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    The Last Templar
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    The Last Templar
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    The Last Templar
    Audiobook14 hours

    The Last Templar

    Written by Raymond Khoury

    Narrated by Richard Ferrone

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The first thrilling novel in Raymond Khoury's New York Times bestselling Templar series.

    In 1291, a young Templar knight flees the fallen holy land in a hail of fire and flashing sword, setting out to sea with a mysterious chest entrusted to him by the Order's dying grand master. The ship vanishes without a trace.

    In present day Manhattan, four masked horsemen dressed as Templar Knights stage a bloody raid on the Metropolitan Museum of Art during an exhibit of Vatican treasures. Emerging with a strange geared device, they disappear into the night.

    The investigation that follows draws archaeologist Tess Chaykin and FBI agent Sean Reilly into the dark, hidden history of the crusading knights -- and 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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateNov 23, 2006
    ISBN9781429586696
    Unavailable
    The Last Templar
    Author

    Raymond Khoury

    Raymond Khoury is the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Templar, The Sanctuary, The Sign, The Templar Salvation, The Devil’s Elixir, Rasputin's Shadow, and The End Game. His novels have been translated into more than forty languages and, in the case of The Last Templar, adapted into a comic book and an NBC television miniseries.

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    Reviews for The Last Templar

    3/5

    884 ratings50 reviews

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    • 2/5
      The best way to describe this book is to call it a Da Vinci code rip-off. Both stories have the same premise that the Catholic Church has been hiding a great secret about the truth of Jesus and our main characters have to race against time and evil in order to expose this truth. The Da Vinci Code sucked me right in, while this novel was no nearly as exciting. The characters weren't as likeable, and their actions were simply too far-fetched. The story itself was too unrealistic, and the ending did have a clever twist, but I did not really care at that point. The writing style was decent, and I would give this author a second chance.
    • 4/5
      An interesting story that both picks apart Christianity and justifies it at the same time. Thoughtful and worth a read.
    • 2/5
      Compelling despite being fairly formulaic. Khoury is a better writer than Dan Brown, but there are still some cringe-worthy tautologies and flowerinesses! The characters work much better as people than as muses on the meaning of religion...
    • 3/5
      This is standard thriller/conspiracy fare. It wasn't the page turner that Dan Brown's books are, but it wasn't bad. Some of the situations seemed a little far fetched and some of the behaviors seemed a little unrealistic, but a book like this, I tend not to nickpick, and instead, I like to just go along with the flow.Entertaining enough, but no great literary feat. It did at least reawaken an interest in early Christian religions, the Templars, the crusades and the Medieval period in general.
    • 3/5
      Enjoyable!
    • 3/5
      A reasonably competent Da Vinci Code-genre thriller, but it did feel a bit dry and uncompelling. The story was a bit predictable and the main characters weren't particularly likeable.Just once, I'd like to read a book involving the possible revelation of a world-changing ancient secret go on to actually explore that secret being revealed and the changes it has on the world.Also, a minor thing: I'm tired of female characters constantly being described as staggeringly traffic-stoppingly gorgeous. Like in every. damn. book. It just feels sexist and unnecessary.
    • 2/5
      If you're looking for something light and not too challenging this might be it. Reminded me a bit of 'The Walking Drum' because the adventure story pulls you forward right through some not too stellar writing. I got confused in a couple of places where the story wasn't very clear. Had me bamboozled to the end. I can see how the end was crafted- no, formulated - no, structured shows that this guy writes for TV. The basic premise was a bit of a yawn in the way Casauban's 'The Key to all Mythologies' - in'MiddleMarch' would have been a yawn - it's already been done! Loved the geography. I have a very low opinion of people who stoop to trickery and deceit to try and persuade you of their stance. If hard fact won't do it then maybe you should reconsider your position.
    • 3/5
      The first part of the book was pretty well written; however became a blasphemy of the Bible that caused me to nearly abandon the book. Had it not been for Sean Reilly presenting a modest defense I likely would have. The ending was oh so very cliche -- I think Khoury has read too many Clive Cussler books. The last 75 pages turned a decent read into one feeling very unsatisfied.
    • 1/5
      Weak plot. One-dimensional characters. Lame attempt at debating the position of religion in society. Avoid unless you're a complete Templar geek.
    • 3/5
      A good mystery about the Templars, Freemasons, and Jesus. In my opinion it was kind of ho-hum. I would recommend it as a beach read.
    • 2/5
      My first read from Khoury, and I am not impressed. I was looking for something more along the lines of Dan Brown's and Steve Berry's writing -- of cryptography / cryptology and of all the wonderful ways of trying to decipher the clues as the tale unfolds -- something more intriguing and mentally engaging. This story reads more like a detective story (well, it does start out with a crime), but never evolves to be more than that.
    • 3/5
      It's entertaining and that's about all I expect from this kind of book. A good bit of it, like Dan Brown's books, seems highly improbable, but plausibility has never been this genre's strong point anyway. The Jeffersonian take on the _Bible_ has always made sense to me.
