Book review: "Labyrinth" by Kate Mosse

This is not the first fiction story written about the holy grail, and it is definitely not going to be the last. If the likes of King Arthur and Merlin were to be used as yardsticks, then there will be many more stories of the grail to come. Yet despite being neither first nor last, "Labyrinth" is certainly one that can pull its own weight. When I started reading the book, one thing made me really uncomfortable - the author's use of the present tense. It is rare for the present tense to be chosen since a narration already bound into a volume is definitely of the past. If the intention is for the reader to be an invisible observer who leeches onto the characters while they make their every move, it strikes me as weird when the tense changed after the prologue. It never did revert even when the storytelling changed from Alaïs' viewpoint to Alice's. Since it happened only in the prologue, it is somewhat understandable - but nevertheless uncomfortable for me. Together with this, the other thing that struck me first was that the author has a genuine flair for "painting". The scenes, people and surroundings were all described so vividly that I can literally forget I am not "there" but "here". The story itself is fast-paced enough and I found myself led along willingly as I flipped page after page. The moment I put down the book, I can feel myself tugged back. I love pretty much everything about the book, that is, till the ending - which I felt made the story drop from a 8/10 to 6/10. I don't like the ending. I don't like the "real" meaning of the grail. It seems quite ridiculous for the grail to continue existing just so that someone can bear witness to the real history of events. Put it plainly, forgoing the mystique, the grail in the story is just an elixir discovered by some ancient Egyptians, that is capable of prolonging life. So, the creators of this elixir decided that it should be kept from those who might use it for wrong ends (fair enough), and that someone should be charged with the burden of keeping history books true. When this "secret" of the grail was revealed near the end, I find myself quite disappointed. Does it matter to me if it was A who attacked B first, or if we were once ruled by donkeys? Not a whit, to be honest. Why would one version of the history matter more than another, regardless of which is true or false? The present *is* the present and it is not dictated by the future. What has happened, has happened. Telling the world that something actually happened another way will not change anything. After all, life goes on, no matter what. Check out the book, it's beautifully written. I would say it is worth a place in anyone's library.