Customer Reviews

Sepulchre

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I purchased Sepulchre from Amazon UK so got to read it well before the US release. I too disagree with some of the harsh criticism that Mosse's book received. Part of the joy of reading period historical fiction is becoming part of the atmosphere. You can't do that in a few pages. You need to set the scene, create interest in characters and situations and come to understand where the author is taking you.

I found Sepulchre to be more similar to The Historian than to Labyrinth. A fairly complex plot over several time periods and places requires a depth of material. I found the descriptions of Paris excellent and in fact purchased Zola's Debacle after reading one of the character's discussion of the work. The action in the Carcasonne region is compelling.

I did not find the characters at all one dimensional. All express feelings and reactions that are well within the expected range. The story line is always interesting. Perhaps the reader needs some familiarity with French fiction of the period, like Victor Hugo's works to fully understand what Mosse is attempting. Also, the subject area should be very familiar to readers of recent fiction as it has been used in the DaVinci Code, The Templars and several other stories. The rich historical venue is a perfect setting for Sepulchre.

I found Mosse's second novel to be a fascinating addition to understanding the Church's purge of the Cathars and the treasures and threats that area possesses. Summer is coming. Sit on your favorite chair, take a cold drink and be prepared to be totally entertained by Sepulchre. I was.

I disagree with the other reviews completely. I thought this novel was superior to Labyrinth which I also enjoyed. This story moves seamlessly back and forth between the 1800s and the current time with two intertwined stories and heroines. The female characters are strong and interesting. Ms. Mosse took her time with the details which make this ghost story almost seem possible! Would love to see this one as a movie. The imagery and locale would be delightful to see on the big screen. Not a single boring moment in this entire novel! I'll be recommending this one to all my reading friends.

I am in total agreement with the reviewer who wrote the following: "I found Sepulchre to be more similar to The Historian than to Labyrinth. A fairly complex plot over several time periods and places requires a depth of material." Anyone who enjoyed the novel "The Historian" will enjoy this book, and vice versa. The books have the same feel to them. Anyone who does not enjoy heavy description of location, atmosphere and ambiance will get bogged down, I agree... but for those of us who expect the author to paint word pictures so as to draw us into the narrative will not be disappointed. You can see, hear and feel where the characters are in this book. I look forward to more books by Ms. Mosse.

I looked forward to this 2nd novel (sort of, there are 2 other books no longer in print) from Mosse having read & enjoyed Labyrinth, her 1st. I wanted to read this based on Labyrinth & because one of the main characters was writing a biography of Claude Debussy, my favorite composer. Concerns of the French in the book didn't give me trouble after 4 years in high school, enough to help me through.

This is set up like Mosse's 1st novel with connections between a present day "heroine" and one of an earlier time. The story bounces between present day and turn-of-the-century southern France in the Languedoc (literally "language of Oc", spoken there hundreds of years before). The characters were, in my humble opinion, quite well written; I did find the characters in the past slightly more interesting than those of the present. The characters are tied by a secret that revolves around the ancient "art" of tarot. I don't personally believe in tarot or astrology or things of the sort, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the book; if anything, my lack of knowledge on the subject made it all the more interesting. I have read of comparisons to Mosse's 1st novel, but I fail to see anything redundant in this novel, past & present heroines aside.

It is hard to write a review of this book with any detail without spoiling the story so I shall not give my usual summary so as to leave the mystery there should you read it. All I will say is that the book is thick with suspense, bouncing forward or back at just the right moment so that you remain continually frustrated when you must wait to return to the other characters or timeframe.

Mosse has a gift, in my humble opinion, for writing characters with substance. I felt a pang of sadness as I read the last page because I had grown to know the characters & I liked, or hated, them very much.

The Debussy information was detailed & accurate (I love & study Debussy). There was some creative license taken, as Achille-Claude Debussy did play in to the novel, but his person & his music remain untarnished by the tale. My biggest regret from this book is that I don't play the piano; a piano piece, written for this book & which plays in to the story, is printed at the end. I wish I could play the piano and hear it's (I assume) haunting permeations. Alas, perhaps I shall find someone who can play it for me.

I eagerly await Mosse's next novel as her 1st 2 have firmly placed her as a writer of mystery tinged with historical fiction.

Enjoy!!!

There were things I enjoyed about this book and things I didn't. I have not read Labyrinth so I can't compare it to that book.

I did enjoy the historical detail and the descriptions of the places. I wouldn't have minded even more detail on the Visigoths. I didn't enjoy the frequent untranslated French phrases; many times I could guess what they meant but often I was in the dark.

