The Mystic Rose: The Celtic Crusades Series, Book 3
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Skilfully weaving bloody conflict and intrigue and faith, The Mystic Rose concludes Stephen Lawhead's epic historical trilogy, The Celtic Crusades, in fine style. While the tightly constructed 435 pages can be read as a self-contained adventure, anyone doing so will miss many resonances with previous volumes, The Iron Lance and The Black Rood. With a framing narrative set in the early 20th century, Lawhead recounts a grand scale quest through medieval Spain and Anatolia around strong Celtic heroine Cait and the feared Knights Templar for the Holy Grail. This author has used the grail legend before, notably in the conclusion to the Pendragon Cycle, Grail, though here the approach is largely historical and while Lawhead's Christianity informs his writing he never preaches. He is a storyteller first, who by employing direct, folk-like narrative prose compels by making the reader care deeply about the fate of his characters. There are no soft options, and as in Lawhead's best work, Byzantium, strong interplay between Christian and Islamic values, all of the leading players fully rounded with vices and virtues. Less artful than Mary Gentle's in many ways comparable Ash, above all The Mystic Rose is an unpretentious romantic adventure which delivers a thrilling emotional punch. --Gary S. Dalkin
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
‘Fantasy writing doesn’t get much better than this’
The Express
‘An enjoyable, sweeping and often touching tale of bravery and pious devotion’
SFX
‘This is a rip-roaring adventure story; the pace rarely flags. There’s scheming, murder and betrayal aplenty’
Interzone
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
Given the normal high quality of Lawhead's work, the final part of the Celtic Crusades trilogy has ended somewhat disappointingly. Lawhead's prose style, as evidenced in the Arthur sextet or the Song of Albion trilogy, is usually precise, sweeping in its sense of the epic, and a delight to read. The Mystic Rose proves extremely weak from an author who normally provides wonderful stories. Inevitably, you cannot help comparing it to the Sarentium Mosaic dulogy and the gulf between the two is vast.
Taking the trilogy as a whole, it is fairly simple to understand how the intended cryptic early nineteenth century side story is going to conclude so it becomes more a case of seeing how the story will unfold. Unfortunately, this is where The Mystic Rose falls down. Unlike the Black Rood or the Iron Lance
Caitriona's voyage (after Duncan's somewhat hasty dispatch) comes across as a series of fundamentally unbelievable sketches. The placement of a harem in mid-Spain with Prince Hasan's fantastical palace and the eventual conclusion on a thinly-veiled Avalon-esque community provides minimal excitement and the problem is further enhanced by all of the major characters either being two-dimensional or subject to so many quick personality changes as to be implausible. Alethea's transformation from irritating teenage sister to pious nun is untenable; Cait's constant stubborness and Rognvald's stoical protector mentality together with the overly brutish de Bracineaux provide a bewildering mix of characters who do not respond from situation to situation with any kind of uniformity.
The Mystic Rose is the story of the vengeful Caitriona and her somewhat awkward half-sister Alethea who seek to avenge Duncan's murder at the hands of the Templar Commander de Bracineaux. After buying a Norse bodyguard from the Byzantine jails she steals a letter purporting to reveal the location of the Mystic Rose (unfortunately, guessable as to what it really is fairly quickly) and disappears off after seeing Brother Andrew (as did Murdo and Duncan before her) to steal it. Alethea's abduction leads ultimately to the prize and gives a conclusion to the `modern-day' plot that runs alongside.
Stephen Lawhead is one of the finest fantasy authors writing today and his name usually guarantees a purchase. As a result, expectations of his work are higher than normal. However, whilst the Iron Lance commenced the trilogy so well, the Mystic Rose has ended it poorly.
