The Templar Salvation (A Templar Novel)

I really enjoyed reading The Templar Salvation but I think it is important to read The Last Templar first as this book is definitely a continuation of the first book. I found the main characters of Tess Chaykin and Sean Reilly to be credible and I enjoyed their partnership. The villain was a

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definite threat to the western world. I found the story to be believable and the pace of the story to be thrilling. I became fascinated with the locations in Turkey and made me want to visit there which was not something that I had thought of before. I am looking forward to the third instalment in the series.

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I quite enjoyed The Templar Salvation by Raymond Khoury, published in October, 2010. Though I have not read any other of Khoury’s books, The Templar Salvation can easily be read on its own.

Set in the present, with flashbacks to the age of the Knights of Templar, this novel by Raymond Khoury is

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easy to follow and has a great plot. As I read and turned pages, The Templar Salvation grabbed my attention more and more and I just had to keep reading!

Well written, with a great plot, climax and ending, The Templar Salvation was a great read!!

I received this book for free to review as a “First Read’ of Librarything. I am a member of Librarything, Goodreads, Bookdivas and the Penguin book club.
DBettenson

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I did enjoy this book but the reason for the lower rating is because it's in the middle of s series which is always hard for me to read if I've not read the others. It's hard to read things about events or characters that is presumed the reader already knows. Mr. Khoury did well trying to make it

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easy to jump in the middle but the book would really sing as a part of a trilogy rather than picking it up on it's own.

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Decent, for a standard Templars-have-a-secret-that-will-destroy-Christianity thriller. I usually enjoy these, because I have a different interest in the Knights Templar, but the "secrets" for each tale, from Knight & Lomas's "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" through Mr. Dan Brown's best-selling, but

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woefully fanciful, tomes, and all his imitators, evince a terrible dearth of real scholarship into church history, the formation of the canon, the Council of Nicaea, etc. I mention this only because so many people do take Brown and others at face value when they say, 'the "history" on which this novel is based is real.' Horsefeathers.

Of course, read as adventure/thriller novels, they do provide some pleasant diversion (not Brown, for me, though. His writing leaves me cold.). Khoury's book here, the only one I've read, satisfies in that way.

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That author Raymond Khoury is an excellent storyteller is no surprise. He has demonstrated his skills in this regard amply over the course of the three novels he released prior to his latest one, "The Templar Salvation." What surprises about "The Templar Salvation" is that it's even better than the

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immensely enjoyable novel to which it's a sequel, "The Last Templar."

"The Templar Salvation" mesmerizes for a variety of reasons, but it's difficult to list any of them above the intricate historical, geographical, and sociocultural research he weaves together to create the vivid settings where his characters toil. Khoury is masterful at imbibing his story with richness of time and place both ancient and modern, inviting all his readers' senses to experience the ceaseless action and twisting plot right along with the characters.

"The Templar Salvation" also treats readers to Khoury's magnificent pacing. He puts readers in the rare and enviable position of requiring gargantuan effort to stop turning the pages before the novel's end.

Khoury's writing is frequently and favorably associated with the best work of the estimable Dan Brown and Steve Berry. "The Templar Salvation" lands Khoury squarely among the ranks of today's preeminent thriller authors, and calls to mind the writing of Lee Child, Vince Flynn, and David Baldacci.

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This book was a sequel to an earlier book and I enjoyed it as much as the first. I especially enjoyed the back-and-forth between present time in the story & the 1300-hundreds. Using this method, the author was able to clear up to the reader how some present day things happened to get the way they

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were.

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Fast paced and a great sequel.

i quite liked this book. learned a few things. liked that i was familiar with backgrounds (as they were true events/not the story itself). it made me want to read the first one, it referenced it alot. but you didn't have to read it to read this one, i wasn't lost, i just wanted to know more. i

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don't know alot about the templars but have wanted to learn and this just put a fire under my butt to do it.

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Books that touch on religious artifacts and harp back to the days of yore don't normally grab me, and throw in an FBI agent and I immediately think "utter shite", but for some reason I borrowed this book from a friend being short of a book to read. The blurb on the back cover did pique an interest,

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and despite taking a good three weeks to read (I got immersed in Real Racing 3 on iPad) each chapter increasingly got better and better...to start with.

