The Black Chalice
The Black Chalice is a historical fantasy novel by Marie Jakober.
Marie Jakober's first novel in several years, and well worth the wait. The Black Chalice is a complex and beautifully-written historical fantasy incorporating medieval Christianity, German mythology, pagan theology, politics, and magic.
The story is told by a monk who was in love with his knight, and hates himself for it; now he has been ordered to tell the story of the turbulent times he lived through, but he finds that he must tell the story the way he really lived it, and not the way he would like to whitewash it.
As a young man he was a squire in love with his knight, a disillusioned and cynical crusader. The crusader is recruited by representatives of the old religion to protect the world from the ambitions of his own lord, an increasingly megalomaniacal Duke who believes he is specially chosen by God to establish God's kingdom on earth.
Jakober's strength is in portraying the conflicts & contradictions with which people & societies wrestle. In The Black Chalice we see Christianity juxtaposed with paganism; personal power juxtaposed with power-seeking; love, truth, and passion juxtaposed with fear, hate, and zealotry.
The Black Chalice is a story of political and religious intrigue, magic and romance, war and power. Fans of Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon, and of Guy Gavriel Kay's works, will definitely love it; but The Black Chalice breaks new ground and does it in a unique and beautiful way. This novel ought to get Jakober a lot of well-deserved attention.
Commentary and discussion
- SFSite review by Victoria Strauss
- Strange Horizons review by Christopher Cobb (2001/12/17)
- Green Man Review
Awards
Works with similar themes
- Gael Baudino, Strands Series
- Marion Zimmer Bradley, The Mists of Avalon
- Marie Jakober, The Black Chalice
- Marie Jakober, High Kamilan (aka Even the Stones)
- Guy Gavriel Kay, A Song for Arbonne
- Katherine Kurtz, Deryni series
- Judith Tarr, The Hound and the Falcon
Editions
- Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing (2000): ISBN ISBN: 1-894063-00-7
- Ace Trade (2002): ISBN 0441008968