The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Last Templar
Book Review: Mediocre with dissatisfying ending
Summary: 1 Stars
Although this was a page turner, the book left me with a bad taste in my mouth. It assumes the audience immediately understands and accepts that the Christian church does more good than harm in the world. The ending was so poorly written that I regret reading this book.Book Review: A vivid and imaginative debut novel
Summary: 4 Stars
Scratch deeply enough under the veneer of a conspiracy theory, and you inevitably will find the Knights Templar at or near the source. At one point answerable only to the Popes of the Roman Catholic Church, the Knights became answerable just to themselves and ultimately fell out of favor with the Papacy. Stories, accounts and legends, often conflicting, surround the Knights Templar and concern everything from lost treasures to knowledge --- and power --- secretly preserved and handed down from generation to generation.
THE LAST TEMPLAR, the debut novel of Raymond Khoury --- a respected television and film scriptwriter --- centers on a secret of the Knights Templar that (it is rumored) is of such weight and bearing that its revelation will rock the world.
The novel is full of water cooler moments. For example, after reading just a few pages you will never walk past New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art again without looking toward Central Park in expectation of seeing four foreboding mounted knights riding out, lances at the ready. The occasion that brings the knights out of the woods is the unveiling of an exhibit entitled "The Treasures of the Vatican," or, more specifically, one of those treasures: an artifact that is the key to unlocking a centuries-old secret that has the power to bring down Christianity. The knights invade the Metropolitan, make off with the artifact, and the chase is on.
An FBI investigation is led by anti-terrorist specialist Sean Reilly. Soon, he and archaeologist Tess Chaykin are drawn into the dark, hidden history of the crusading Knights, and become involved in a deadly game of cat and mouse with ruthless killers as they race across three continents to recover the lost secret of the Templars.
Everyone has an agenda: there are those who want to reveal the secret to the world, those who want to maintain the status quo, and those who...well, they're not sure. Khoury does an excellent job of presenting arguments for both positions, even as opposing sides line up with equal degrees of ruthlessness to ensure that what they want to see happen will indeed occur. At the same time Khoury intermittently but smoothly takes the reader back into time, relating historical events of the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries through a fictional glass and ultimately uncovering the truth behind the revelation that some want to make known and others want to conceal.
Khoury's extensive screenwriting experience holds him in good stead here. His narrative vision is cinematic in scope, so the story unfolds like a seamless film reel across the imagination. Any reader encountering THE LAST TEMPLAR will want 1) a film version, and 2) more novels from Khoury, not necessarily in that order. Recommended.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Book Review: A great thriller with a lot to say
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading and loving the Da Vinci Code months ago, this book is so welcome. I read it over the weekend and couldn't put it down. It was more satisfying and even more enjoyable. The last part of Dan Brown's book kind of disappointed me, whereas this one just keeps going and gets bigger and more interesting. And that final twist was just awesome.
I loved the historic chapters set in the time of the crusaders and the fall of the templars, they were so epic and moving I wanted to read that story in a book of its own. And while the main story gripped me right from that great opening scene at the museum, what made this book really special for me was that although it's this huge adventure, it felt very real and credible and human. The moments when the characters are discussing religion and the history of the church and the bible were really interesting, it's rare to come across a thriller that has so much to say. It really made me think and it inspired me so positively. Tess and Reilly's conflicting opinions and the way they help each other grow and find each other was a lovely touch.
In the interviews with the author that I read on the book's website and on bookreporter.com, it seems Khoury first wrote it as a screenplay ten years ago and got a big book offer which he turned down when he found out the publishers wanted to "lose the religion" and turn it into a hunt for gold. I'm glad he did, I loved this book and can't recommend it enough.
Book Review: Wait for the DVD...
Summary: 2 Stars
I got this book based on the premise and was initially engaged. Early on, the action moved briskly enough that I was willing to overlook its faults: The prose was flowery and cliched, the characters a little one-dimensional. Think of the genre featuring the 'brilliant, beautiful headstrong ' and you've got it down pat.
Not surprisingly, there's also the 'gifted-but-haunted-by-past-demons' FBI agent' and the associated cast of stock characters.
Of course, nobody acts remotely like a real person and a series of unrealistic actions mixed with coincidences keep them all moving toward the inevitable conclusion.
That said, I initially enjoyed it in spite of it faults and found it well paced. Eventually, though, it bogs down in a love story and its need to connect the dots with lengthy historical backstory.
I wish I'd liked it better...
Book Review: Was almost a solid four
Summary: 3 Stars
I have to say, this book started out really, really good. I was hooked until about two thirds of the way through and then it just lost something. I read a lot of thrillers and I was thinking maybe this is going to go to the top of the list, but it just didn't make it. I won't bore you with a book summary, Amazon does that nicely....and I would probably pick up another book from this author, but I may wait for paper...Like I said, a strong start, fizzle at the end.