Crusade of Fire: Mystical Tales of the Knights Templar [Mass Market Paperback]

Deborah Turner Harris (Author), Patricia Kennealy-Morrison (Author), Debra Doyle (Author), James D. Macdonald (Author), Susan Shwartz (Author), Katherine Kurtz (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Tales of the Knights Templar | Publication Date: December 1, 2002

The Knights Templar were the fabled order of mystic warrior-monks supposedly disabanded more than seven centuries ago by the pope. Legends persist of their presence, and this collection of stories muse on the Knights' arrival at history's turning points to guide destiny in Good's eternal war against Evil. Original.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The third in Kurtz's series of anthologies exploring the legend of the Knights Templar is another treat for lovers of historical fantasy. Kurtz opens with her own almost straight historical piece about the origins of the Templars, and Debra Doyle and James D. MacDonald close with a humorous piece about a couple of modern Templars finding an occult mystery in the ranks of Kipling fans. In between, Kurtz's frequent collaborator Deborah Turner Harris explores Richard the Lion-Hearted, Susan Shwartz adds a moving pendant to Scott's Ivanhoe, Robert Reginald involves the Templars in a historical mystery with William of Occam doing the detecting, Patricia Kennealy-Morrison introduces her extravagant Keltiad to the Templars (or vice versa), and so on. The authors are all competent and even expert handlers of historical milieus, and those offering the farther-out tales of the Templars and the occult don't overindulge themselves. A historical fantasy collection worth well more than its price. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Aspect (December 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446610909
• ISBN-13: 978-0446610902
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #500,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An okay anthology, January 1, 2003

By 

Elizabeth Hlabse (North Olmsted, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crusade of Fire: Mystical Tales of the Knights Templar (Mass Market Paperback)

I've been a fan of Katherine Kurtz's work for a long time now and look forward to each of her books as they come out. I enjoyed most of the stories in the first two Templar anthologies, but I'm afraid I can't say the same about this one. The stories were well written, but just didn't seem to catch my attention. Twenty-four hours after reading the book, I can't really remember any of the stories that I read in any amount of detail.

For those who read all of Ms. Kurtz's books, I would suggest getting it out of a library or buying a used copy, if you must own it. I hope that if she does any more of these anthologies that the stories are better.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Knights But Not Templar, February 24, 2005

By 

Barry Wiley (Sunnyvale, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crusade of Fire: Mystical Tales of the Knights Templar (Mass Market Paperback)

Templar history, the real history not the fervid imaginings regarding the Holy Grail and such, is a truly fascinating tale worthy of sustained study. But as the previous reviewer has observed, however, all of the tales in this collection are instantly forgetable as they are trite in conception and poorly written. They have the collective depth of creative writing exercises in a first year class. I threw my copy away.