The Last Templar (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: rotor encoder, vos liberabit, fourth horseman, New York, Falcon Temple, Holy Land (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The war between the Catholic Church and the Gnostic insurgency drags on in this ponderous Da Vinci Code knockoff. The latest skirmish erupts when horsemen dressed as knights raid New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, lopping off heads and firing Uzis as they go. Their trail leads FBI agent Sean Ryan and fetching archeologist Tess Chaykin to the medieval crusading order of the Knights Templars. Anachronistic Gnostic champions of feminism and tolerance against Roman hierarchy and obscurantism, the Templars, they learn, discovered proof that Catholic dogma is a "hoax" and were planning to use it to unite all religions under a rationalist creed that would usher in world peace. Screenwriter and first-time novelist Khoury spices up the doctrinal revisionism with Da Vinci–style thriller flourishes, including secret codes, gratuitous but workmanlike action scenes and a priest–hit man sent out by the Vatican to kill anyone who knows anything. The narrative pauses periodically for believers-vs.-agnostics debates and tutorials on everything from the Gospel of Thomas to alchemy. Though long-winded and sophomoric, these seminars are a relief from Tess and Sean's tedious romance, which proceeds from awkward flirtations as they listen to Sean's mix CD to hackneyed intimacies about childhood traumas. The novel's religious history is as dubious as its conspiracy plot, but anti-clericalists—and Catholics taking a break from the church's real headaches—could unwind with it. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The Knights Templar, a small monastic military order formed in the early 1100s to protect travelers to the Holy Land, eventually grew and became wealthy beyond imagination. In 1307, the French king, feeling jealous and greedy, killed off the Templars, and by 1311, the last master, Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake. The whereabouts of the Templars' treasure--and their secrets--have been the subject of legend ever since. Now, a new thriller tries to follow in the steps of The Da Vinci Code.

There's no doubt that Khoury's Last Templar has one of the most gripping opening scenes among recent thrillers. Four horsemen, dressed as Templars, ride their steeds up the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, crashing into a show of Vatican artifacts and stealing a coding device that can unlock the Templars' secrets about the early days of Christianity. Archaeologist Tess Chaykin is a witness to the theft, and her professional juices kick in, prompting her to join forces with FBI investigator Sean Reilly. The action moves back and forth in time between the Templars' last battle and the present-day search for the missing device and the message it will decode. Khoury is a screenwriter, and his story is nothing if not cinematic, as it skips across three continents and climaxes with a storm at sea of biblical proportions. A nice twist at the end spins the Christian history everyone's been chasing. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; 1st edition (January 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525949410
• ISBN-13: 978-0525949411
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (312 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #197,719 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

141 of 160 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Wait for the DVD..., January 24, 2006

By	Scott Goodwin (Norwalk, CT United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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...

42 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A craftsman-like first novel by Khoury, January 22, 2006

By	Brian Baker (Santa Clarita, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great thriller with a lot to say, January 24, 2006

By	Anne Power (New York, New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After reading and loving the Da Vinci Code months ago, this book is so welcome. I read it over the weekend and couldn't put it down. It was more satisfying and even more enjoyable. The last part of Dan Brown's book kind of disappointed me, whereas this one just keeps going and gets bigger and more interesting. And that final twist was just awesome.

I loved the historic chapters set in the time of the crusaders and the fall of the templars, they were so epic and moving I wanted to read that story in a book of its own. And while the main story gripped me right from that great opening scene at the museum, what made this book really special for me was that although it's this huge adventure, it felt very real and credible and human. The moments when the characters are discussing religion and the history of the church and the bible were really interesting, it's rare to come across a thriller that has so much to say. It really made me think and it inspired me so positively. Tess and Reilly's conflicting opinions and the way they help each other grow and find each other was a lovely touch.

In the interviews with the author that I read on the book's website and on bookreporter.com, it seems Khoury first wrote it as a screenplay ten years ago and got a big book offer which he turned down when he found out the publishers wanted to "lose the religion" and turn it into a hunt for gold. I'm glad he did, I loved this book and can't recommend it enough.