Customer Reviews

The Rose Demon: A Terrifying Tale of Medieval England (Paul Doherty Historical Mysteries)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My daughter, whose taste in books is similar to mine, recently gave me "The Rose Demon," along with her glowing review of the novel. I must admit, the descriptions on the back cover's publicity blurbs made the book sound really bizarre. But I gave it a shot & am glad I did.

"The Rose Demon's" subtitle is "A Terrifying Tale of Medieval England," but it is so much more. Moving from the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks, through England's War of the Roses, to the Scottish court of King James III, the battles between the Spanish and Moors for southern Spain, the discovery of the New World on board the Santa Maria with Christopher Columbus, and many stories sandwiched in between, the novel is chock full of historical facts, medieval customs and culture. As for "terrifying"....well, yeah, there's terror. Then add a healthy dose of fantasy, a dab or two of horror, a few bites of vampire, a large spoonful of possession and a handful of black magic and still the description of "The Rose Demon's" storyline is incomplete.

During the destruction of Constantinople, two Hospitaller knights were given an order - a matter of life and death - by Constantine Palaeologus, the last Roman Emperor. The Emperor gave the brothers special keys which would open a hidden chamber in the bowels of the palace. One of the keys would open the contents of the chamber, a casket. They were to destroy what lay within the box. The knights failed in their task and thus evil, of such a nature previously unknown to man, was unleashed upon the world. If Lucifer, the fallen angel, is the Devil...then he is also "brother and soulmate, great friend and comrade-in-in-arms" to the Rosifer, who also fell from grace.

In the small English village of Sutton-Courtney, in 1471, seven year-old Matthias Fitzosbert was visiting his beloved friend, a hermit, in his refuge some distance away. Matthias knew that these visits were frowned upon by his parents because of the dangers they entailed, including crossing a ghost town and a dangerous forest. But the danger and his parents' wrath were worth risking because the hermit was his only friend and so kind. Matthias found him painting a luminescent rose on the wall of the desecrated church where he lived. Underneath the rose the hermit had carved strange runes. Thus Matthias began his conflicted relationship with Rosifer, the Rose Demon - a relationship which was to last all the years of his life.

I highly recommend "The Rose Demon," especially for those who are not afraid of the dark. LOL!! I would have rated Paul Doherty's novel 5 Stars, but the fast pace of the initial part of the book slowed considerably toward the end.

Btw, Mr. Doherty is an excellent writer and is known for his highly readable medieval mysteries.
Jana Perskie

I confess that I would have to agree in some measure with the review by A. Hughes of PA. First, someone tagged the book as a "murder mystery." It is wrong there although there are plenty of deaths to the point that the blood runs at least ankle deep. The title of the book includes, "... A terrifying tale of medieval England" and that is what it is as well as confusing. A confusion of theologies and the "dark arts" that become boring long before the book ends. One is compelled to read it to the end just to see what happens (even if one can guess the conclusion). I have never read this author and I am certain that he is an intelligent and quite literate gentleman, but I would not want to read anything like this again (don't allow anyone in a depression read this is my warning). I see that he has written a number of books under this name and several others. I hope that the others are better especially if they run 502 pages as "The Rose Demon, A terrifying tale of medieval England" did.

I love a good medieval historical read - especially if it is not just a mystery but filled with adventure. Filled with a demonic aspect that gives it a great dark edge. The description of warfare keeps it at a thrilling pace. First book I read by Doherty but not my last.

If you like history from the Middle Ages you will love this book. The historical details in the storytelling are fascinating and add a genuine texture to the tale that we found thoroughly enjoyable. If you like a mystery story you will love this book. The plot had us on the edge of our seats to the final page. The characters were wonderfully drawn and as real as if they were sitting in our kitchen with us. I am already selecting my next book by this very prolific author, a history professor who knows how to create a totally enjoyable yarn.

This book reads as if it was a good short story, ruined by several hundred unnecessary pages of boring dribble, in as much as it is based on only one idea rather than a gripping plot. I just didn't care that much for the main character, and everytime yet another catastrophy would befall him, I just rolled my eyes back in my head and thought "come on, get to the point". Even the fact that P.C. Doherty reapeats stock phrases to describe people and events throughout the book seems to suggest that he had run out of original ideas long before the pages stopped turning. The only real mystery here was how does a book this bad get published?