Chalice of Roses

Chalice of Roses is one of those rare anthologies with four novellas that are all worth reading. That doesn’t happen very often. They may not all be brilliant, but they are all enjoyable, and the grail theme is nicely woven throughout the stories. Essentially, they draw on a basic mythology that the Holy Grail was brought to England by Joseph of Arimathea, and since that time it has been watched over by grail guardians and protected by grail nights – most of whom must be pure (although the definition of what that means changes throughout time) and seventh children. Three of the stories include a holy spear (the one used to pierce Jesus’s side) which can be an instrument of evil in the wrong hands. Though I’ve classified the book type as paranormal, it should be noted that the first three stories are more like paranormal-lite, whereas the Samuel story places much more emphasis on the supernatural elements.