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miaev's review against another edition
4.0
Saw it on the shelves at the bookstore last night. The title caught my eye since I am a huge fan of anything to do with the Knights of the Templar. I am already pulled in.
slapshottechnology's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Decent read to continue this series. Now he is going through Northern Africa trying to find Peggy. I liked learning about places like Siwa Oasis and Libyan areas, but not put in the plot.
speesh's review against another edition
3.0
Army Ranger Lt. Col. John ‘Doc’ Holliday is teaching at West Point when he receives desperate news, his niece Peggy has been kidnapped while joining an ancient tomb excavation in Egypt.
Holliday immediately sets out to locate and rescue her, but Peggy’s captors belong to The Brotherhood of the Temple of Isis - murderous fanatics who worship a dead god.
A trail of clues sends Holliday deep into Africa and into the heart of a conspiracy involving an ancient Egyptian legend and the darkest secrets of the order of the Templar Knights.
It would be very easy to dismiss and ridicule books like this. However, as it is easy and I’m not like your run of the mill bloggers, I’m going to give it due deliberation.
So, we’re back in the company of Lt. Col. John Holliday and his one-man crusade. I think Mr Christopher sees him - and would like us to too - as something of a blend between an alternative ‘Jack Reacher’ and ‘Indiana Jones.’ Holliday returns to West Point teaching, after the adventures of the first book, as ‘Indiana’ does - not West Point, obviously, but returns teaching each time - where he is going about his business, then gets interrupted, 'Indiana Jones'-like, by bad news and off we go! I thought ‘Jack Reacher’ because of his resourcefulness and his unbelievable, instant recall of just about whatever needs recalling to solve a problem. Yeah, it stretches believability somewhat, though it doesn’t stick out so much that the eyes go upwards. Too often.
This one reads very quickly and has a decent, all problems knocked out the way, in Clive Cussler-way, flow. However, for a series ostensibly about The Templars, it could perhaps have done with a bit more ‘Templar’ in it. There’s too much arse-ing about in the desert, the ‘fanatics’ aren’t that fanatical and really don’t seem frighten the characters, or us, all that much. There are, as with the first in the series, some tantalising tid-bits of ancient information sprinkled here and there. I’ve no idea if he’s right there, though they certainly sound plausible..
If the series is meant to be light, diverting and easy to digest, then this one does its job. Though there is a surprising lack of tension, it is strangely subdued, for a number two, where, presumably, you’re still trying to hook a readership. I’d guess he imagined he was writing it so that the Templars would come over as a dark, malevolent, brooding presence in the background. However, they’re so much in the background, you almost forget they’re there. 'Templar Cross,' is from 2010 and if it had been written today, the travels through the north African deserts and the encounters with the ‘murderous fanatics’ might well have taken on a significantly more frightening and tense dimension. He could have kept the ‘ISIS’ part. Hmm..maybe he is actually ahead of his time?
More world-class reviews on Speesh Reads
Holliday immediately sets out to locate and rescue her, but Peggy’s captors belong to The Brotherhood of the Temple of Isis - murderous fanatics who worship a dead god.
A trail of clues sends Holliday deep into Africa and into the heart of a conspiracy involving an ancient Egyptian legend and the darkest secrets of the order of the Templar Knights.
It would be very easy to dismiss and ridicule books like this. However, as it is easy and I’m not like your run of the mill bloggers, I’m going to give it due deliberation.
So, we’re back in the company of Lt. Col. John Holliday and his one-man crusade. I think Mr Christopher sees him - and would like us to too - as something of a blend between an alternative ‘Jack Reacher’ and ‘Indiana Jones.’ Holliday returns to West Point teaching, after the adventures of the first book, as ‘Indiana’ does - not West Point, obviously, but returns teaching each time - where he is going about his business, then gets interrupted, 'Indiana Jones'-like, by bad news and off we go! I thought ‘Jack Reacher’ because of his resourcefulness and his unbelievable, instant recall of just about whatever needs recalling to solve a problem. Yeah, it stretches believability somewhat, though it doesn’t stick out so much that the eyes go upwards. Too often.
This one reads very quickly and has a decent, all problems knocked out the way, in Clive Cussler-way, flow. However, for a series ostensibly about The Templars, it could perhaps have done with a bit more ‘Templar’ in it. There’s too much arse-ing about in the desert, the ‘fanatics’ aren’t that fanatical and really don’t seem frighten the characters, or us, all that much. There are, as with the first in the series, some tantalising tid-bits of ancient information sprinkled here and there. I’ve no idea if he’s right there, though they certainly sound plausible..
If the series is meant to be light, diverting and easy to digest, then this one does its job. Though there is a surprising lack of tension, it is strangely subdued, for a number two, where, presumably, you’re still trying to hook a readership. I’d guess he imagined he was writing it so that the Templars would come over as a dark, malevolent, brooding presence in the background. However, they’re so much in the background, you almost forget they’re there. 'Templar Cross,' is from 2010 and if it had been written today, the travels through the north African deserts and the encounters with the ‘murderous fanatics’ might well have taken on a significantly more frightening and tense dimension. He could have kept the ‘ISIS’ part. Hmm..maybe he is actually ahead of his time?
More world-class reviews on Speesh Reads
canada_matt's review against another edition
4.0
Christopher continues his great Templar series with this installment that sees Holiday head out in search of his niece. While this is the underlying plot, the theme of the book is a new world travel thriller.
Christopher uses his characters and storyline to explore the vast edges of the world, all with the Templar thread woven through experiences and historical happenstance. I quite enjoyed learning all about the various parts of the world., bth those that pertain to the Templars and the German armies of WWII.
Kudos to Christopher for tying events together from the previous book, reintroducing characters to the reader, something that he failed to do in his Finn Ryan series, which really got under my skin. I was eager to keep reading and learning about everything that Christoper had to offer.
I could not stop until I got to the end, in hopes that the next book would be equally as interesting.
Christopher uses his characters and storyline to explore the vast edges of the world, all with the Templar thread woven through experiences and historical happenstance. I quite enjoyed learning all about the various parts of the world., bth those that pertain to the Templars and the German armies of WWII.
Kudos to Christopher for tying events together from the previous book, reintroducing characters to the reader, something that he failed to do in his Finn Ryan series, which really got under my skin. I was eager to keep reading and learning about everything that Christoper had to offer.
I could not stop until I got to the end, in hopes that the next book would be equally as interesting.
jenfaze's review
3.0
a very easy read. the historical fiction is again, used to suck in military/history lovers. other than that, this could easily be a romance novel. the plot devices are so gimmicky as to leave the reader wondering - is christopher serious? are they *really* riding out of town on the orient express, with murders occuring on the train? disappointing. good historical adventure writing is hard to find. this was not it.
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