Customer Reviews

The Black Chalice

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I rarely hype other writers' books, but this one is exceptional. Alas, it's published by a small press, and I fear it will be overlooked and trampled in the crush.

Briefly: a war-weary knight returning to Germany from the first crusade meets a pagan witch queen and comes into conflict with the church. If this sounds like warmed-over Katherine Kurtz, trust me, it isn't. The politics of the time set the Holy Roman Empire against the pope, lords against vassals, the church against the old but not forgotten gods of the forest. Women are stock certificates. The chief narrator is an absolute swine with attitudes that make you want to scream, and yet you can sort of see his point. I won't say more, because the plotting kept me guessing all the way through, which doesn't happen very often.

This really one has it all! You like scholarship? Jakober wields pagan myth as surely as Tolkien ever did, and cites Christian beliefs in a way even C. S. Lewis would never dare (although to very different ends). She knows history but adapts it to serve her purposes, just as Guy Kay does. There's plenty of action for repressed adolescents like me-magic, jousting, tender romance and gruesome brutality. She creates superbly subtle characters, men and women both. Best of all, I think, is her evocation of the atmosphere of Dark Age Northern Europe-nasty, brutish, and haunted.

Edge has done a magnificent job of design; the book as a book is a pleasure to own and read. This one deserves to be a classic. Grab it while it's still available.

From time to time fantasy produces a book that is special, thatstands apart from other work, both in terms of its writing and itsstory: The Black Chalice is such a book. Lyrically told, with historical elements woven from medieval Germany and the First Crusade, at times this book echoes the works of Guy Gavriel Kay, while yet existing well apart and above even his best. And---I shudder to say this---not since Tolkien have I seen tales of folklore told with such power and grace. Magic abounds here, but it does not take the shape of fireballs or enchanted swords, but instead actually lives, as vibrant as the forests in which it dwells, and as inseparable from the world as the trees, the air, the birds, or the people that populate it. When the author can make a world actually breathe and assemble before one's eyes without clouting the reader over the head to obtain their recognition, I consider it no mean accomplishment.

This is a tale of betrayal, love both commonplace and forbidden, redemption and damnation, belief and self-deception. Marie Jakober captures the brutality of the early 12th century, as well as the horror and abjection of being born a woman, while at the same time celebrating the joys of both love and existence, the strength as well as deception awaiting faith and self-affirmation, and the power that lies hidden within love's union, be it human or through earthly existence. And throughout the narrative Jakober's characters weigh and reinvestigate the varied meanings and interpretations of their actions that come to define their lives.

This work is unlike any fantasy I have read before, both for its lyricism as well as the quality of its existential ruminations. While others have attempted to place their fantasies within a historical context, none that I have read have done so as well. Again, echoes exist with the works of Kay, Bradley's "Mists of Avalon," and the folklore of Tolkien, yet this remains essentially an original work. Though many others have attempted to counterpoise Christianity with paganism---Kurtz, Welch and recently Marillier among others---none have done so as successfully, with both systems of belief coexisting credibly if not harmoniously. While this is not a work to read for the continuous clashing of arms and warfare, the struggle is nonetheless hardly lessened by the book's moments of reflection, nor the evolving inner conflict of its characters. What more can I say: it's a marvelous book!

It's unfortunate that at the moment this work is only available through a tiny publisher in Calgary: I fear this may result in many not ever having a chance to read it. I myself would have been unaware of it were it not for the sfsite and their recommendation. While they have not always been reliable, they have nonetheless steered me to two of the most important fantasies I have read during the past two years: this work and "Gardens of the Moon" by Steven Erikson. You may have to expend some effort to obtain this book---I see the wait here is several weeks---and I question whether we'll ever see it in paperback. Nonetheless, it is well worth the expenditure of time and money, and deserving of every accolade. I can't recommend this work more highly. Spread the word...

The Black Chalice is a superbly written fantasy novel that explores the intertwined physical, spiritual and political relationships between a knight, a sorceress, and a monk during the tumultuous times that followed the first Crusade. Marie Jakober has successfully created a powerful tale of ambition, delusion, obsession and betrayal that will keep the reader riveted from first page to last. Jakober has carefully blended historical fact with imaginative fiction in creating a conquered pagan world replete with brooding legends, dark magic, and sexual power. Combine all this with an compelling plot, challenging themes, all played out against a backdrop of richly detailed settings, and you have Marie Jakober's The Black Chalice.