Taking the trilogy as a whole, it is fairly simple to understand how the intended cryptic early nineteenth century side story is going to conclude so it becomes more a case of seeing how the story will unfold. Unfortunately, this is where The Mystic Rose falls down. Unlike the Black Rood or the Iron Lance
Caitriona's voyage (after Duncan's somewhat hasty dispatch) comes across as a series of fundamentally unbelievable sketches. The placement of a harem in mid-Spain with Prince Hasan's fantastical palace and the eventual conclusion on a thinly-veiled Avalon-esque community provides minimal excitement and the problem is further enhanced by all of the major characters either being two-dimensional or subject to so many quick personality changes as to be implausible. Alethea's transformation from irritating teenage sister to pious nun is untenable; Cait's constant stubborness and Rognvald's stoical protector mentality together with the overly brutish de Bracineaux provide a bewildering mix of characters who do not respond from situation to situation with any kind of uniformity.
The Mystic Rose is the story of the vengeful Caitriona and her somewhat awkward half-sister Alethea who seek to avenge Duncan's murder at the hands of the Templar Commander de Bracineaux. After buying a Norse bodyguard from the Byzantine jails she steals a letter purporting to reveal the location of the Mystic Rose (unfortunately, guessable as to what it really is fairly quickly) and disappears off after seeing Brother Andrew (as did Murdo and Duncan before her) to steal it. Alethea's abduction leads ultimately to the prize and gives a conclusion to the `modern-day' plot that runs alongside.
Stephen Lawhead is one of the finest fantasy authors writing today and his name usually guarantees a purchase. As a result, expectations of his work are higher than normal. However, whilst the Iron Lance commenced the trilogy so well, the Mystic Rose has ended it poorly.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Concluding the "Celtic Crusades" trilogy - this book kind of had to be a grail quest really! Better than the second book, Lawhead recovers his sense of storytelling, but still I think the first of the series was the best. Lawhead writes action sequences very well, but the journeying I found a little too long winded.
In this story Cait, daughter of Duncan, son of Murdo Ranulfson, witnesses the murder of her father at the hands of a Knight Templer. She promises not to avenge him, but does not keep her vow - but before she can kill her father's murderer, she discovers an important document and steals it. This then sets in train a grail quest across medieval Europe.
In this story Cait, daughter of Duncan, son of Murdo Ranulfson, witnesses the murder of her father at the hands of a Knight Templer. She promises not to avenge him, but does not keep her vow - but before she can kill her father's murderer, she discovers an important document and steals it. This then sets in train a grail quest across medieval Europe.
Format:Paperback
The Mystic Rose concludes the Celtic Crusades trilogy of Stephen Lawhead and ends the series of on strong note after the dullness that was The Black Rood. Crusades is perhaps the wrong word for the series, though; each of the three books instead deal with a quest for the holiest items of Christendom.
Again, we follow our Celtic protagonist (a heroine this time) on a quest for holy relics - this time the holy grail. Catriona is a stronger protagonist than her father Duncan from book 2, and unlike the previous volume, there is plenty of suspense and excitement in the story. Partly this is because Lawhead has abandoned the "diary" format of the Black Rood for a much better format, partly because the characters in this book are far more interesting, and partly because the plot itself is simply much better.
The book is not without its flaws, however. The characters are not always well realized; a problem that is particularly pronounced for the main protagonist. The writer obviously wants the reader to think and feel in certain directions, and thus lets Catriona "comment" on the behavior of her surroundings. Unfortunately, this comes off as very stupid and silly when the comments are related to actions of her sister which should hardly come as a surprise unless they are strangers who have just met (they're not). Similarly, Catriona in one moment comments on the uselessness of one of her companions, only to - a few sentences on - turn for advice to the self-same person. Errors like these make the characterization fall flat and have been a problem in every book of the series.
The early 20th century story-line which Lawhead has woven into these three volumes also come to a conclusion in this book. It was particularly irritating in the second book (due to being unfinished), and the conclusion in this story is both predictable and unsatisfying - especially when one considers the setup hinted at in the previous novels. This is unfortunate, because Gordon Murray's story is an irritating and dull addendum to the much better story of Catriona.
My rating for this book is 3 1/2 stars, but I decided to round up (rather than down), for three reasons.
- The main story itself is an excellent yarn; good light reading if you like historical fiction.
- Despite being part of a series, you don't need to read the previous volumes in the series to enjoy this one. That's an excellent thing, because it means you can ignore the very tepid fare of the preceding volume, if you wish.
