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Title: Sepulchre
ISBN: 0399154671
Author:
Kate Mosse
Publicate Date: 2008-04-01
Publish: 2008-04-01
List Price: $25.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $6.98
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $5.85
Amazon Merchant Price: $15.57
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Kinda Sort but not really
Tedious...that's the only word to describe this book. Lucky for me I happen to have time on my side and trudged through this book. There were parts that had me captivated but the author kept losing me...I mean really now...how much description of the French countryside or directions do we really need? I pretty much figured out the plot about a 1/4 of the way but the tarot card aspect was a neat subplot...well almost goofy. Anyway, if you like victorianesque novels, time travel and paranormal...give it a go. But I will warn you....it definitely takes forever and a day to get this story rolling. Read only if you have nothing better else to do.
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2: Delisciously scary, wonderful story!
I almost gave up on this book three or four times just in the first 35 pages, even though I rarely fail to finish a book once I've started it. I pushed on and by page 50 I was riveted! Please give this book a chance, even if you feel it starts a little slow, like I did. Sepulchre is wonderfully scary...I had to get up and turn more lights on. Its so hard to find a book that is suspenseful without being gory, but Sepulchre delivers beautifully in that aspect.
I found it was comparable to The Historian, but I haven't read Mosse's other book yet, so I can't offer a comparison there. I'll be heading to the bookstore tomorrow to buy Labryinth.
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3: Sepulchre
Kate Mosse Sepulchre is a great book. Like "Labyrinth" you feel like you are right there in the story. I look forward to more of Kate's novels.
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4: too scary for me!
This isn't really an assessment of the quality of the book, but more a warning for readers who (like me) are easily frightened -- this book is spooky! I was really enjoying the first 100 pages, and looking forward to the rest, until I had a Sepulchre-induced nightmare that made me decide to give it up. Here's hoping Mosse writes another meaty historical novel soon -- without the ghosts.
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5: All things to all readers
I picked up Sepulchre because I was intrigued by the idea that a deck of tarot cards was in some way brought to life as an integral part of the story. And that's why I stuck with this book till the end.
Unfortunately, it took too much time to get to the end! As I kept reading, I kept wondering why the editor allowed so much extraneous material to bog down the story. While the narrative was, for the most part, expertly handled, I felt that the book was an attempt to be all things to all readers--was it romance, mystery, fantasy, historical fiction, a coming-of-age story, a supernatural thriller, a modern day tale? Yes. Was it about the composer Claude Debussy or was it about southwestern France or tarot cards or 19th-century Paris or Rennes-le-Chateau (Da Vinci Code territory) or a modern-day orphan's story? Yes. In addition, there were at times jarring anachronisms--did anyone really use the phrase "it was down to her" during the 19th century (and in France)? To be fair, these were rare, but again, where was the editor?
I was also a bit disappointed by the way the tarot cards were used to move the story forward. I thought they were both over-emphasized and under-explicated as a plot device. Too gimmicky.
Having made those criticisms, I will say I enjoyed the story enough to keep reading. I thought the 19th century characters and setting were the heart of the tale, they engaged my sympathies and interest far more than the character and action of the modern-day segments which were supposed to derive from the events of the past. But it was frustrating that the past versus present segments kept interrupting the narrative flow. For instance, after reading several chapters and coming to a cliff-hanger in the 1891 section, the reader is presented with several chapters of modern-day action. Then by the time that section has been read, so much has taken place that details crucial to the historical segment have been forgotten. It was like reading several books at the same time, all between the same covers.
In any case, an overly long read, but a satisfying one if you can stick with it. I have not read the author's previous book, Labyrinth, so can make no comparison with it.
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