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    Citadel: A Novel
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    Citadel: A Novel
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    Citadel: A Novel
    Ebook1,050 pages15 hours

    Citadel: A Novel

    By Kate Mosse

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Combining the rugged action of Labyrinth with the haunting mystery of Sepulchre, #1 bestselling author Kate Mosse’s eagerly awaited Citadel is a mesmerizing World War II story of daring and courage, in which a group of determined women fighting for the French Resistance risk their lives to save their homeland . . . and protect astonishing secrets buried in time.

    France, 1942. In Carcassonne, a colorful historic village nestled deep in the Pyrenees, a group of courageous women are engaged in a lethal battle. Like their ancestors who fought to protect their land from Northern invaders seven hundred years before, these members of the resistance—codenamed Citadel—fight to liberate their home from the Nazis.

    But smuggling refugees over the mountains into neutral territory and sabotaging their German occupiers at every opportunity is only part of their mission. These women must also protect an ancient secret that, if discovered by their ruthless enemies, could change the course of history.

    A superb blend of rugged action and haunting mystery, Citadel is a vivid and richly atmospheric story of love, faith, heroism, and danger—and a group of extraordinary women who dare the impossible to survive.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMar 18, 2014
    ISBN9780062281289
    Author

    Kate Mosse

    Kate Mosse CBE FRSL is an award-winning novelist, playwright, performer, campaigner, interviewer and non-fiction writer. The author of ten novels and short-story collections, her books have been translated into thirty-eight languages and published in more than forty countries. Fiction includes the multimillion-selling Languedoc Trilogy (Labyrinth, Sepulchre, Citadel), The Joubert Family Chronicles (The Burning Chambers, The City of Tears, The Ghost Ship, The Map of Bones) and No 1 bestselling Gothic fiction including The Taxidermist’s Daughter and The Winter Ghosts. Her highly-acclaimed non-fiction includes An Extra Pair of Hands: A Story of Caring & Everyday Acts of Love and Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries: How Women (Also) Built the World, which inspired her one-woman theatre touring show. A regular guest on radio and television for literature, Kate hosts the pre-show interview series at Chichester Festival Theatre and is a regular interviewer for literary and arts festivals including Letters Live, the Hay Festival, the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the British Library and the Royal National Theatre. Her new podcast, The Matilda Effect, will be launched in summer 2024. The Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction – the world’s largest annual literary awards celebrating writing by woman - she is the founder of the global #WomanInHistory campaign and has her own monthly YouTube book show, Mosse on a Monday. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Kate is also an Honorary Fellow of the Society of Authors, a Visiting Professor of Contemporary Fiction and Creative Writing at the University of Chichester and President of the Festival of Chichester. In the broader arts, Kate is President of the Festival of Chichester, Patron of the Chichester Cathedral Festival of Flowers 2024, Vice-Patron of the Chichester Cathedral Platinum Music Trust and Patron of the Chichester Festival of Music, Dance and Speech. She is also an Ambassador for Parkinsons UK.