This is a splendid novel, well worth the effort to seek it out. One of the best and most intelligently written works of fantasy I have ever read, I would argue this is one of the most prominent, it not THE most prominent, works of fantasy published this year. As other reviewers have stated, due to the small publisher, it is likely most readers of fantasy will miss this book. What a shame! And, as far as the one negative review is concerned, one must question the breadth of the reviewer's experience of fiction, fantasy or otherwise...this is far closer to literature than the majority of offerings found in the genre. I think the comments made by an author, such as David Duncan, or the reviewer from Albuquerque, far more likely to be reliable and insightful.

I was very impressed with this novel! Jakober has written a rich epic of novel of dark pagan magic,sexual obession and betrayal!A aging monk tells a story of when he was squire to a great knight and how that knight was corrupted by wiles of beautiful but evil witch and help start a civil war in early 12th century Germany.As he writes he visited by that witch and she compells him to tell the truth story on what really happened.This novel is gripping saga of one cynical knight who with the help of erotic sorceress stops his duke from stealing crown of Germany.This novel has scenes of eerie magic and sorcery, brutality and betrayal as you see the events through the eyes of his squire, Paul who resents the power the witch has over his master and seeks to betray him.Jakober knows her myths and legends well as she weaves this stunning tapestry.This novel is not only about the battle of the knight Karelian and sorceress called Raven against power-hungry duke Gottfried but it also about the battle between christianity and waning but still potent forces of paganism and magic in the world.Jakober's knows medieval history with it's church politics, shameful treatment of women and cold brutality of it's nobility.I was also impressed with her lyrical prose which gave this novel a gothic feel as she describes in great relish scenes of necromancy as Karelian rides with army of dead knights to do battle, shape-shifting and other eerie sights.My only complaint in this novel was it was too short and I wanted it to be longer!

Repression and megalomania are the bad guys in this well researched, alternate history of the crusading era. Marie Jakober brings the same societal intelligence to Black Chalice she did to her award winning novels about the Sandinista experience. Her villains and minor characters are as thoroughly drawn as her protagonists. There is profound love, hot sex, great battles, court intrigue and old but potent sorcery, all portrayed without sentimentality. Not recommended for Christians who can't stomach criticism of church institutions and messianc excess. In fact, if I have a criticism it is the unrelenting nature of novel's anger against righteous bullies. I could have stood a bit more comic relief. A great book that induces strong feeling.

Rating: 5 stars (out of 5) July 21, 2003

Every now and then you come across a writer whose sytle is so refreshing, that you feel it is like finding a diamond in the sand. Marie Jakober is such a writer. Her writing style is so beautiful that I would pause to read some of the lines a couple times. "[He] abandoned his honor for love and I my love for honor. Which one of us, in the end, will prove to be the greater fool?" One week after I finished reading the novel, I re-read the first sixty pages again, and the second time of reading only made me appreciate the book even more.

This is a historical fantasy: a historical fiction mixed with fantasy. The setting is around the year 1100 in Germany with the Crusade in the background. It was a time when the beliefs of the people were half-christian and half-pagan. It is the story of a knight Karelian, who lost his faith in Jarusalem after returning from the Crusade. The one thing that still holds him together is his loyalty to the duke that he serves. But he must choose between love and loyalty, and what is at stake will turn out to be far greater than he could possibly imagine.

This is a tale of love and betrayal, of deception and loyalty. As I was reading, I kept wondering who was going to betray whom. There are vivid scenes of romance, religious conflicts, political scheming, and magic. Many of the events are told through the narration of Paul, the squire of the knight. Paul is a deeply religious man but underneath that piety, there is a darker side that he is not willing to admit to himself.

I will comment only on two things that make the writing style of this book so outstanding.
(1) The writer is really able to capture the christian-pagan world, where the tradition of the church coexisted with pagan beliefs among the people. Religious conflicts naturally arose from the clash between the church and the pagan beliefs. (2) The complex psychology of the characters is handled very skillfully. Paul is a deeply religious man who also struggles with his darker side. Everything that Paul sees is biaseded by his religious views, while the reader can see the events more objectively. His stubborn refusal to accept the world around him almost reaches the point where he is deluding himself. Thus there are double meanings to many of the events narrated.

