Rating: 
Summary: Ugh
Review: After a wonderful start in The Iron Lance, and a story that finally picked up and became interesting (more than halfway through) in The Black Rood, The Mystic Rose was a very disappointing read. I am a huge fan of Stephen Lawhead, who is without a doubt one of the most gifted writers still living in the world. If anyone else had written this book, I would have given it 3 stars, but I have come to expect much better than this from Mr. Lawhead. Cait is not a likeable nor a believable character, although she is slightly more interesting than Duncan. Not to say too much, the entire episode with the prince completely undermined her integrity and she lost all credibility as a character. I kept thinking (being a woman myself) that woman would NOT act that way. (By the way, Lawhead has written another novel largely from a woman's perspective - Taliesin, in which Charis is the main character, and in which Lawhead did a fine job characterizing her and making her real and believable.) The story was slow, but Lawhead frequently begins stories slow. Thus, throughout the book I expected it to pick up ... something interesting is bound to happen soon ... I confess I skimmed the last eighty pages or so just to say I'd finished it. Please don't get me wrong - Lawhead is a gifted writer, and at least the first volume of this series is very, very much worth the reading, but I'm afraid The Mystic Rose missed the mark.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: After a wonderful start in The Iron Lance, and a story that finally picked up and became interesting (more than halfway through) in The Black Rood, The Mystic Rose was a very disappointing read. I am a huge fan of Stephen Lawhead, who is without a doubt one of the most gifted writers still living in the world. If anyone else had written this book, I would have given it 3 stars, but I have come to expect much better than this from Mr. Lawhead. Cait is not a likeable nor a believable character, although she is slightly more interesting than Duncan. Not to say too much, the entire episode with the prince completely undermined her integrity and she lost all credibility as a character. I kept thinking (being a woman myself) that woman would NOT act that way. (By the way, Lawhead has written another novel largely from a woman's perspective - Taliesin, in which Charis is the main character, and in which Lawhead did a fine job characterizing her and making her real and believable.) The story was slow, but Lawhead frequently begins stories slow. Thus, throughout the book I expected it to pick up ... something interesting is bound to happen soon ... I confess I skimmed the last eighty pages or so just to say I'd finished it. Please don't get me wrong - Lawhead is a gifted writer, and at least the first volume of this series is very, very much worth the reading, but I'm afraid The Mystic Rose missed the mark.
Rating:
Summary: Not Lawhead's best...
Review: 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.
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.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. Peaking with Prince Hasan's fantastical palace in mid-Spain and barely saved with the eventual conclusion on a thinly-veiled Avalon-esque community, the novel provides minimal excitement. 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 sister to pious nun is untenable; Cait's constant stubbornness 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.
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 disappointingly.
Rating: 
Summary: Hey! Its good!
Review: Hilarious! I think its hilarious! After reading my fellow reviewers, I find it amusing that they were all disappointed and that I LIKED it. Apparently, they were familiar with the authors writings and were disappointed compared to his other works----I say to that----I've got to read his others! If this was good, can you imagine how well the others are written?
I enjoyed this adventure. I FELT that it was an awesome adventure, with lots of twists and turns. I mean, yeah, there were a lot of loose ends and/or what the heck? but on the most part---its good.
Cait goes on a quest for vengeance and plans to use the Holy Cup for her purposes. Its a long road til the last showdown.
I enjoyed the descriptions of the Holy Lands and the Crusaders in the dungeon. Stuff you don't think about and then appreciate what you hear.
Hey, why'd that guy favor his side? We never found out. I thoroughly enjoyed the vision Cait had when encountering the Mystic Rose at last. Also, I missed something. Who the heck was the white priest or soldier or whatever who spoke to Cait? Its never said but it didn't make the book difficult or hard to get into. There were parts in the 20th century, but considering this was the last of a trilogy that I didn't read the first two of, I skipped that stuff. It has little relevance to ignoramuses.
It seemed the story was a little sped up at the end. We don't seem to dwell on Caits stigmata much, before its battletime and off to Caithness. I would have preferred more interpretation as the Grail Protector, etc.
But I liked it! So if you're looking for a good Grail Quest to read, like to read it from a refreshing womans perspective, want to throw in a couple Vikings or something, this is the book for you!
Rating:
Summary: Par ending to a Par series
Review: I feel like I am commiting a sacriligeous act by writing a bad review of a Stephen Lawhead novel. I loved the Pendragon Cycle. read the series twice
I wept in the Song of Albion read the series 4 times
I was enheartened by Byzantium. third time reading
And I reminisced in Avalon. read twice But I was disappointed in the Celtic Crusades. Its not that they were bad. They weren't at all. But they weren't good either. They were just "there". Kinda like your belly button. It doesn't look bad, it doesn't look good. It just "exists". I was dissapointed in the character developement. I never cared much for any of the characters in this series, least of all Cait in the "Mystic Rose". There is not much motivation to continue reading a series when all the characters bore you. I did like Rognivald (sp?). I never cared much about the plot either. Searching and recovering holy artifacts is just plain boring and not to mention its already been done. Stick with the stories about men and the love they have for their people and their country (Albion and Pendragon) and stick with stories of men on historic and spiritual journies (Byzantium). Did anyone else get the feeling that the rest of the series was written because he just "had to finish the series"? Very dissapointed but not so dissapointed that I am not eagerly awaiting his next novel or series.