When I realized the novel centered around a set of tarot cards, I worried that it might be a little too "woo-woo" for me. It came close, but so much of the book was about the threats from human evil that the supernatural parts were tolerable. However, I didn't think the author explained how the ancient set of cards along with Leonie's picture cards were able to be reproduced if they were buried.

I have mixed feelings because I liked the book enough to finish reading it, but probably wouldn't recommend it to my friends.

I have been eagerly awaiting this novel since I finished Ms. Mosse's previous novel, Labyrinth. Fans of that book will not be disappointed - in pacing and suspense Sepulchre is an even better read.

As proven in her previous book, Ms. Mosse has a real knack for pulling you in to a historical period (that you may never have been interested in before) and making you care about what happens to the characters. Readers with short attention spans will find this book long, but I believe that by giving lots of historical and geographical detail the author is able to really draw you in to the worlds she is creating and hold you there. I became seriously sleep-deprived while I was reading this as I always wanted to read just a little farther to see what happened next!

The first section of the novel is the weakest - it is largely unnecessary and irrelevant, and the dialog seems stilted. It is for this reason that I gave the book only 4 stars. Readers who stick with it and get past the first section will be richly rewarded.

As in the previous novel, Sepulchre alternates between the present and the past, in this case the 1890's. Although some action takes place in Paris, the bulk of the book (past and present) takes place in SW France (as does Labyrinth). This is obviously an area the author has grown fond of, as she lives there part- time.

While there is a supernatural element to the book, most of the evil in it is of purely human origin. The plot in both timelines revolves around a tarot deck; a modern author researching her family history becomes consumed by the dramatic history surrounding this tarot, even as she becomes active in the continuation of that history.

Readers who enjoyed the previous book will be delighted that Sajhe and Shelagh make a return in this one, providing unexpected links between the two.

This book jumps back and forth from ancient times to modern times and keeps the thought process going in your mind, always. It is amazing how the author takes you into each block of time and connects the two to create this action packed story. Great read !

This is a wonderful book. Yes it is similar to Labyrinth because she uses the same style of writing but the plot & storyline is completely different. I LOVED the fact that she included Sahje/Audric Ballaird in the story again. I'm dying for a story just about the many centuries of his life. I don't know if this was quite as great as Labyrinth but it was still a interesting well written book. I'm all ready for her next one! Hopefully soon!

This book was absolutely wonderful. I was sad to see it come to an end. What a fantastic journey. I can't wait to read Kate Mosse's next book.

This is a rather tedious, and somewhat pretentious, read. Apart from the opening and closing chapters, the book (and its poor reader) gets lost in way too much exposition, much of which has no real purpose. It is a let-down following the author's much better prior novel, "Labyrinth". Unlike that work, this book places much more emphasis on style, at the expense of story, character, and drama. For example, in order to give the book a continental flavor, there is a great reliance on French terms and phrases, but they seem to be inserted haphazardly, and for no real purpose. A similar thing happens with what presumably is an attempt to be able market the book as "historical fiction". The character of composer Claude Debussy is inserted, but his presence is extremely marginal, seems to be an afterthought, and is never really developed. Almost 200 pages go by with no mention of him, until his name suddenly pops up again near the end of the book. His presence is entirely superfluous. Mosse also writes with an overblown, imagery-laden style, with too great a reliance on similes and metaphors, and this quickly gets tedious. The book is chock-full of passages such as:

"She kicked off her shoes, letting them drop with a satisfying thump to the floor, leaving her feet to dangle over the edge [as if she was floating on a raft on a river] . . . . Léonie picked at the stray threads on the embroidered cover, teasing out the [emaciated] shimmering strands of gold until she had made [a pile worthy of Rumpelstiltskin] on the bed beside her." [p. 217]

"Her stomach was full of knots, [like a ball of thread tangled and twisted out of shape] . . . . She ate in silence, her thoughts flipping backward and forward [like a fish thrown upon the riverbank] . . . . [S]he leapt to her feet and ran to the door, coming face to face with Anatole in the hall. He was pale and had hollow circles under his eyes, [like black finger marks], betraying the fact that he had not slept." [p. 389]

"The vibrations, the rustling of the air, the ghosts, she supposed, brushed against her shoulders and neck, skimmed her forehead, surrounded her, gentle, kind, but without ever really touching. [A silent chaos] was growing, [a cacophony of noiseless whispering and sighing]." [pp. 531-32]

For a murder mystery and ghost story, there is actually very little plot development or mystery, and very little character development, apart from the main protagonist. It was apparent from almost the second chapter where the story was going to end. In sum, this was a missed opportunity for a compelling story, ending up being a disappointing slog after the much more compelling "Labyrinth".