    • 5/5
      Very exciting read in the vein of Dan Brown's Da Vinci code. It starts with the opening at the New York Metropolitan Museum of an exhibit from the Vatican. Four men on horseback ride out of central park dressed as Templar knights. The media thinks it's part of the opening ceremonies until the knights crash through the doors and begin shooting and looting the exhibit. One knight however takes only one thing - a decoder made by the Templars. Archeologist Tess witnesses this and questions why, with all the gold and gems available, he would take this relatively worthless item. Why indeed?Tess tells her theory to FBI special agent Sean Riley, and together (and sometimes not) they chase down leads which lead from the bowels of New York to Turkey and the Agean Sea. They are searching for an artifact so crucial that, if real, would spell the end of the Catholic church and all of Christianity.I don't believe in the premise here, as well as the Da Vinci code, but it was an interesting idea and a well written and exciting story.
    • 3/5
      I originally had given this book 4 stars and then after hingsight, brought it down to 3. It's a good book. Fast paced, easy reading. It's been compared to the DaVinci code in that it involves a 'secret' pertaining to Jesus Christ and the eventual chase to discover said secret while at the same time dealing obstacles, attempted murder, and evil/good guys in the way.The writing itself is rather basic and I would've liked to see more depth given to the characters. From the time of the originating incident to the ultimate discovery could have only been a few days. The author had a good shell to work with but needed to put in some more material to make it a truly 4 star book.
    • 3/5
      An enjoyable book leaning on the legends of the Knights Templar to create an entertaining novel on Vatican treasures and mysteries etc. Overall though its a good read involving some good twists and turns.
    • 5/5
      I've read Angels & Demons as well as The Da Vinci Code, I'd also seen the NBC movie that just ran for two nights that was based on this book. Most of them I thought were okay (actually, the movie was pretty bad for the most part). Then I read this book. It's amazing, and I loved it. Maybe it's because I liked the characters better than in Dan Brown's two similar books (and even Tom Hanks couldn't get me to like Dan Brown's character), or maybe it was just a better written book all around, but I would recommend this to one and all who are looking for a puzzling, and yet also thrilling read.One warning though, it is seriously long. Not in a bad way, since once you get into it, you get carried by the story, but still... a daunting book to look at, or for that matter, carry home from the library.
    • 2/5
      After a dramatic beginning the story tends to become slow and I found I had to really work harder at getting through the middle section. Yes, there are twists near the end but it wasn't anything as good as it could have been. I liked it, anything to do with Templars is my cup of tea but I've read better.
    • 2/5
      The Last Templar is a thriller set in modern times but using Templar history and legends as background and plot. As a thriller, it fits the bill. It's fast paced, with a bit of romance and a young single mom as the heroine.Historically, the author incorporates many elements of known and speculative lore regarding the templars. However, the templar secret revealed at the end of the book ends up being a complete fabrication unrelated to any historical or speculative templar legends, apparently. This is, of course, a work of fiction. To Templar enthusiasts, though, it's a big disappointment for it to depend on a fabricated templar secret rather than one of the many popular templar legends. In contrast, Dan Brown's "The Davinci Code" fictionalizes a train of research that is plausable and has significant historical evidence to support it.
    • 2/5
      Very interesting beginning, decent, if somewhat formulaic middle, and a complete disaster of an ending. The ending left me frustrated and angry by his complete cop out. Angry enough that I can't bring myself to read anything else of his to see if his writing has improved. Even if it has, I don't think I can forgive him for the ending of this one.
    • 4/5
      this was a decent book. took a little while for me to get into it, but once i did i enjoyed it. i thought the ending was a bit of a cop out. it annoys me when anything is a bit too preachy and all about "preserving the faith." it just seems like a lazy ending instead of really dealing with the ramifications of the what-ifs.i did enjoy how much history they managed to pack into the book and was glad to see that represented.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book very much. The story is well-paced, the plot twists and turns engagingly, and the characters are sufficiently motivated to propel the action to its conclusion. I appreciated how Khoury allowed the two principal characters to examine their religious and spiritual beliefs during the course of the story, questioning and scrutinizing their respective belief structures. That the belief system in question in "The Last Templar" is Christianity generally, and Roman Catholicism specifically, I found irrelevant. The characters' scrutinization of their attitudes towards faith applies as well to any faith-based belief structure, whether religious, sociocultural, or political. The story urges reflection about any belief unquestioningly accepted or rejected.Regardless of its philosophical underpinnings, it's a great story, brimming with action and suspense, set in a variety of exotic locales, and it's a lot of fun to read. I understand it's being developed as a miniseries. If the producers and directors do it justice, it will be a lot of fun to watch, too.
    • 4/5