It started going pear-shaped with the introduction of an Iranian agent who makes the collective Vader, Joker, and Hannibal Lector look like amateurs when it comes to a) having an evil mind b) being able to kill sadistically and c) get out of any situation. Who can stop this man? Enter one FBI agent by the nondescript name of Sean Reilly, and an ex- who has an insatiable appetite for sex and digging for bones, Tess.

So it begins with some Knights of some order or another who are protecting three trunks full of 'the Devil's work' and all these guys sent by the Pope to kill them and get it back. Go forward 700 years and we have a similar parallel story line as both this baddy and some goodies are trying to locate it from ancient scribblings. And that's pretty much where I'll leave the story so as not to give away the outcome.

The book is actually well written, and flicking back and forth between the ages is helpful to get a gauge on what is going on and where we are in the pursuit, the characters are easily recognizable, and the sporadic insertions of historical fact, which can be rattled off the memory better than if read from the book, is long-winded at times, but again helpful.

However, the suspense was ruined many times by the unbelievable, even God-like powers of survival by its characters. While bit parts, normally Turks of the lower socio-economic and not entirely smart get killed with reckless abandon, the three main principals have more lives collectively than a cattery as time after annoyingly regularly time, they slip away with minor cuts and bruises. Sh*t, even Conrad, of the Order of Templar, or whatever they were called, had supernatural survival skills.

No, the constant need to keep the story alive with chase and counter-chase, capture and evasion, suspense and stupidity ruined what could have been a truly enjoyable read. As it was, it was passable, but hardly a winner nor a recommendation. Ideally for those who find the storyline of the inhabitants of Summer Bay in "Lost and Away" somewhat realistic.

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Ah, Tess and Sean are back. Tess is no longer an archaeologist, but an author of a piece of fiction that seems to bear a striking resemblance to Khoury's first book in the series, 'The Last Templar'. And Sean, Mr. FBI Agent, is still saving Tess' life.

Tess gets kidnapped and taken to Italy and so

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starts the chase, for more Templar treasure, which is never what the bad guys or good guys think it'll be. This time she and Sean are after the devil's writing, at least that's sort of what the Templar's call it in the book (multiple generations of Templars are involved in this one).

Like Khoury's other books this one is very much a thriller from start to finish. Also, like the previous Templar book, 'The Last Templar', Khoury went back and forth between the present day and the past where the riddles and such that everyone was solve originated.

It was a fine novel, well crafted, and it moved along at quite a brisk pace. The relationship sub-plot was nothing new unfortunately, but other than that it was a solid three star book.

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I wish I had read the prequel to this book first but this book was loaned to me. This book can be read as a stand alone but there are references throughout the book to events that happened in the prequel. It didn't detract from the story but tantalized me to want to read the first book.

This is a

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cut above the usual airport, adventure novel. It reads like a Dan Brown but without the self-serving presence of the protagonist professor in those books. The main character appears to work for the FBI but reads more like a CIA agent. His ex-wife, who also appeared in the other book, is an archaeologist, so she is the character that lends relevance and explanations to the finds in the story. Khoury has created an excellent baddy - he is smart, narcissistic and has a purpose that seems more realistic than world domination.

The story goes back and forth in time. The flashbacks tell the story of the Templar Knight named Conrad and his mission. This part of the story is set in the 1300's. The more contemporary story begins in Rome (at which point I was groaning because that smacked of Dan Brown) but the majority of the story is set in Turkey. I loved that it was set there and the descriptions of the people, the countryside and the culture was fabulous. It inspired me to want to read more about Turkey which is a gift that a well written book can give you.

The author is English and his characters are American. There is definitely some cultural gaps in his knowledge and an assumption that Americans have no knowledge of anything that has to do with history. Having run up against this assumption in real life, I understand where he is coming from but given what his characters do for a living, it's not likely that they would be incredulous or not understand the historical significance of where they are or what they are doing.

The action was more violent and explosive than a typical Dan Brown thriller. There weren't a lot of twists and turns but the action was such that there were times I realized I was tensed up and then relieved when the sequence resolved which means the storytelling is pretty good.

