Customer Reviews

The Burning Times: A Novel of Medieval France

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I thorough enjoyed this FICTIONAL piece of literature. It was fun. Alot of fun. And it is not meant to be historical, I think some of the other reviewers need to stop taking themselves so seriously and read history books if they want just facts. Anyone can take a piece of history and put a person into it and imagine what their life would have been like. Sure this is a little bit more than that, but that's what makes it so much fun. It's not your average boring novel about a "regular" person from a time in history. The characters are larger than life, what I expect in a good fiction novel. I will be moving on to the Vampire Chronicles next, as I thoroughly enjoy Ms. Kalogridis' writing.

This book seems to be a rough draft of what could have been a fabulous story. Although purporting itself to be a historical novel, it has none of the richness or detail that would necessarily tie itself to this period of time. It could very well have taken place within a fantasy world, and might have actually fared much better if it wasn't tied to a specific point in history. The setting is lacking, as the history of the times is presented more as appended lists of unnecessary details rather than an as the foundation from which the action necessarily and organically flows. The characterization is very weak, and there is no real chance for the reader to learn to hate the enemy nor love the heroes, or to actually care which side wins. The plot is actually very good, but presented in such a way that the reader feels to be nothing more than a passive observer of events rather than an active participant in them. However, there are some good ideas presented within, and on the whole the book remains plausible and logically consistent. I would recommend this story in the sense that it is a perfect object lesson in "undeveloped potential"; that is, this is what your OUTLINE should be, not your final story, a lesson which unfortunately MOST of today's published authors have never learned. Had the author let her manuscript sit for a few months and then re-visited it, rather than send it to the publisher right away, she undoubtedly could have rewritten it to create a much more engaging, and perhaps even meaningful, story. The potential is there to explore the themes of love, fear, good, evil, destiny, and a host of others, but these ideas are developed into nothing more than high sounding words. As it is, she gets 2 stars. One for the plot, and one for the seeds of greatness that were sown but were never allowed to grow.

I hadn't expected to get hooked when I first picked up "The Burning Times," but let's just say that I didn't get much accomplished that particular weekend other than reading this novel straight through. I had thought I would be reading a fairly mundane story about the inquisition and medieval witch burnings, and I was happily caught off-guard by Kalogridis' more trascendent tale.

This is a story that can be read and understood on a number of levels, and the message about the unfortunate consequences of love tainted with fear -- even with the best intentions -- is a quite relevant and timely one just now

This book starts out quite boring. I even parted with reading it for some time but when forced to read something I picked it back up again and believe it or not, it gets better. I would have to say that the boredom ceased once Sybille went off on her own. So hang in there and enjoy.

Jeanne Kalogridis is no Umberto Eco, so there's no real basis for comparing "The Burning Times (BT)" with "The Name Of The Rose". That said, it's only natural to make some comparisons since they are both medieval tales set in the times of the infamous Spanish Inquisition. Whereas Eco's genre-defining tour de force is brilliantly complex in its plotting and treatment of the subject, Kalogridis' tale of persecution is more personal, less ambitious in its scope but no less enjoyable.

As a reader unschooled in medieval European history, I was intrigued by BT's focus on the practice of the old (ie, pre-Christian) religion and how this became an underground religion for many who masquaraded as Christians but continued to practise in secret in the medieval days. The novel is also instructive in demonstrating how horribly intolerant "new" religions invariably are before they take root and how ecumenical they become when they are established, become secular or the accepted religion of the day.

BT unfolds in a sequence of flashbacks as Sybille, the Mother Abbess held captive by the Church and awaiting death at the stake, confesses her story to young trainee monk, Brother Michel. While there's nothing in the plot development that surprises, the suspense never lets up until you reach the final page. Kalogridis knows how to tell a gripping tale. The only false note I detected was in the depiction of Michel's lust for Sybille, a concession to young readers raised on a diet of sex and sin. A bit of a cheap shot. Kalogridis should have trusted herself more.

BT is an absorbing, enjoyable and a very well written novel. I highly recommend it.

This is a shallow and stereotyped story. The characters are poorly developed. From the first chapter you know what the "surprise" at the end will be. It is a teeny-bopper witch tale. For good treatments of Wicca I would prefer to read anything by Starhawk. For a real historical treatment of the subject of the witch trials, Highroad to the Stake by M Kunze is definitely far superior. This particular book was a waste of my time, an insult to my intelligence...and boring!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I couldn't wait to get back to it. I read it in two days. Your basic good vs. evil with some history mixed in. Wish I hadn't read it yet so I could experience it again.

I was hoping to read a historical novel on the inquisition, but it is just a vague and overambitious attempt to embrace too many subjects (battles, pestilences, monastic life, paganism, inquisition, magic etc.). The flow of the narration is continuosly interrupted by dreams and flash-backs and the "final surprise" can be guessed almost at the beginning of the book for you know from the start the real nature of certain characters. The idea was good, but this book is definitely a missed opportunity. The author seems only too eager to imitate the more mature and complex narrative by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

I was somewhat disappointed in this book. I was expecting something more informative in terms of historical reference and contemporary lives, attitudes, beliefs, etc. I found the writing increasingly simplistic and annoying and by the final few chapters was skimming rather than reading the novel, simply to get to the end. If the rituals and practices described in this book were properly researched and accurately described, fine and good, but as something that was supposed to be a picture of 14th Century France, I got no sense of that. It could've been written about any period of history. Not something I'd recommend to other readers.

At first I thought the book would be about the story of a person fleeing the inquisition in France in the mid 1400's. Many totally innocent people were accused and burned during those times, but I was not ready to find the story of cult followers to "the goddess" and their fight against the enemy.

Even though the story is interesting and the plot holds till the end of the book, it sometimes felt too mystical and surreal. You don't know whether to take this book as a faithfull recount of those times and situations or as a fantasy set in historical times.

However, the book is entertaining and well written. All characters are alive and interesting and the places and situations are very well described.