly to do with grammar. While it was nice to see French scattered in there, it was kind of jarring, especially when it comes out of nowhere. What she does is have a character say something in French, and then repeat it in English, which seems redundant, but if there hadn't been a translation, it would have been frustrating.
Labyrinth is basically everything I wanted in a historical fiction book. It has well-researched history, which has been tastefully fictionalized. The two leading women are characterized well and they are easy to relate to. The story snagged me in very quickly, almost instantly. While there are a few nitpicks I have with a few of the minor characters and editing, they are not significant. I loved reading this book, and inhale-read it, reading 65% last night and 35% this morning. I'm going to give Labyrinth a 4.5/5. It was really well-done, and if you're a fan of medieval history or historical fiction, you will like it. Now to go research flights to Southern France.
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