The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Last Templar
Book Review: Bad and boring
Summary: 1 Stars
Ridiculous plot; formulaic romance; annoying people making incomprehensible decisions; a Vatican hit man; archeological vandalism; every noun with its cliched adjective...don't waste your time.Book Review: Better than "that other book!"
Summary: 5 Stars
Like the DaVinci Code, this a fast-paced read that you won't want to put down. It's no surprise that Khoury is also an accomplished screenwriter. As you read this book, you can "watch" the film play out in your mind's eye. But that's where the similarity ends. In between the scenes of a rapidly unfolding crime story set in modern day Manhatten, Khoury's book seemlessly creates the time and space to dig deeper. In it, Khoury locks on to the enigmatic legend of the Templars with an historian's precision. He then meticulously peels away the layers in a way that the other book cannot. In The Last Templar, Khoury strives to engage and educate the reader - to welcome them in to a personal passion, about which he has clearly done his homework. But he does so without pontificating an agenda. Instead, he lets the reader in on a great secret, and asks the reader to draw his own conclusions. I very much enjoyed this first novel of Khoury's, and I look forward to the next.Book Review: Better than primetime TV
Summary: 3 Stars
I read this book because it was on the NY Times Bestseller list and was in the library. Initially I was put off because it opens with the same quote from Steve Berry's Templar Legacy. Its a fast read and I didn't think it was as predictable as the Templar Legacy. I liked that it brought the alchemist side of the Templars into view. I also liked that most of the plot happens in NYC versus Europe for a change. This is Khoury's first book and you can definitely tell that he is a screenwriter when reading it.
I would recommend this as an airport read.
Book Review: BiG Disappointment
Summary: 1 Stars
I had high expectations for this book only to find it to be a "Da Vinci Code" wannabe (and a poor one at that). I feel I wasted my time and my money.Book Review: Book'spremise based on a misquote
Summary: 2 Stars
In keeping with the popularity of Dan Brown's blindness leading the blind, we are presented with a story line based on false information. Like "The DaVinci Code" (remember? there was never a real Priory of Scion or Dossier Secrets), this book is based on a quote misattributed to Pope Leo X. The quote which shows up on the back cover of the book as well as the inside first page, was not actually said by Pope Leo X. Khoury fails to let the reader know that it was actually written by a man named John Bale in the 16th century, sometimes miquoted as "how profitable this fable of Christ has been to us". Bale wrote a satire of the Roman Catholic hierarchy called "The Pageant of the Popes". This satire was written in the fury of the Reformation, so it would make sense that something like this would be written at that time. But it was not said by Pope Leo. When I first started reading the book I was so impressed by Khoury's knowledge and reasearch of the Templars, but that's obviously the only research he did, especially in terms of the New Testament and early Christian writings by people like Josephus, Clement, Ignatius and even Pliny the Younger, as well as on any Reformational literature and knowledge of the general political tone of the day. Since Khoury is a screen writer, the book easily reads like a screenplay. I'm sure he had movie-making in mind when he wrote it. I would hope that whomever buys the screenplay rights will do more research than Khoury did, but based on Hollywood's record with facts, but that's doubtful (unless it's picked up by someone like Ridley Scott!). The book uses the latin "veritas vos liberabit" -- Indeed, the truth will set you free.