First of all, if you were offended by the anti-Christian sentiments expressed in _The Mists of Avalon_, read no further. In that book, there was some balance--there were sympathetic and unsympathetic characters in both the Christian and pagan camps. In _The Black Chalice_, there are only a few likable characters, and they're all either pagan or nonreligious.

However, if you can accept that the Christian church committed some atrocities in its past, this is a pretty good book. Set in a sort-of-fictionalized medieval Germany, this is a blistering historical novel exposing the corruption that fueled the Inquisition and the excesses of the Crusades. Our hero is Karelian, who gained fame in the fight for Jerusalem, but lost his faith when faced with human cruelty. He is entreated by a powerful pagan priestess, the half-faery Raven who dwells in an Otherworldly castle deep in the forest, to help her battle an ambitious duke who would be king. At first Karelian is swayed by lust, but as time goes by, he finds meaning in the pagan beliefs and in his deepening love for Raven. As all his former allies become convinced that he is "fallen" and "evil", Karelian gets the chance to be a true hero--even if it means being remembered as a Satanist sorcerer.

His adversary, Duke Gottfried, believes himself to be the direct blood descendant of Jesus, and has charisma, popularity, and a strange magical relic on his side. Karelian also must contend with Paul, Karelian's own squire, who believes in Gottfried's claims.

Much of the story is told by Paul, remembering it all as he spends his last years in a monastery. Paul is a interesting if utterly contemptible character; we can sort of understand where he's coming from even as we want to throttle him. Paul is basically a product of his times. He is sexist, anti-pagan, disgusted by anything unfamiliar. In particular, he abhors sex--mainly because his own proclivities, he has been told, are the lowest of abominations. Driven by his cultural upbringing, by frustrated love, and by religious fervor, Paul has to make a difficult decision in this conflict, and the results are shocking. I thought I knew exactly how this story would end, and I still gaped as I read the final few chapters.

Besides _The Mists of Avalon_, I would compare it to two more recent reads, Carey's _Kushiel's Dart_ and Marillier's Sevenwaters books. The settings are different, but they are all epic historical fantasies full of bloody wars, sensuality, and religious conflict. Recommended if you like that sort of thing.

From time to time fantasy produces a book that is special, thatstands apart from other work, both in terms of its writing and itsstory: The Black Chalice is such a book. Lyrically told, with historical elements woven from medieval Germany and the First Crusade, at times this book echoes the works of Guy Gavriel Kay, while yet existing well apart and above even his best. And---I shudder to say this---not since Tolkien have I seen tales of folklore told with such power and grace. Magic abounds here, but it does not take the shape of fireballs or enchanted swords, but instead actually lives, as vibrant as the forests in which it dwells, and as inseparable from the world as the trees, the air, the birds, or the people that populate it. When the author can make a world actually breathe and assemble before one's eyes without clouting the reader over the head to obtain their recognition, I consider it no mean accomplishment.

This is a tale of betrayal, love both commonplace and forbidden, redemption and damnation, belief and self-deception. Marie Jakober captures the brutality of the early 12th century, as well as the horror and abjection of being born a woman, while at the same time celebrating the joys of both love and existence, the strength as well as deception awaiting faith and self-affirmation, and the power that lies hidden within love's union, be it human or through earthly existence. And throughout the narrative Jakober's characters weigh and reinvestigate the varied meanings and interpretations of their actions that come to define their lives.

This work is unlike any fantasy I have read before, both for its lyricism as well as the quality of its existential ruminations. While others have attempted to place their fantasies within a historical context, none that I have read have done so as well. Again, echoes exist with the works of Kay, Bradley's "Mists of Avalon," and the folklore of Tolkien, yet this remains essentially an original work. Though many others have attempted to counterpoise Christianity with paganism---Kurtz, Welch and recently Marillier among others---none have done so as successfully, with both systems of belief coexisting credibly if not harmoniously. While this is not a work to read for the continuous clashing of arms and warfare, the struggle is nonetheless hardly lessened by the book's moments of reflection, nor the evolving inner conflict of its characters. What more can I say: it's a marvelous book!

It's unfortunate that at the moment this work is only available through a tiny publisher in Calgary: I fear this may result in many not ever having a chance to read it. I myself would have been unaware of it were it not for the sfsite and their recommendation. While they have not always been reliable, they have nonetheless steered me to two of the most important fantasies I have read during the past two years: this work and "Gardens of the Moon" by Steven Erikson. You may have to expend some effort to obtain this book---I see the wait here is several weeks---and I question whether we'll ever see it in paperback. Nonetheless, it is well worth the expenditure of time and money, and deserving of every accolade. I can't recommend this work more highly. Spread the word...

I have to tell everyone--this book is one of the best novels I
have EVER read! and that includes "Mists of Avalon"!
"The Black
Chalice" is the tale of a German Monk comissioned by the Pope to
write the true history of a Christian Knight Crusader, who 30 years before became a
heretic in love with a Witch. Only problem is, the truth is not what the Monk or the Church wants
written--but the Witch has enchanted the pen so that it can only write the truth. The
dialogue and the writing style in this novel is so fresh and cutting to the point that I am
reading this book with a highlighter in one hand! I have never highlighted anything in a
NOVEL before! So many good quotes I don't even know where to begin! Here is one of
the first things I highlighted:
"The ultimate vengeance, she reflected, was neither death nor maiming. It was knowledge.
And indeed she should have guessed as much, even from the little she knew of
Christianity. What God saved for his damned, even beyond the torments of fire, was the
agony of truth."--pg. 75 (hardbound EDGE Publishing)
Is that good or what?
By page 5 you are into the plot beyond the endpages and the dustjacket summary. What
an amazing talent this author has! When I am done reading this one I will read it out loud
to my husband(that is one of our bonding activities--we read to each other in bed) and
after that I am not going to loan this out to just anyone--I want to make sure I get it back!
It is a keeper. Two thumbs up.
Ravyn

This is a novel about the Union underground network of spies in the South during the Civil War. It is a story of ordinary people who took great risks to remain loyal while all those around them were rebelling. I have a great appreciation for this book because I feel loyalist in the South is a much neglected part of American history. This book uses the device of a ghost's perspective to both tell the story as a first person account and to interject present day perceptions and give hindsight explanations. Although these passages are admittedly necessary, they do cause the book to drag. The story is interesting, but there is too much lamenting about how today's world has forgotten the loyalist and unjustly idealized the South. Just tell me the story and I can figure that out myself.