      Modern-day Templar knights just stole precious artifacts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Tess Chaykin has always wanted to make a discovery of this magnitude in her own archaeologist's career and the Vatican treasure would definitely be a feather in her cap. As she is wandering the exhibit, four horsemen come barging into the museum dressed as Templar knights and take many items, including a primitive-looking code machine.So begins a worldwide hunt as she and FBI agent,Sean Reilly race across three continents to reclaim the precious item that could reveal earth-shattering beliefs.This book goes back and forth from the latter part of the thirteenth century to the present day as Chaykin and Reilly discover what this strange-looking object is and its power.An engaging adventure story , mixed fact and fiction, which adds to the mystery of the Knights Templar even while trying to get to the truth about them. Anyone who likes adventure-lost-treasure tales will find this a delight to read.
    • 4/5
      This is not under any circumstances a literary masterpiece. The characters lack depth and the plot is pretty thin. The story is based around the theory that the Knights Templar held a secret proving Christianity to be a lie. While this novel is predictable - we have our hero FBI agent with a troubled past, paired up with an attractive female archaeologist - it's not unenjoyable.
    • 3/5
      Excellent summer book. Very simular and certainly on par with Dan Brown's books about Robert Langdon. Unfortunatly it suffers greatly from an extremely predictable ending.
    • 2/5
      This book was ok. It was unitnteresting at times and didn't always hold my interest.
    • 3/5
      Overall I enjoyed reading Khoury's book. It is nicely paced and does a good job of weaving together a storyline set in the 13th Century with the main story set in the present day. However, the last third was increasingly implausible as the plot moved to its conclusion. I picked this up at the library having just finished Robyn Young's very enjoyable 'Brethren', also about the Templars, but this book is not really in that league. The level of character development and fantastical plot feels more like a book tie-in with a movie rather than having the depth that I look for in a good novel.
    • 3/5
      Its like davinci code, except every 3 paragraphs he make a 9/11 reference.Action packed and fun, but not exactly enriching.
    • 4/5
      Pot-boiling light thriller in the wake of DVC. The first chapters are excellent but it soon becomes unremarkable.
    • 5/5
      Huh. Boy, I definitely read a different book than the majority of the reviewers on Amazon, who largely loathed it.The story: there's a display on exhibit from the Vatican, and on the opening night, 4 horsemen dressed as Templars come riding up, decapitate one guard with a sword, then proceed to destroy the exhibit, terrorize the guests, and steal many of the treasures.One of the witnesses was archaeologist Tess Chaykin, who notices the leader only took one item: a sort of machine. She teams up with FBI agent Sean Ryan and they discover that the machine was a code device, and its use may uncover documents calling into question the history of the Catholic church.Then one by one the thieves are being killed, and it's a race to find the machine and the documents with the thief on the one side and the agents of the church on the other.It's kind of like National Treasure (which I loved). Lots of action and intrigue and the irresistible lure of secret societies and behind-the-scenes manipulation. I'm a huge sucker for this sort of story. It even has a romance. What more could I ask? Seriously, I read most of this book with a huge grin on my face, it was just so fun and exciting.So why the difference between my reaction and the Amazon reviews? You know I had to read through a whole bunch of them to try to figure it out. * First objection: it's too much like The DaVinci Code. Well, only in the background premise that the Catholic church is covering up something and has agents who'll keep the secret at all costs. That's not an idea that originated with The DaVinci Code--any large and powerful organization is going to spawn stories like that. Besides, I enjoyed this one much more--The Last Templar was a more dynamic, action-packed book, more fun to read. * Second objection: it's not factually accurate. Well, no, it's not. It's fiction. But I do have to agree in parts here--it's unrealistic the way Dirk Pitt books are unrealistic. There's a diving scene, for example. 100 feet of water over a town flooded by a dam. No diving lights, but they can go into a submerged church building and see what they're doing. And there's a convenient piece of metal sticking out of a pillar they can use to pry up the floor... and removing it makes the entire building collapse. Very Hollywood, I agree. It's why I gave the book 4.5 stars instead of 5. * Third objection which only a few reviewers really outright said, but which you could read between the lines of quite a few of the reviews: the implied criticism of the Catholic church. Obviously, this didn't bother me a bit, not being a fan of organized religion. But to clarify things, I didn't think Khoury was writing about actual facts. Do I think that there's a document somewhere proving that Jesus wasn't divine? No, I don't. Even if there were, I don't think it would have as great an effect as the characters in the book feared--it's all about faith, isn't it? People have a great capacity to dismiss all kinds of facts in the face of faith, so why not that one, too. I do think there's probably quite a bit of truth in how the book describes the assembling of the Christian Bible, though possibly not in the details. And to tell you the truth, that part was surprisingly sympathetic to the church. But again, I didn't read this as nonfiction, and I don't really care whether or not it's true. It's plausible in the world of the story, which might as well be in a galaxy far, far away.This is going on my keeper shelf, and I've put The Sanctuary in my Zooba queue.
    • 2/5
      Fast paced and entertaining, but not very well written or as engaging as it could have been.