Rating:
Summary: Ugh
Review: I found this book to be an incredible bore. After the first two books in the series, the first one quite entertaining and the second one less so, I was shocked at the incredible number of yawns I counted while reading this. The characters, especially Cait, were so thoroughly unlikeable and I could not relate to them hard as I tried. If it was any other author, I would give this a two, but as I generally like Lawhead books, I hope that this will encourage him to SPEED UP THE PLOT and BETTER CHARACTERIZE!
Rating:
Summary: Good ending to a GREAT trilogy.
Review: I have to say that, after reading some other reviews on here, that I almost didn't buy this book. Thankfully, my desire to finish this trilogy overcame any trepidation caused by poor reviews, so I purchased the book and brought it to the beach. The book is not up to Lawhead's usual fare. The plot tends to drag in places, and some of the description becomes tediously overdone. I did enjoy the story, and found myself reading more than I had planned at each sitting(thank God for sunscreen, or I'd have been a lobster!). Cait's quest for the Grail, her desperate search for her sister -- these parts of the book drew me further. Her encounter with both the subjects of her search in the same place and her ... but I will say no more, so as to not give away precious plot points. Suffice to say that the book is well worth the time and effort in reading it. For those who have followed Murdo and Duncan, this book contributes to the BOTH stories that we have been following -- the story of the returning Crusader, and the story of the modern-day Cele De.
Rating:
Summary: Good ending to a GREAT trilogy.
Review: I have to say that, after reading some other reviews on here, that I almost didn't buy this book. Thankfully, my desire to finish this trilogy overcame any trepidation caused by poor reviews, so I purchased the book and brought it to the beach. The book is not up to Lawhead's usual fare. The plot tends to drag in places, and some of the description becomes tediously overdone. I did enjoy the story, and found myself reading more than I had planned at each sitting(thank God for sunscreen, or I'd have been a lobster!). Cait's quest for the Grail, her desperate search for her sister -- these parts of the book drew me further. Her encounter with both the subjects of her search in the same place and her ... but I will say no more, so as to not give away precious plot points. Suffice to say that the book is well worth the time and effort in reading it. For those who have followed Murdo and Duncan, this book contributes to the BOTH stories that we have been following -- the story of the returning Crusader, and the story of the modern-day Cele De.
Rating:
Summary: The Perfect fantasy
Review: Knights Templar Commander Renaud de Bracineaux kills his enemy without a second thought of remorse. The daughter of his latest victim, Caitriona is heartbroken that the merciless Renaud killed her father, a Celtic Crusader. Seeking vengeance for this unnecessary murder, Caitriona purloins a letter from Renaud that claims to name the location of THE MYSTIC ROSE, known in many circles as the Holy Grail.
Caitriona decides to find THE MYSTIC ROSE in Spain, but Renaud gives chase. War between the Infidel Moors and the Pope's Army of God occurs on the Iberian Peninsular adding danger to Caitriona's quest. However, ultimately the real peril is when Renaud and the Templars catch up to battle with Caitriona and her Celtic soldiers even as she drinks from the Holy Grail.
The deep descriptions of this novel are a two edged sword. They give readers a wonderful look at the past in fascinating yet extrinsic locales rarely used in literature, but also slows down the action. The story line is deep and for the most part moves forward rapidly though a modern day subplot seems bizarrely out of context. Still Caitriona is an intrepid soul whose actions make the plot succeed for those readers who relish a rich historical novel. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: Shows Strengths and Weaknesses
Review: Lawhead is a master at building a landscape, as he so wonderfully illustrated in The Song of Albion series. With attention to detail (sometimes to the extreme), Lawhead makes us smell and taste and hear the tangibles of worlds far removed from us. And, usually, he makes us aware of the intangibles. Though his characters can seem stiff at times, they reflect eras gone by, and sometimes suprise us with their poignant insights and honor. I am a huge fan of "The Iron Lance." In the first book of this series, Lawhead gave us a character in Murdo that we could relate to--he struggled with his faith, with his quest, and with his own weaknesses. In "The Black Rood" and "The Mystic Rose," we find characters who never struggle in the way Murdo did. For this reason, they never drew me into the story the same way. Don't get me wrong, Cait's character in "The Mystic Rose" is worthy of her forbears. She is strong and ready for the task ahead. After witnessing her father's murder, she decides to seek revenge against the Templar commander responsible. Inadvertently, she ends up with a letter that is key to the location of the Holy Grail, the Mystic Rose. As she sets out to find this treasure, in hopes of luring her father's killer, we are exposed to places rich in color and scenery. Unfortunately, some of this seems staged. Lawhead leads us to believe that a certain Arab prince is up to no good, but later we find ourselves slightly deceived by this. We also see the Templar commander begin to track Cait, but this subplot tapers off until his sudden appearance at the end. We suspect that this will happen, so it's no big surprise; the only surprise is that we're given no explanation of how he found the Mystic Rose's location. One subplot that other reviewers have been quick to rail against, the early 1900's connection, I personally enjoyed throughout the series. It brought the historic existence of these holy relics into this century, whetting my appetite for the real treasure of the Swift Sure Hand that Lawhead writes of. In "The Mystic Rose," more than the first two books of The Celtic Crusades, Lawhead points us in a spiritual direction full of hope and grace. In so doing, he adds value for those who believe--and possibly undermines the effort for those who do not. I believe. I enjoyed the series. After following three generations of Scottish folk through thousand year old adventures, I am thankful for the experience.
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