The Last Templar

By: Raymond Khoury

Narrated by: Richard Ferrone

"It has served us well, this myth of Christ."
Pope Leo X, 16th Century

The Last Templar opens with a hail of fire and flashing sword, as the burning city of Acre falls from the hands of the West in 1291. A young Templar knight, his mentor, and a handful of others escape to the sea carrying a mysterious chest entrusted to them by the Order's dying Grand Master. The ship vanishes without a trace.

In present day Manhattan, four masked horsemen dressed as Templar Knights emerge from Central Park and ride up the Fifth Avenue steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art during the black-tie opening of a "Treasures of the Vatican" exhibit. Storming through the crowds, the horsemen brutally attack anyone standing between them and their prize. Attending the gala, archaeologist Tess Chaykin watches in silent terror as the leader of the horsemen hones in on one piece in particular, a strange geared device. He utters a few cryptic Latin words as he takes hold of it with reverence before leading the horsemen out and disappearing into the night.

In the aftermath, an FBI investigation is led by anti-terrorist specialist Sean Reilly. Soon, he and Tess are drawn into the dark, hidden history of the crusading knights, plunging them into a deadly game of cat and mouse with ruthless killers as they race across three continents to recover the lost secret of the Templars.

©2006 Raymond Khoury (P)2006 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., and Books on Tape. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Like The Da Vinci Code, Khoury’s novel features age-old mysteries that play out in a modern setting.” (The New York Times)

“Absorbingly brisk.” (The San Francisco Chronicle)

“One of the most gripping opening scenes among recent thrillers.... [The] story is nothing if not cinematic, as it skips across three continents and climaxes with a storm at sea of biblical proportions.” (Booklist)

Fantastic

I have two friends who agree with me. If you enjoy DaVinci or Templar lore, this book is for you. Great story line and intriguing to the end. Lots of action and interesting premise for a story compared to other Templar stories. The reading and intonations of the narrator are excellent as are his other readings. You will not be disappointed!

Pleased

Interesting history. Good plot with great twist at the end. I enjoyed the authors take on what happened to the Templars. He made this a good mystery with action and suspense! Quite pleased!

Amazing story!

If you could sum up The Last Templar in three words, what would they be?

Amazing, history based, great thriller

What other book might you compare The Last Templar to and why?

Da vinci code in the good why they can of have the same back story but the last Templar is defiantly more intense and gives you historical facts that you can google and find out that they actually happened I'm amazed by this book and for sure will continue with the series if it is as intense as this book.
The author's jumping back and forth between the 14th and 21st centuries was sometimes hard to follow. Some of the premises of the plot, such as the link between the Vatican and the CIA were also a little hard to swallow. And the hurdles that some of the main characters are able to leap in the latter stages of the book are somewhat unbelievable. And Christians who read this book should never lose track of the fact that the book, like the Davinci Code, is a work of fiction.

Have you listened to any of Richard Ferrone’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Great

A look behind the Churches curtain

The book is about the 'secret' the knights Templar held over the Catholic Church. This book provides a look into the working of the Catholic Church. It looks into how they will do anything to protect themselves, so they never lose power. It also delves into the treaties that are open to the public that we never read. The author goes into detail about the history of the Templar's and the relationship between the Catholic Church and people. The story shows how we can see one thing and still believe another. There are more books in the series, however none of them are required. This is a good stand alone story. No point in ruining it with less than good squeals.

difficult to put down

Great story blending Indiana Jones and the last crusade with the divinci code. action packed fiction story mixed with historical facts

Fulfilling <br />

Good story. Always drawing you in. Keeps you on the edge. Never wanting to stop

Historically creative entertaining listen

OK, I admit it, I really dug Dan Brown's books. I know, they're a bit silly at times, but they're engaging. But that's not why I bought this book, and was surprised when I learned that this was a "action" book. I guess I assumed it would have more "intellectual" qualities. But I didn't mind that at all. The characters are a bit too fictionalized at times, but it doesn't bother much because at the end of the day I was entertained. I'm hesitant to leave out any details because I don't want to spoil anything, but it's about an architect that gets mixed into a treasure hunt of sorts, that can unlock a Templar mystery (sounds familiar), the bad guy is surprising. There is also a parallel story that trace the treasure from its inception. I often had to re-wind to follow the jumps in the story, but it wasn't too bad. If you like historical mystery novels, you'll probably like this. Not great, but good.

Mostly boring

This story is worth listening to as long as there is nothing else on your list. I definatley would not go out of my way for it.

Too long; strays from believable fiction

Good premise. Loved the beginning and the gospel references, but the character interaction and evasion sequences strained incredulity after that.

Oh, C'mon!

So much coincidence in the plot that it borders on fantasy. Such florid prose as to draw attention to itself, and not in a good way (who plops "vertiginous" in the middle of simple description? It fell with an annoying clunk!).
I toughed it out since I had purchased the audiobook, but should have paid more attention to reader reviews before buying. Don't do it!!