Citadel

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Citadel is probably best described as a 'time-slip' story, with the main part of the novel set in France during the German occupation in 1942 - 1944. Also featuring is Arinius, a monk living in 342 AD. Arininus is desperately trying to find a hiding place for the forbidden 'Codex', which is said to have the power to raise a 'sleeping army of ghosts'. And new heroes and heroines, Raoul, Sandrine, Lucie, Marianne, too many to name all related somehow to the story of the characters of the previous book like a cycle. Kate Mosse is an award-winning novelist, playwright, essayist and non-fiction writer, the author of eight novels and short story collections, including the multimillion-selling Languedoc Trilogy, The Burning Chambers Series and number one bestselling Gothic fiction The Winter Ghosts and The Taxidermist’s Daughter. Her books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and published in more than forty countries. The Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, she is the Founder of the global Woman In History campaign.

But smuggling refugees over the mountains into neutral territory and sabotaging their Nazi occupiers is only part of their mission. These members of the resistance must also protect an ancient secret that, if discovered by the enemy, could change the course of history. While fiction, this novel is written around real events of the Second World War, and was inspired by the massacre at Baudrigues on August 19, 1944 and the women that died there. Het heeft niet teveel personages die ook goed zijn uitgewerkt. Je leeft mee met de hoofdpersonen en je wint je bijvoorbeeld op over verraad.On the other side the past is the story of a Monk by the same of Arinius who risks his life to find the same text that's used later on to summon everyone who's have ever fallen in the Midi "so others could live"to fight again for the cause, his story is much shorter than the other ones from the previous books but the present time requires so much that it was appropriated to make it this way. I did not like the Epilogue. I felt that it took away the impact of the last chapter (mainly that last paragraph) and seemed rather unnecessary; however, it may have done something to tie in the rest of the books in this series.

Arinius is a young monk, who is safe-guarding what he feels is "sacred words". I question, sacred words to whom? I found it odd and yet fascinating, Ariunius is a monk, and the word God and Christian is used in his story, but Sandrine is not a believer in God (this remark is made more than once). So I ask, why is there a book about "sacred words" and Christians, paired with and utilized by an unbelieving French resistance fighter?I think the book is admirably researched with some wonderfully detailed imagery and descriptions. However, I found the length off-putting and it was hard to keep up with all the characters as some of them melded together they were so indistinct. I found the supernatural element distracting and felt it undermined the careful planning and research that went in to telling the Resistance story. I also couldn't have given two hoots about the medieval plot that was interwoven. I just didn't find it interesting even though there were some beautifully written passages. I felt the parallel story set in the 4th C was rather dull and repetitive, it was there purely to serve the main story and that showed.

I read the first two books of the trilogy and really wasn't sure where she'd go next. I only knew there would be a lot of Languedoc stuff in it. Really, I have no desire to see France, but I'd love to visit the Languedoc region! As in the previous books it's told in 2 time lines the 4th century and 1942-1944 when the Germans occupied the Midi (France) Overall, I did get enjoyment out of the novel and the character development was done very well. I enjoyed reading about Carcassonne and greatly enjoyed the history involved in the creation of the novel. Seventeen-year-old Léonie Vernier and her brother abandon Paris for the sanctuary of their aunt's isolated country house near Carcassonne, the Domaine de la Cade. But Léonie stumbles across a ruined sepulchre - and a timeless mystery whose traces are written in blood.Kate Mosse has been on the periphery of my literary radar for a while now. Hers were books that would show up on recommendation lists based on books I had like. They would appear at my friends’ houses, imposing yet reassuring with their bulk and sleek, simple cover art. I was vaguely aware that she wrote historical fiction, and that was it. The complex history of the Languedoc has proved fertile territory for Kate Mosse in her recent trilogy of adventure novels, beginning with the phenomenally successful Labyrinth in 2005, shortly to be a mini-series, and now reaching its conclusion in Citadel. I do wish I'd known that Kate Mosse weaves the supernatural in to all her books before I started reading this. If I had, the introduction of the Ghost Army wouldn't have jolted me to a halt. It just seemed so unnecessary and daft as the culmination of its appearance was unsatisfactory and confusing. 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. The 1942 storyline at least presents its share of obstacles for its characters. Sandrine certainly grows and changes as she matures from an unsure, impulsive girl into a clever and courageous woman. Although I found the simplistic way in which Mosse presents their decisions somewhat irritating, I really enjoyed how various characters, like Luce, rationalized their collaboration. In this respect, Citadel allows the reader to sympathize with what the ordinary citizens of these villages and towns must have felt as the Nazi occupation deepened. It’s all well and good to say that one would stand and fight against such an invader in theory. When it’s actually happening, it is a different thing entirely, more pernicious and less overtly easy to throw off.