Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5479 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-11
• Released on: 2006-01-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 720 pages

Christina Koning, THE TIMES
'The author has combined an ingenious adventure story with a wonderfully detailed account of the historical background of the Languedoc ... the result is entirely compelling and full of incidental pleasures.'

Review
'a gripping holy grail quest ... the story line runs on knowledge and fun - Carcassonne never looked so good.' (Anthony Sattin SUNDAY TIMES )

'The author has combined an ingenious adventure story with a wonderfully detailed account of the historical background of the Languedoc ... the result is entirely compelling and full of incidental pleasures.' (Christina Koning THE TIMES )

'Pacey and addictive' (Kate Saunders THE TIMES )

Kate Saunders, THE TIMES
'Pacey and addictive'

Customer Reviews

You either love it or you hate it.
i wouldn't have picked this book of the shelf myself but it was at my apartment on holiday so i thought i'd give it a go, and, well it went everywhere with me, to the pool, car journeys, up mountains and picnics.

An AMAZING read. HOOKED on every page. It might be diffcult to get into but just relax into and you'll realise how good it really is.

One tip though, there are lots of characters and i did get confused, so i advise as you are going through and you meet a new character write down their name and a bit about them so you don't get too confused.

This is definately a MUST READ!!!

I haven't been so gripped for a long time
I had seen this book in the shops for months before I stumbled across it a discount bookshop and thought 'what the hell?' I started reading it that night and by the same time two days later I had read myself to exhaustion and had finished it.

The book centres around a mysterious Grail story, combining mythology and history, past and present, magic and reality, in a fantastically constructed plot which doesn't disappoint in terms of excitement, romance, description or its ability to shock and to move.

One half of the story takes place in modern-day France, in the Languedoc, where a girl called Alice stumbles across a mysterious cave with unexplained skeletons and a frightening aura. The other half moves back to medieval France, when religious turmoil and warring are threatening to devastate the land where Alais lives with her family and husband. As the story progresses the secret of the Grail and its relevance to the two women and the wider world becomes apparent.

By the end of the novel I had shaken with anticipation and suspense, laughed, sighed, and cried hysterically. It inspired me to find out more about the history of the Languedoc. There is also a new edition of the novel with photographic illustrations of locations and artefacts relevant to the narrative - which I bought too...

My wife kept it and passed it on, great read
My wife passed it on to daughters
great read they say - but when is it my turn?