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    Reviews for Citadel

    4/5

    16 ratings12 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This is the last book in a trilogy, and even though I have read the other two I cannot remember them, so for me this was a stand-alone. It took nearly 100 pages to really get into this book and understand all the sub-plots, but I loved it! I liked most of the main characters, especially the women who stood up and risked everything to fight against the evil of WWII, but it was Sandrine who was the real heroine. Her story was poignant and heart-felt as she grew from naive teenager to Resistance fighter. Rich in historical fact, full of treachery and courage, and brimming with danger, this was a terrific read.
    • 4/5
      I really liked some of the characters, and the historical detail. The mystical/fantasy part of it didn't always ring true (was a bit too facile) but otherwise it's a gripping read.
    • 5/5
      The final book in Mosse's Languedoc Trilogy, CITADEL is also the best of the three. As with the others, CITADEL is set in and around Carcassonne and merges present day (or, in this case, World War Two) stories with echoes of a medieval past. The quiet heroism and desperation of the French during the German occupation is well stated, although this book is less about the deeds and more about the characters and how the cope with war. In the earlier novels the past is very strongly felt and the links with the past and the way the past can influence the present are a major part of the stories. In CITADEL this is less strongly represented, as if the ability of the past to impact, indeed even rescue, the present has become an old man's dream rather than a real possibility. Mosse is a good writer and evener minor characters feel rounded enough that we want to care for them. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Every bit as good as the predecessors in the Languedoc series, this one weaves events of the ancient past into the story of Sandrine Vidal and the French resistance in world war two. I really enjoy reading Kate Mosse's novels.
    • 2/5
      Umm interesting in places but it seemed to run out of steam and then did great leaps in time and then was 200 pages too long. I didn't feel I really got to know any of the characters and when it came to the detail of 'resisting' they did seem very amateurish and lucky to survive.
    • 4/5
      Kate Mosse is a master of creating haunting settings: primieval forests, thousand year old caves, ghostly manors. In this longish novel, she weaves two stories: 1942 Carcassonne, France during the Nazi occupation and Gaul 342 Ad in the Pyrennes mountains. Mosse artfully integrates historical context with mystery and adds some supernatural to the pot as well in all her fiction and this is no exception. A lost manuscipt with power to end the war (no, really.. it isn't that bad) is pursued by both the Nazis and the partisans. Add the usual dose of human cruelty, innocence and loyalty and you have more than enough adventure for the 692 pages.
    • 3/5
      As another reviewer commented "finally finished". This book was too long! I have now read the whole of Kate Mosse's trilogy (plus an extra bit) and this was slightly disappointing,simply because it turned into a hard slog. The problem came from trying to merge the factually based resistance story with the fantasy element, whilst retaining plausibility. The 1944 characters came alive and their fates were quite moving.
      I am always keen to read about the Catharsis etc, but in this case this aspect of the book detracted rather than enhanced the whole.
      I look forward to Kate Mosse's next book.
      By the way, does anyone know how to get rid of the listing for this book as the work of a certain model?
    • 4/5
      Engrossing story, insight into the horrors of the Nazi occupation of France and the resistance. The heroine if Sandrine, with numerous other supporting characters. Difficult to remember the place names.
    • 4/5
      When reflecting on this book I realized that Ms. Mosse achieved her purpose. I experienced real emotions for the characters; fearful for the the partisans, hateful and disgusted by the Nazis and French sympathizers and intrigued by the old storyteller. I was transported by the descriptions of Carcassonne and the surrounding area and could see the country in my mind. I enjoyed all books of the trilogy and would recommend each of them but only when you have sufficient time to plumb the depths of the time, land, and characters.
    • 4/5
      Book was an ARC copy from the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Received through GoodReads. Thanks for the book!I didn't realize until I got this book in the mail that it was the third in a series. And while it can stand alone, the reader definitely gets more out of the story if they've had some exposure to the first pieces of the story. I'm glad I found the miniseries that was made out of the first book. While obviously not as good as the book, I'm sure, at least I knew some of the significant names leading into this book. So keep that in mind when thinking on reading this book...The greatest strength this book possesses is its story. While slow in a few places (the early transitions to 4th century France is a prime example), the many threads of plot come together in a cohesive whole that tells a moving and fast-paced story. I especially enjoyed the story of this Resistance cell of women starting up and fighting against the Nazis and French collaborators. The supernatural stuff was interesting, but to me, the meat of the story was the WWII threads. I was emotionally invested (think tears and wailing when I reached the climax of the book!) and cursed more than once that I had to go to work 'cause I wanted to keep reading, dang it! The characterization for the most part was pretty solid. There were some examples of static characters and sudden leaps of maturity, but for the most part I was able to connect with most of our main characters. It took me awhile, but I fell in love with Sandrine. She grew into a strong woman whose not afraid to do what needs to be done in the fight against the Nazis. There were a few decisions that I had to raise my eyebrow at that she made, but overall, I felt she was a fairly strong, competent, and sympathetic character.The romance-y stuff was stronger in the latter half of the book. In the beginning, I felt Sandrine and Raoul fell in love way too quickly. They had almost no build up; it was like lightening stuck and presto, instant love. The latter half of the book, though, I felt the romance was a lot more realistic and emotional. Probably because it had a bit of time to build... The dire circumstances our two found themselves in helped as well in raising the stakes for our couple and investing the audience even more in wanting to know of our two make it out alive or not. And while there was a good portion of the book where Sandrine and Raoul weren't in the same scenes, they had enough of a love connection that I felt the romance anyway.This book was a lovely look at a little known series of events in 1944 Nazi-occupied France. I felt with the characters most of the time and fell in love with the romance in the latter half of the book. The story and emotions throughout were astounding and enthralling. I'm sure I missed a meal or something like that more than once because I wanted to keep reading. If you loved the first two books in the series, definitely check this one out. And even if you're only interested in WWII resistance stories, still read it. It's a lovely book.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book.
    • 3/5
      A dark novel set in France during the Nazi occupation. The women who are central to the plot have banded together to fight the invaders of their homeland. Making bombs, printing secret newspapers, and stealing scarce supplies are all in a days work for these fearless few. Prime among them is Sandrine, who is willing to risk any danger to save her town and protect her friends from the Nazi invaders. Despite her grit, she is still an 18-year old and shortly falls in love with a mysterious stranger. The pair of lovers will join forces to preserve an ancient Gnostic text from Nazi capture. The villain of the piece is a Nazi officer intent upon recovering "the Codex", a fabled heretical text that is supposed to grant unknown supernatural power. With all the forces of the resistance at their side, Sandrine and her friends might just be able to protect this priceless artifact although it will cost them dearly.This book was good, but really, just crazy long. The plot is bloated with innumerable characters and lots of French names that I just could not keep straight. The level of detail the author provides is just overwhelming at times and eventually came to exhaust me. Furthermore, I began to wonder about this weird Nazi obsession with this religious text. The main antagonist becomes fixated on Sandrine, believing she somehow has the answer to its whereabouts. They torture her brutally for information but she gives them nothing. It wasn't clear to me that she really had any information to give, though. She could have named names, but she didn't know where the item was or even what it was really.Honestly, I didn't know what it was either or why it was important either to history or the plot. It's very built up, but when the good guys finally read it hoping to save their town by summoning a legion of angels or ghosts or something, it wasn't clear what really happened. The Nazis just kill everyone and leave because the war is over. The Codex isn't even preserved as the man who read it dies and his bleeding body crushes it into the mud. So... the Nazis achieve their goal of destroying it. It was just such a weird ending that left me wondering what was the point of the two dozen hours I spent listening to this behemoth. Oh well.