- It's clearly the best of the series. Since I rate The Iron Lance (Celtic Crusades S) BOOK1 as 3 stars and The Black Rood as 2 stars, 4 stars seems appropriate for The Mystic Rose.
Again, we follow our Celtic protagonist (a heroine this time) on a quest for holy relics - this time the holy grail. Catriona is a stronger protagonist than her father Duncan from book 2, and unlike the previous volume, there is plenty of suspense and excitement in the story. Partly this is because Lawhead has abandoned the "diary" format of the Black Rood for a much better format, partly because the characters in this book are far more interesting, and partly because the plot itself is simply much better.
The book is not without its flaws, however. The characters are not always well realized; a problem that is particularly pronounced for the main protagonist. The writer obviously wants the reader to think and feel in certain directions, and thus lets Catriona "comment" on the behavior of her surroundings. Unfortunately, this comes off as very stupid and silly when the comments are related to actions of her sister which should hardly come as a surprise unless they are strangers who have just met (they're not). Similarly, Catriona in one moment comments on the uselessness of one of her companions, only to - a few sentences on - turn for advice to the self-same person. Errors like these make the characterization fall flat and have been a problem in every book of the series.
The early 20th century story-line which Lawhead has woven into these three volumes also come to a conclusion in this book. It was particularly irritating in the second book (due to being unfinished), and the conclusion in this story is both predictable and unsatisfying - especially when one considers the setup hinted at in the previous novels. This is unfortunate, because Gordon Murray's story is an irritating and dull addendum to the much better story of Catriona.
My rating for this book is 3 1/2 stars, but I decided to round up (rather than down), for three reasons.
- The main story itself is an excellent yarn; good light reading if you like historical fiction.
- Despite being part of a series, you don't need to read the previous volumes in the series to enjoy this one. That's an excellent thing, because it means you can ignore the very tepid fare of the preceding volume, if you wish.
- It's clearly the best of the series. Since I rate The Iron Lance (Celtic Crusades S) BOOK1 as 3 stars and The Black Rood as 2 stars, 4 stars seems appropriate for The Mystic Rose.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Third in the Celtic Crusades Series
Stephen R. Lawhead is an internationally acclaimed author of mythic history and imaginative fiction. Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2007 by J. Chippindale
Third in the Celtic Crusades Series
Stephen R. Lawhead is an internationally acclaimed author of mythic history and imaginative fiction. Read more
Published on 17 Sep 2007 by J. Chippindale
Best of the Three
I found this to be the best of the trilogy and an exciting and satisfying conclusion. I cannot understand the reviewer who said this book is dull as this one is more packed with... Read more
Published on 10 Jan 2007 by Timothy Gibson
A great conclusion
When you look back on the book it is hard to tell exactly why you were swept along in the tale and exactly why it is such a great book, but when you're in the story you find... Read more
Published on 4 Aug 2006 by Andrew Rossiter
Dull and annoying
Part 3 of Stephen Lawhead's Celtic Crusades trilogy concludes this series of books that started out well, dimmed in the middle and became very dull in this last installment. Read more
Published on 25 Jun 2002
Epic!! Brilliant!
This book is a great stand alone, it's engaging, clever, and very satisfying. It is a pleasure to read every crafted sentence and there is a lot of research gone in to this novel. Read more
Published on 25 May 2001
Absolutely Brilliant.
Stephen Lawhead does it again. He gets better and better all the time, I thoroughly recommend this book, Lawhead manages to combine an accurate historical setting with a great... Read more
Published on 13 May 2001
Excellent, Excellent novel!
This book blew me away. It completely surpassed all my expectations. My friend recommended Stephen Lawhead to me and it stayed on the back burner for some time, but now that I've... Read more
Published on 1 May 2001
Another Fantastic Offering from Lawhead
For those of us who have been enjoying the Stephen Lawhead books, the publication of "The Mystic Rose" is another Coup for Stephen Lawhead. Read more
Published on 18 Mar 2001
A fitting conclusion to the Celtic Crusades
Overall, I did not find the Celtic Crusades to be the greatest of Lawhead's works. Reading the Iron Lance and the Black Rood, I found that they seemed to blend together a bit and I... Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2001 by Gavin Ellis
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