Customer Reviews

Standard of Honor (Templar Trilogy)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It's hard to write a sequal which exceeds the original, but this happened here. The character development is exceptional for a work of historical fiction. His sense of place and time is excellent. Great read.

I enjoyed the first book in this series and was excited to read the second, hopefully gaining an insight behind the mysterious treasure. The beginning of the book bodes well with a good story of Alex Sinclair ending in his being taken captive by a Saracen Emir---then we never hear of him again!

Instead we slog through bloated writing. Whyte uses a great method of repeatedly making you put in another page or two before getting to the point of a conversation between two characters. It does suck you in again and again. I'm upset to find that I have read 500 pages so far before I have to admit of how bored I am. OK, Richard the Lionheart was gay and it is an effort to get a large army to the crusades, that is all I have learned. I don't think this army will get to the holy land in this book! Nor at this point, do I care.

Once again Jack Whyte's skill as a story-teller are woven together with little-known historical facts and attention to detail to turn out a riveting tale of political intrigue and action in the Crusades. Those who have experienced war in the desert will be amazed at how many things stay the same throughout the centuries, including ideaologies and petty jealousies. Present-day Templars may find some interesting revelations/viewpoints.

Incredible author. Jack Whyte is so talented. Can't wait to read the third book in this trilogy. If you like this one, you HAVE to read the Camulod (Skystone) series!

I enjoyed this book a lot, but it could have been so much better. The author can never seem to decide if he wants the book to be about the Templars and the Crusades, or about Sir Andre St Clair.

The first book dealt with the Knights as a part of the situation in the Holy Land between the First and Second Crusades. The story was good, and it fit within the time. This book lacks that focus, and it almost seems as if it could have been set in any time at any place in the world. The fact that the characters are Templars is secondary to the plot, and could easily have been left out without losing anything.

This book does an even better job than did the first in using its historical backdrop to make ethical points. The message is not heavy handed, however, and invites one to consider (although many will not) that there is more than one point of view and no group has a monoply on "the truth".
This is done while still weaving a fine and provcative entertainment. I can't wait for the third book in the trilogy to be available

I found this second, in what I hope will be a trilogy, by Jack Whyte to be even better than the first book. The story was much faster, now that we know the story of the mission of the friendly families using the Knights Templar as a front organization.

Andre St Clair was a wonderful new hero to balance off the angst of his cousin hardened Templar Knight, Alec Sinclair . The political intrigue and historical events of the era helped to balance the story with the history. The author doesn't get bogged down with excessive descriptions but one clearly feels that they are traveling with the crusaders as they move toward their destiny in the Holy Lands. My only objections was the story ended so abruptly I was caught off guard, but was beautiful in Andre's dedication to his cousin and his own personal journey. Can't wait for number three!!!

Standard of Honor (Templar Trilogy) I am a huge fan of Jack Whyte - he never disappoints. Standard of Honor is terrific - I slowed down for the last pages because I didn't want it to end.

Amateurish writing. Convenient plotting. Weak characterization. Battle scenes show lack of expertise with medieval weapons and warfare. Very unsatisfying compared with the works of Bernard Cornwell and the like.

Jack Whyte's second Templar novel, Standard of Honor succeeds where so many sophomore novels fail. It is a better work than the first novel in this weighty trilogy about the Templar Knights and the Crusades.

Having not read the dust flap or description prior to opening this book, i thought that the storyline would simply be a continuation with the primary characters from the first book, Knights of the Black and White. However, author Whyte has chosen instead to place a minor character in the leading role this time out, and tell the tale of the third crusade, and the relation between the protagonist and Richard Plantagenet.....more familiarly known as Richard The Lionhearted.

Whyte's story opens as Sir Alexander Sinclair, survivor of the battle of Hattin, escapes into the desert and 'disappears'. The storyline is then picked up with his cousin, Andre St. Clair, who decides to join the order of the Templars and take up the fight that they have begun as the crusaders of the Church.

Andre's entry into the order of the Templar Knights brings him into direct contact with Richard Plantagenet as he rises to power as the King of England. Richard, as history tells, was a brave and dedicated soldier and leader, 'plagued' all his life by the fact that his proclivities lay elsewhere from his duty...to marry and produce an heir. Richard's history is not spared here, though neither is his homosexuality presented in graphic detail. In writing Richard in this honest, straightforward manner, the author has avoided making Richard either sympathetic or reviled due to his 'nature'....and presented his deeds as a warrior and ruler as a measure of judgment for the man.

The story includes tales of bloody battle, and yet never does the author sink into 'gore for the sake of gore' in his storytelling. Other authors of similar stories seem to revel in the ability to describe limbs crushed and severed and spilled entrails and the like. Jack Whyte here paints his battle scenes with a proper dose of blood, but not so much that the actual story is lost to the conjuring of images of battlefields soaked in blood and guts that other writers seem so eager to present.

I eagerly look forward to the third novel in the Templar trilogy of Jack Whyte. With a second 600+ page novel in the trilogy, such as this is, there is far too much detail to give in a review. Suffice to say that if you enjoyed the first novel, the second is even more of an entertaining read. Bravo to Jack Whyte for proving that the art of writing a lengthy story to great effect is not lost in today's world of 300 page (or less) throwaway stories.