Citadel

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Even though it is very heavy and hard to hold while reading in bed, ‘Citadel’ was a swift and pleasurable read. Amongst those with the strongest sense of place, the ones that linger in my imagination, are the Languedoc trilogy by Kate Mosse. Mosse evinces both passion and planning in her presentation of this story, enough that I can understand what makes her so beloved of some readers. I imagine this is what it's like for people watching From Dusk Til Dawn who haven't realised there were two directors which is why the film goes oddly vampiric halfway through.

I enjoyed reading about Carcassonne and greatly enjoyed the history involved in the creation of the novel. Or maybe it's because at the end of 700 pages I merely closed the cover and thought, 'I'm glad that's over'. Set during the Second World, the storyline follows a group of women Resistance fighters who are trying to help people escape the Nazis in France. Her traits of stubbornness, conviction, determination, conscience, and bravery, shown in the beginning of the story, unfolds a woman capable of heroism. Who do the characters in the Resistance believe these spirits to be, if of God, then why are they not a believer in His army?I also sincerely hope they film the other two in the trilogy as, especially this book, would make a cracking film. I haven’t read Labyrinth and Sepulchre, and after struggling through Citadel I have no intention of doing so. I don't really think she knew where it was going when she set out and some characters like Laval seemed to have no particular significance and their role and affiliations were utterly unclear. In the fourth century a monk, Arinius, has been taxed with saving a document that the Christian leaders have decided is heretical.

A breathtaking tale of daring and sacrifice that makes a triumphant finale to Mosse's Languedoc trilogy. For the majority of the book, Arinius’ chapters are little more than descriptions of his travels through Gaul. It was easy for me to get a grip on him and what he was all about; wicked to the bone and dangerously religious. Perhaps those who caught the first two instalments would find something of value here, but for newcomers like myself, Citadel is definitely not the place to begin with Mosse. This is the first time I have written in a review on this blog reference to Scripture, but I do not apologize, it would be wrong of me as a reviewer to not state something in a book I see as incorrect, even if the book is fiction.Certainly it is some years since I read Labyrinth and Sepulchre and the details are hazy, each book stands on its own.