With only one main thread for the plot, this is a long novel but the great storytelling easily captures your imagination throughout the book. The writing style is delicious enough to make it worthwhile to read the book even for a second time.

First of all beware of the editorial review of Cahners Business and of some reader's too: they are quite far from precise, stating non existent themes and wrong story lines.

Set in a -not too- fictional XII century Germany the book presents us with a plausible but not exact frame of events and locations. Those readers looking for novels where the fictional characters act consistently with history as we know it might be disappointed.
For instance the centre of events itself is the non existing duchy of Reinland (sic).

Many reviewers commend Ms Jakober's prose as lyrical, beautiful and such. I disagree: I found it most of all proficient, to the point but devoid of any particular intrinsic beauty. Should I be compelled to state a definition about it and about the general atmosphere of the book it would be "earthy". There is everywhere a sense of life depicted as it is, in all its materialism and crudeness. Life comes from earth and can be beutiful or bad but it will always be grass/soil stained. I liked this attitude a lot by the way.

Another thing I liked A LOT is the author's choice of Paul, the villain (the real villain), as the narrative voice for most of the novel. This proved an extremely proficient way of highlighting the other character's actions and it is a "fresh", new device. A device Ms Jakober never falls in love with, shifting to a third person narrative when necessary.

While Paul is perfectly rounded, an outstanding study in character, very much alive with all his confusion, self deluding, arrogance, ingnorance, contraddictions and unrequited loves all the others, perhaps a toll to pay to the choice of such a peculiar narrating voice, are out of focus in a varying degree. Karelian, for instance, is very well explained but hardly "felt" and the others never stand out, not even Raven.
As a consequence the story rather left me cold which is never a good thing in a -fantasy- novel.

Despite the author's self evident aversion to many aspects of Christianity this book still does not read like a pamphlet. Believers will probably disagree with me but the Church has had many a heavy responsibility in the course of history. This is why choosing pious Paul as a main narrating voice is particularly effective: through his ambiguities and sufferings we really see the traditional teachings of the Church for what they are and for the havoc they wrought even in good people's life.

I am not entirely sure -quite the contrary- traditional Germanic religion was so unbiased as far as sexuality was concerned but I loved Karelian attitude all the same: he is indifferent to other people's sexuality, he has had experiences with men and explicitly state that love between knights was by far not the worst thing he saw happening during the crusade.
The author's message here is extremely clear and sensible and can be easily integrated in the story if only from the point of view of a pagan ante litteram cult.

If I could, I would have given this book 6 stars. I haven't read such an absorbing fantasy for a long time. Excellent characterization, interesting approach to narrative, vivid magic, high drama, moral ambiguity ... It's a pity that the loose ends were tied up so well at the end, otherwise I would have liked to read a sequel. I hope that Edge Publishers in Canada follow up with more books of the same caliber.

I have to admire Marie Jakober's talent- when I first started reading The Black Chalice, I was very put off by the self-righteous monk Paul, and wondered why the author chose to have the majority of the story told through his flashbacks. Wouldn't it be better if it was all from Karelian's or Raven's POV? Someone I didn't want to slap upside the head all the time? But, halfway through I changed my mind: I think the method actually works. Seeing things through Paul's angry, bitter perspective really drives in the way the Christian church was back then, how paranoid and suspicious of anything different or "pagan" or female. What a bleak world!

As for the narrator Paul himself, Marie Jakober does such an awesome job of psychological characterization that eventually I actually found myself feeling sorry for him - he's a ruined man in the end, and all by his own hand. No matter what lies he tells himself, or how much he prays, it doesn't give him any real contentment or peace. You reap what you sow, and all that.

So: The Black Chalice has well written villains (some simply loathsome and some creepily fanatical), an intelligent, honourable, but wonderfully flawed hero in the Count of Lys, lots of exciting battles and medieval Germanic politics, a sexy supernatural romance, interesting supporting characters, nice attention to historical details, and even some genuine religious criticism in there along with the pagan magic bits! It's a lovely, lovely book, and well worth reading. (But, hey... why rely on someone else's opinion when you can read it and judge for yourself?)