The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.62 You Save: $21.33 (85%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Last Templar
Book Review: Amateurish and an outlet for personal leanings.
Summary: 1 Stars
A very poorly written slapstick work with one dimensional characters .Very heavy on anti religious rants which at times completely deviate from the storyline and do not add any value or serve a purpose to the plot. Overall a waste of time.Book Review: An Intriguing Book
Summary: 3 Stars
The Last Templar is a good read and holds your attention right to the last page, wherein the "secret" of the whole story is revealed.
I found that the story line moves quickly and with totally unpredictable shifts in the action and dramatic developments.
That said, I think Dan Brown is a better writer overall, but Khoury still merits a few good hours for reading this book.
The "love story" between Tess and Reilly is indeed sophomoric, as some other reviewers have pointed out. But, hey, this is an action thriller, not a profound psychological romantic novel.
Also, some of the "philosophical discourses" seem pretty drawn out, as the Cardinal's long monologue during his interview with the "Monsignor" and The Agent." Still, what the Cardinal says does make the reader think and probes the age-old question of "What is Truth?"
Is "Truth" literal FACT, or can it be psychological, if fanciful "fact" that changes the lives of billions of people? That is the central question this book raises, and it is a good one.
All in all I enjoyed this book, found it kept my attention and interest, and caused me to do some thinking.
Not one of the "greatest books ever", but a solid and intriguing piece of work.
Book Review: An alternate ending suggestion, for an otherwise strong first novel
Summary: 3 Stars
The discovery/journal/gospel is not a hoax. It is presented to the world for what it is. The abomination that is "The Church" that tries to suppress it's release is shown to the world. And its writer is exalted, through his writing, as a man/woman like you and I who; lives a perfect temporal life as an exemplar for us all, is murdered for his efforts, and is resurected after three days to prove that you and I can hope for the same should we live by his teachings!
I Applaud Raymond Khoury's attempt. Although I would prefer something akin to my suggested ending, I find it hard to be overly critical of his efforts. Christ was, is, and always will be our redeemer. If his writings were ever found they would certainly only support our testimonies of this truth, for the betterment of all, from every faith. A good novel after all and entertaining.
Book Review: An awesome thriller, brilliant to the last page!
Summary: 5 Stars
A good read, thriller with strong historical references, starts with a bang and suspense keeps building up.
A Templar theme is very much in the air these days and parallels are inevitably drawn between Last Templar and Da Vinci Code. The resemblance stops there. After reading the latter (Da Vinci Code) and turning those pages right to the last one, I was disappointed with the ending and felt let down. Not with R Khoury's Last Templar as we are entitled to a grand finale... But then I will not spoil your fun...
I was delighted to discover a strong female character in Tess Chaykin doing, for a change, her fair share of the action: An attractive, contemporary and intelligent woman unlike the usual stereotypes.
Sure enough she falls in love, not without some complications... But the predicting game stops there as the main plot is yet to be discovered and the story goes from one surprise to another.
As an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher I actually used some excerpts in class, making use of the suspense to keep my students interested and the contemporary language to build up their speaking skills. Writing a different end to a segment in the same style aroused more interest in what was actually going to happen. And they were not disappointed...
Definitely a multi-faceted book for enlightenment on a fascinating historical period, pure enjoyment, and in-class teaching to a captivated audience. Any more in the same series?...
Book Review: An okay novel, but lacking in meat
Summary: 2 Stars
Like other reviews I read here, I also purchased this book based on the premise that it would be written in the same vein as The DaVinci Code and provide more historical background on the Knights Templar. Unfortunately, that was not the case. It was a fair and often entertaining read, especially at the beginning, but did not have enough "meat" to back up its "historical" premise. I will not spoil it for those who want to read the book, but in the end, I was disappointed and simply left wondering about the author's true agenda.