Hokum but entertaining enough

Lovely narration, entertaining and clearly centred on a knowledgeable depiction of the Languedoc, Labyrinth is a sort of Cathar Da Vinci Code. A sprawling implausible blend of history and myth, centred on a timeless secret shot through with a saccharine love story.

As a piece of escapism it passes the time, nothing all that original, but a competent piece of writing based on one of the most brutal and shameful pogroms in history.

Generally I enjoyed it as a story, but it was a bit too far fetched for my tastes, bit of a guilty pleasure I suppose. Intellectually well informed, vividly authentic in its depiction of the region and the tensions between Occitanie and French, but a very silly plot which was as derivative as it was daft!

In other words good fun! You could do worse if you are looking for a book to fill the time!

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Tortured not tortuous

Dull story. Full of predictable characters. Read like fan fiction. Gave up in the end. Very disappointing as i had heard Kate Mosse talk about it and was intrigued

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LOVE this book

I read this book about 10 years ago and loved it, I spotted it on here and wanted to relive it again but with all the correct French pronunciations. It is a great story as are the two books that follow (Citdel and Sepulchre) but this narrator is not great at distinguishing between characters talking, sometimes she would change the voices between characters, sometimes she would not, it was a bit confusing. But do not let this put you off, this is a fantastic book.

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Wonderful book!

I first read the Labyrinth trilogy some years ago, and found it a very moving story. I've really enjoyed listening to this first book of the trilogy and will definitely listen to the others!

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very enjoyable

I wasn't sure after reading the reviews but decided to give it a try after visiting Carcassonne. I am not usually into historical novels but loved it and am looking forward to book 2.

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I got there on the end

I am glad I eventually listened to this audio all the way through. After several starts I thought I never would. I’m unsure why I found it so difficult in the beginning and at other time’s too.
An interesting story jumping back through time to present day. I would recommend it

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Love it

I read the book years ago. it’s even better in audio form. great story interesting history. well worth a listen.

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A story you can listen to again and again

I’ve read this book and listened to it on audible a number of times over the past 15 years. It is such a fascinating story and one that keeps you captivated in what is unfolding, as well as sparking a real interest in the real history of what happened in those times in those places. It really transports you to what the characters are experiencing.

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Sublime listening

This is one of those rare gifts that everyone should listen to. Bravo to author and narrator. And thank you for sharing such an amazing story.

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Disappointing

This was hyped to the rafters at the time of publication, and I was very much looking forward to being transported into medieval France for a romping good tale. I was so disappointed, and really just gritted my teeth and forced myself to listen to the end, all the time hoping that there would be a lift in the plot and some part of the storytelling to invite me into a relationship with the characters. There was not, and the end when it finally came, was a real let down, with all the ends hastily drawn together in the most obvious way. From the start, the complexities of location, time and relationships combined with the oh-so-very Frenchness of it all meant I really struggled to keep track of who was who. The unnecessary overuse of French throughout sounded pretentious: English readers don't for example need 'his carte d'identitie' or 'her numero sociale securite', that's just silly posturing. It's hard to know what is motivating the characters and I found it hard to care whether any of them lived or died. The central idea of the three mysterious books, the coded papyrii and the Holy Grail is not well structured and the ending weak as none of this central mystery is properly concluded. There is some nice dramatic writing in there, it's not truly awful, but just didn't live up to all the fuss around it at the time. I had been looking forward to enjoying the whole trilogy but I won't be bothering with any more of Kate Mosse's work. Louise Brealey's narration was vivid and well paced and she handled the French, Occitaine/Oc, and the wildly complex list of names and locations with ease, I suspect it was only her reading that got me through this!

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13 people found this helpful