The Black Chalice

Rating:
Summary: Best Fantasy Novel I've Read This Year
Review: This is a splendid novel, well worth the effort to seek it out. One of the best and most intelligently written works of fantasy I have ever read, I would argue this is one of the most prominent, it not THE most prominent, works of fantasy published this year. As other reviewers have stated, due to the small publisher, it is likely most readers of fantasy will miss this book. What a shame! And, as far as the one negative review is concerned, one must question the breadth of the reviewer's experience of fiction, fantasy or otherwise...this is far closer to literature than the majority of offerings found in the genre. I think the comments made by an author, such as David Duncan, or the reviewer from Albuquerque, far more likely to be reliable and insightful.

Rating:
Summary: good book
Review: this is a very good historical fiction/fantasy novel. The point of veiw is that of a monk being forced to write a truth that does not mesh with his perceptions of the universe. His attempts to delude himself make this book a facinating read. However, this is not for the immature reader. It deals with sex, war, rape and homosexuality. If you find this funny/ embarrasing/ nasty and wrong, you are missing the point of this book altogether. A wonderful book...for those who don't still beleive in the stork.

Rating:
Summary: Rare and haunting
Review: This is perhaps the most unusual fantasy I've ever read - inventive, meaningful, compelling, and so powerful in its atmosphere that I could shut my eyes and feel myself still in Jakober's world long after I closed the book. Jakober also proves something for me: that in terms of quality, some work in so-called "genre fiction" is the equal or better of anything you'd find in the literary mainstream.
One small correction, for the sake of fairness: a previous reviewer was incensed at Jakober's use of a real saint as a central character. In fact, she did not do that. The Reinmark and all its denizens are fictional, as noted by the author on p.459 (of my hardback). I do know a bit about the saints, and I know he ain't there - though Jakober did accurately capture the tortured psyche of some of the contemporary saints.