Having been very disappointed at spending time reading "The Sign" I was a little reluctant to invest in this book but the person who loaned me the book asked that I stick with it because this book is better. It is - and by a lot. If you need a little adventure this a great book. It's not one for the great pantheon of literary works but it is one to take you on a journey, give you a little history and a great travelogue. This is a book for men and women. Guys will like the action and the technical aspects of international policing as well as the story. Women will like the action, adventure and the strength of the female character. Both will enjoy the travelogue and the history.

A great book for a rainy weekend in front of the fire.

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The Templar Salvation is set three years after the events of The Last Templar.

It's of the same type of genre & vague plot, being the Templars have a secret and if it comes to light it'll destroy the Church/Christianity so someone wants it. It's well written and has a nice mix of past events,

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present action and a terrorist eager to damage Christianity to avenge his parents deaths.

A real page turner. Once you start it's hard to put down.

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This book, to me, definitely has a voice that I associate strongly with Ed Wood (apart from Tim Burton’s/Johnny Depp’s interpretation of the man; I still love that movie tho’). The prose style is bland and straightforward with an increasing level of hyperbole which never quite reaches its

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height with a sudden almost anticlimactic summation at the end of the current thought or personal anecdote.
The first half of the book is thin and kind of boring save for the offbeat style which adds a level of palpable quitch to the reading. At about the direct center of the book come tales of accidents on Western movie sets which I found a high point. After that, the second half is full of interesting anecdotes, including one about Bela Lugosi coming out of a long career hiatus in the West Coast Theater in San Bernardino (my old hometown) on New Year’s Eve 1953 that I was never aware of. He also seems to have a penchant for describing what the women are wearing in any given anecdote, not a single scrap of clothing described for the men. Also, if the woman, often a girl, is hypothetical, then she’s wearing a white Angora sweater. He also has a habit of name-dropping all throughout the book although when he starts listing names, it is droll fortunately landing just above tedious. Somehow it matches his voice.
The book seemed to hit a natural conclusion at the end of chapter 10 and then went on to Chapter 13. These last three chapters feel tacked on and the last feels very cynical in its final tidbit of advice, the book's last line. Now, the advice found in this book is typically vague and often just plain bad advice. It seems it was pretty much useless when the book was written and is utterly incoherent today (if it ever was coherent in the first place). Here’s an example:
Everyone who wants to be a writer, no matter how successful he might be in other fields – even allied fields – doesn’t necessarily make it. It’s a tough row to hoe at best. Come to think of it, why don’t you give it up before you get started? And that’s not sour grapes! That’s good, sound advice, which few of you will take… but sound advice all the same. [pg.131]
Most of the advice found within this book takes this form though is not as discouraging as the last line of the book.
When the writer tries to give an honest view of Hollywood show business it’s somewhat boring and more indicative of Ed Wood’s personal experience (the only interesting thing about the first half besides its odd style). This got to me a little when he started talking about bill collectors coming to seize “your” assets for several pages. When the book becomes a string of his own recollections in the second half it gets so much better. By better I mean that the book throws off the thin premise of how-to-get-into-show-business and becomes more of a memoir and the collected opinions-of-the-day of Ed Wood Jr.
In addition, the author’s mood is palpable as the book moves from Chapter 1 to the last, Chapter 13. It starts with a cheery though bland voice, very much like those of the old black and white educational films screened in elementary classrooms in the 1950s, then into a lament as the book moves into memories professing love for everything past and a peculiar disdain for the current day (of its writing), to utter despair in chapters 12 and 13. The last sentence of the book is: “Believe it or not, your life is more real than the Hollywood scene.” The Hollywood scene which, if the earlier chapters are to be believed, was Ed Wood Jr.’s passion.
I did enjoy this book and would recommend it to those interested in the man or those seeking a very cheesy and seedy (and maybe a little dubious) portrait of the Mid-Twentieth-Century Hollywood machine as viewed from its fringe. Otherwise, the only things here materially are a handful of interesting Hollywood stories (only a few seem dubious but then again, I’m not reading Ed Wood's autobiographical material for cold hard facts) and the personal experience of Ed Wood disguised (badly) as a how-to-guide for aspiring young actors.
I’ll leave you with a favorite quote from the book:
Sex! It becomes all important. Sex! It becomes more important than any possible talent. [pg. 79]

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