Book Review
Title: Labyrinth by Kate Mosse (Languedoc Book 1)
Genre: Historical, Fantasy
Rating: DNF
From what I can gather from the synopsis Labyrinth is going to be a dual perspective, dual timeline fantasy with possibly a large portion of the novel taking place in a historical setting. Now, historical anything has never really appealed to me apart from a few exceptions I can name especially within the fantasy genre so I am excited to see how I get on with this book since it is on the larger side as well. The opening to Labyrinth was interesting as we are introduced to Alice who is working as an archaeological volunteer in the Pyrenees mountains near Carcassonne, On her final day there she ends up finding the entrance to a tunnel that leads to an underground chamber, everything about this place is off as the boulder hiding the entrance which collapses isn’t heard or seen by the rest of the team when it should have been but Alice ventures inside. There she finds two bodies one with a small book and ring containing the strange labyrinth symbols that are carved on the walls. However, something happens to Alice as she collapses seeming to fall into someone else’s memories before coming around. In the past we meet Alais, a young newlywed noble lady from what I can gather although not at too high of a rank as she heads out to the river to collect plants used in healing. There she ends up stumbling across the body of a man who had been murdered which isn’t unusual given the threat of war which has hung over France for the better part of a year but her father is concerned believing he knew the man but he is proven wrong. While the opening was interesting and caught my attention absolutely nothing makes sense right now and I have no idea what is happening.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, We continue to be in the past learning more about Alais and her life which seems to be falling straight into the middle of a religious war which has been brewing for some time but her father plays a larger role than anyone knows. Her father, Bertrand was sent there in order to hide a text of some sort and he has now been summoned back nearly two decades later. However, given the state of affairs right now Bertrand knows that by returning he abandons his current master and by staying he betrays the order and he is torn when he summons Alais and I think he is going to send her in his place. Meanwhile there seems to be something going on with her sister as she is having an affair with someone and have the feeling that the man is Alais husband which wouldn’t be good. The book seems to have veered away from the historical portal fantasy I was expected into period drama which isn’t something I am keen on and not much is really happening that interests me. I will give it a little longer but if it doesn’t take my interest I will be putting it down. Alais ends up being told the story of the Grail by the her father and is given a token from the order, however, she is attacked and this is taken from her. Before we get more information we jump back to the present where Alice is reprimanded for her actions and the local authorities get involved but there is something off about them. It seems like these people are linked through time to others that have roles to fill and the only one unaware of this is Alice. I will admit it is getting more interesting but I still wasn’t completely invested but I am going to continue for now.
As we cross the 1/4 mark in the novel, we are back following Alice as she is discovered in the cave and the police are informed as there are remains involved. Alice doesn’t understand why the police would be involved when the bodies are obviously very old and the cover story of a missing persons case makes no sense. However, we soon learn that there are other people like Alice who seem to have a connection to those in the past and are aware of their roles unlike Alice but the thing they want from the cave is missing, even though we know that Alice dropped the ring in the cave. Honestly at this point it really felt like a historical drama with elements of magical realism rather than a fantasy and I wasn’t really enjoying it. While I do enjoy historical dramas to an extent this was a big book and after reading over a quarter of it I decided to DNF it since I wasn’t enjoying it and I don’t think that is going to change. I might give it another go in the future when I am more in the mood for a historical drama since I am a mood reader but I’m done for now.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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