The Temple and the Crown [Mass Market Paperback]

Katherine Kurtz (Author), Deborah Turner Harris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2001

This sequel to "The Temple and the Stone" features the Knights Templar, medieval warrior monks with magical powers. In 1306, as Edward I of England challenges Scottish freedom fighters and France's Philip IV usurps control of the papacy, both kings are puppets of the Order of the Black Swan. The order's true goal is to capture the sacred relics guarded by the mystic Knights.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Kurtz and Harris continue their saga telling the secret history, begun in The Temple and the Stone (1998), of the Templars and of two members of the secret Cercle, the French knight Arnault and the Scotsman Torquil, in particular. The English have turned against the Temple because it supports Robert the Bruce in Scotland, and the greed of Philip the Fair of France for Templar wealth is being manipulated by his chancellor, who is secretly allied with the Knights of the Black Swan, servants of Lucifer out to destroy the Temple's power to champion Christianity. As grisly persecution of the Templars rises to a climax in France, and the Bruce's situation becomes more desperate, Arnault and Torquil must retrieve potent relics from the Holy Land and reach Scotland in time to help overthrow the Bruce's enemies in the thundering climax of the Battle of Bannockburn. There may be too much secret mysticism in it for some tastes, but the tale is soundly researched, well written, and briskly paced. Kudos to the authors! Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Aspect (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446608548
• ISBN-13: 978-0446608541
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,103,024 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC!!!!, April 11, 2001

By 

Pamela Hart "polnedra" (Winter Haven, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Temple and the Crown (Mass Market Paperback)

I spent last night in Bannockburn with Robert Bruce and a group of outlawed Templar Knights. I watched in awe as they routed the army of Edward of England. Actually I've spent the last week following these men around the world...To France, Scotland, and even under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. And now that the adventure is over and Robert is King, I will miss our time together.

If I sound like Robert and his Templar friends are personal friends, you may be right. In their latest collaberation Kurtz and Harris have created their best story yet. They skilfully weave fact and fiction in this tale of Scottish independence and the downfall of the Knights Templar.

Much has been speculated about these mysterious warrior monks. When Philip of France orchestrated their downfall in 1307 he expected to find great stashes of gold and other valuables. However, when the king's men invaded the Templar Chapter Houses, the vaults were empty. Not one ounce of the Templar's reputed wealth has surfaced even to this day. What better place to stage a novel than in the middle of an unsolved mystery?

We follow Arnault St. Clair as he struggles with forces both physical and spiritual to put Robert Bruce on the Scottish throne and to provide a place for his displaced Brethren. The book is full of battles, politics, spiritual evil, and spiritual good. It is fast paced and full of characters one can actually identify with.

I hated to come to the end of this novel. That is the highest compliment I can pay to any book. I just hope that the story will go on.....and on......and on.....

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I liked it a lot-But I might not be typical, October 18, 2001

By 

Elizabeth K. Roth (Brooklyn, New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Temple and the Crown (Mass Market Paperback)

I thought this book was a really good historical fantasy. Atmospheric, well researched, creative, etc.
But. I'm interested in Scottish history, history in general, and occultism. I have books upon books.
Katherine Kurtz is awesome as a writer, and I agree with the person above who said it feels like you are there. It's part of how she makes the story work. The more farfetched mysticism feels real because of the way she describes it and the whole scene.
But if you are not interested in history-you might get a bit lost. To say the least.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Better than the First, February 9, 2004

By 

M. D. Thomas "ReadingSailor" (New London, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Temple and the Crown (Mass Market Paperback)

I did not like the first book at all and not sure why I read the second, I guess that I am just stubborn that way. I really enjoyed the concept of following Robert the Bruce through his consolidation of power. The Scottish Monarchy is a fascinating story and one in which I have ordered a history book about to read the whole story. What I didn't like about this book was that the battle between good and evil was too simplistic. When situations got bad for Bruce or the Templars there was no real action or plot to save them, the Templars just prayed about it and some divine intervention would take care of the problem. I simply didn't like the fact that it was that easy. I guess that I was looking for more drama or action from the divine forces. A demon in rings doing mans bidding in a war against the Templars (I would have thought the church as a whole would have been a better target for this concept). The Templar order falling apart from within was interesting and maybe I don't know enough about their real history to appreciate their treatment in this work. This was not my favorite piece of historical fiction.