164 of 184 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Wait for the DVD..., January 24, 2006
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...
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52 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A craftsman-like first novel by Khoury, January 22, 2006
I won't bother re-hashing the story line, as you can read the summary in the publishing reviews. This is Khoury's first novel, and it's a pretty good entry effort. You can see that he's an experienced storyteller (screenwriting) from the pacing, settings and well-described visuals.
His opening scene is gripping, and the interplay from modern times to the Crusader era is very well done. I really enjoyed the archeological aspects of this book, and thought their exposition was set forth in an interesting and engaging manner.
The comparisons to "The Da Vinci Code" are going to be inevitable, I think. I'll preface by saying I didn't like Brown's book and found his attacks on Christianity muddled, boring and implausible, as well as offensive.
That having been said, there's a point in this book (at about page 300 in the hard cover version) where you'll roll your eyes and think, "Oh, no, here we go again". I know I did. Well, don't. Give the book a chance. The last half page of the book clears things up well, at least in my estimation.
So, you ask, why only three stars? Well, it was very subjective, and may not be an issue for some readers, but I found the book didn't really engage me on an emotional level. I found the protagonists (Tess and Reilly) to be simple (as opposed to complex and fully fleshed-out) characters, as were the two antagonists (whom I won't name in the interest of not revealing the plot line). The modern-day storyline (the majority of the book) was a fairly straightforward adventure story, and on that level works well. Surprisingly, the real treat of the book was the interwoven Crusader-era story, which I found to be better visualized than the rest of the book, with more fully realized characterization.
I don't think you'll be disappointed if you buy this book. I certainly am glad I read it, and look forward to more from Khoury as his skills develop.
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47 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Mostly a Disaster, January 28, 2007
This review is from: The Last Templar (Mass Market Paperback)
Right off, it's just the action and some cleverness in constructing a twisting plot that earned this book 2 stars. But that goodness is really the exception.
This book is a lamentable mess.
First, Khoury ought to stick to screenplays. Much of the writing is reminiscent of a novelization of an action movie, and some of that done well. But much of it doesn't work for a novel.
When you write a movie, a few coincidences thrown at you over a couple hours are okay, because you have to catapult your way to the end in that short time. But if a helicopter, ship, huge storm, piece of rebar, or whatever, is at hand in a novel, there better be a dang good reason for it being there. Stuff just shows up in this novel. I won't spoil where or how, but if you bother to read this mess, you'll see it.
Khoury also goes on horrid flights of exposition and tries to wedge it in conversation. Nobody even remotely talks like this, unless it's in a college lecture room.
The saddest part is he seems to take a great joy in dismantling the faith of one of the protagonists. Really, the book is a stilted excuse to carry on a rancid anti-Christian screed. If you get well into the book, and you need to get it done, you can simply skip chapters 66 through 71 and remember these words: Khoury thinks Christianity is all based on a lie, and the FBI agent gets on a helicopter with the monsignor.
I just saved you 30 minutes.
Khoury also gets Dan Brown disease when he pretends that it's credible enough for fiction to call some of his ideas "accepted facts." It's okay to make up facts for a fiction story, but when you're trying to base a story on historical speculation and fact, you've got to make it a little bit sensible. If you don't, and someone who actually knows something about what you're writing reads it, you'll lose the reader completely.
Khoury comes off as a semi-educated, poorly informed conspiracy nut when he starts in on his version of church history. He rattles off "facts" regarding the development of the New Testament that are provably false, not just differences in speculation among scholars, but simply wrong, from the gospels to the Council of Nice.
Heck, he even kills astronaut James Irwin nine years early and quite incorrectly.
I'll let you find that one for yourself.
Okay, Khoury hates Christians and Christianity, and especially the Catholic Church. His characterization of what he takes as a "faithful follower" of Catholicism is pathetic and ill-informed. His anti-Christian screed, as mentioned above, is far more inept than others I have seen on the Internet and Usenet. I think he tried to find a way to respect those of faith who might read his book, but it comes off horribly condescending, and not in a way you might expect in an academic setting. It is more like the boor we all know who isn't smart enough to realize what he doesn't know, thinks he knows everything, and is surprised when thinking people around him show him the disdain he's earned, so he chalks it up to a need to grow up and get up to his level.
Truly, Khoury ought to go find Dan Brown and kiss his feet, because without the DaVinci Code, this tripe would never have been published.
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