Tuesday, July 07, 2009

The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie

The back cover of this book reads...

Before his death in 1609, the brilliant Elizabethan spy and astrologer John Dee hid his most astonishing secrets, trusting his descendants would one day bring them to light. That time has come.

In 2003, Will Stafford inherits a strange legacy from his mother: a key and an ancient script with an enigmatic note. Deeply intrigued, he travels Europe seeking answers to it's riddles, unaware that someone is following his every move.

Back in London, Lucy King becomes entangled in Will's cryptic labyrinth. As it's mysterious twists take her from France to New York, and from literature to myth, in search of it's hidden treasure, she has never been closer to the truth, nor in graver danger.

...Well I thought, this book should be worth a punt as I really enjoyed reading The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, two years ago. How wrong I was in buying this book! If you liked The Da Vinci Code then do not bother reading The Rose Labyrinth as you will be very disappointed. This story is very slow and there is nothing much in the way of action. There are 528 pages in this book and there are just 2 small changes in the plot taking place on pages 85 and 216. Finally on page 224 you are told the meaning of a labyrinth...

A guide with the verger began explaining in English. 'In the twelfth century certain cathedrals were decreed pilgrimage cathedrals to relieve the numbers of people making journeys to the unstable Holy Land at the time of the Crusades. Many of these had labyrinths added, which became known as "the Road to Jerusalem". Originally they were walked at Easter, just as the classical labyrinths had been a dance of spring to celebrate returning vegetation. The experience of walking, however, was meditative, calming, focusing. Many people find it brings them nearer to heaven, ready to comprehend the will of God. For the minutes that you walk it, you are outside of time: your concerns are inward and spiritual, rather than material and temporal.'

...I found this novel poor, shallow and very long-winded. It is drab, it is not exciting, it is not credible and certainly not entertaining. I suggest bloggers to avoid this book as it did not meet my quality threshold. Although with 528 pages there are plenty of words to read there is no depth or attitude to please the reader. This is like a soap-opera starring Lucy and Alex but in real life people would not be bothered to act like the characters in this story.
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