The Templar Salvation

by Raymond Khoury Narrated by Richard Ferrone

Overview

At last, the book more than a million fans are waiting for: the sequel to The Last Templar.

With its iconic title and unmistakable cover, Raymond Khoury's million-copy- selling The Last Templar remains one of the most memorable thriller publications of the last decade. Finally, after four long years, Khoury returns to the world of the Templars with The Templar Salvation, a sequel that's every bit as eye-popping and as gripping as its predecessor. Constantinople, 1203: As the rapacious armies of the Fourth Crusade lay siege to the city, a secretive band of Templars infiltrate the imperial library. Their target: a cache of documents that must not be allowed to fall into the hands of the Doge of Venice. They escape with three heavy chests, filled with explosive secrets that these men will not live long enough to learn. Vatican City, present day: FBI agent Sean Reilly infiltrates the Pope's massive Vatican Secret Archives of the Inquisition. No one but the Pope's trusted secondi get in-but Reilly has earned the Vatican's trust, a trust he has no choice but to violate. His love, Tess Chaykin, has been kidnapped; the key to her freedom lays in this underground tomb, in the form of a document known as the Fondo Templari, a secret history of the infamous Templars... With his trademark blend of incendiary history and edge-of-your-seat suspense, Raymond Khoury's The Templar Salvation marks a triumphant return to the rich territory that launched his bestselling career.

Editorial Reviews

DECEMBER 2010 - AudioFile

Richard Ferrone likes playing tough guys, and in FBI agent Sean Reilly, he has one of the toughest. He’s on the trail of ancient documents that could shake contemporary Christianity to its foundations. Listeners are there as he wheedles his way into the Vatican archives, visits dusty caves and smoldering deserts in Turkey, and, finally, takes part in a thrilling airplane scene high above the Mediterranean. Parallel adventures in the Crusades provide historical background. Ferrone doesn’t shrink from emphasizing gruesome details, but he softens his approach and his hero when he and his lover, an archaeologist named Tess, are discussing their next move. This is exciting and educational stuff, read by a master. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Raymond Khoury's The Last Templar burst onto the scene, first as a 2005 bestselling novel and then as a 2009 TV miniseries starring Mira Sorvino. The film only heightened demand for a sequel that, mercifully, is finally due to arrive. Like its predecessor, this sturdy standalone tracks the investigations of FBI agent Sean Reilly into secrets hidden in medieval times. However, The Templar Salvation escalates the intensity of the chase because in this case, Reilly's ladylove Tess Chaykin has been kidnapped. Long dormant secrets; fast breaking action.

Publishers Weekly

Khoury's entertaining sequel to The Last Templar (2006) offers characters and plot lines that hew closely to the conventions of the religious thriller subgenre. In 1310, Templar knight Conrad of Tripoli stumbled on a trove of writings documenting the early days and divisions of Christianity. The Catholic Church has kept this material hidden since the fall of Constantinople in 1453, fearful that its release would undermine the church's authority and rock the foundations of Christian belief. In the present, Mansoor Zahed, an Iranian motivated by revenge for the CIA killing of his family in the 1950s, is bent on finding the trove and releasing it to undermine Western religion and stability. Meanwhile, FBI special agent Sean Reilly visits the Vatican on a quest to find a document that may help in his effort to rescue his love interest, Tess Chaykin, who's been kidnapped. The constant suspense, ever-mounting body count, and interesting historical lore will keep readers turning the pages. (Oct.)

Library Journal

Four years have elapsed since Khoury (The Sanctuary; The Sign) introduced us to archaeologist-turned-author Tess Chaykin. In this sequel to The Last Templar, Tess and FBI Agent Sean Reilly are once again on the trail of Templar-related documents that will change the course of history and Judeo-Christian ideology, if revealed. Here, Turkey is the battleground for a cache of extant gospels concealed by heirs of a Knight Templar. From the earliest pages, when we learn of Tess's abduction at the hands of an Iranian zealot to the climax 400 pages later, the action and intrigue never cease. As with most artifact novels, there must be equal suspension of disbelief and acknowledgment of possibility; after all, the Dead Sea Scrolls do exist. Khoury's choice of language and tone seems credible for each character, time, and place; his ample modern cultural references should withstand the test of time. The language and violence are graphic but appropriate and proportional to the story. VERDICT At times Khoury's style is more geopolitics lecture as he cites real events to intensify the plot, but his preachiness is offset by his sublime narrative. The result is a full-throttle action-adventure thriller wrapped in a political cautionary tale with a gratifyingly eloquent center. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/10.]—Laura A.B. Cifelli, Ft. Myers-Lee Cty. P.L., FL

DECEMBER 2010 - AudioFile

Richard Ferrone likes playing tough guys, and in FBI agent Sean Reilly, he has one of the toughest. He’s on the trail of ancient documents that could shake contemporary Christianity to its foundations. Listeners are there as he wheedles his way into the Vatican archives, visits dusty caves and smoldering deserts in Turkey, and, finally, takes part in a thrilling airplane scene high above the Mediterranean. Parallel adventures in the Crusades provide historical background. Ferrone doesn’t shrink from emphasizing gruesome details, but he softens his approach and his hero when he and his lover, an archaeologist named Tess, are discussing their next move. This is exciting and educational stuff, read by a master. J.B.G. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

From Khoury (The Sign, 2009, etc.), a sluggish sequel to his runaway biblical bestseller, The Last Templar (2005).

Revisited are beautiful, brainy Tess Chaykin and tougher-than-most Sean Reilly, whose adventures rocketedTemplar to bestseller-dom. Three years have passed since last we saw them, but novelist Tess and FBI agent Sean remain undiminished superstars in their respective fields. Undiminished, too, is their love for each other though they've been apart for awhile. Having parked her 13-year-old daughter with relatives—Tess's approach to parenting has always been casual—she is now on a desert dig, gathering material for her next blockbuster. It's a plan interrupted by a mysterious Iranian, evil and unregenerate, who kidnaps her for reasons some readers may find unpersuasive. He wants her to lure Reilly to Rome where his famous resourcefulness will enable him to penetrate "the bowels of the Vatican," emerging at length with certain long-hidden documents. In turn, this will lead to certain pre–New Testament texts, the dissemination of which will unsettle, even undermine Christianity throughout the world. The villainous Iranian sees that as a good thing. From contemporary Rome, flash back to 13th-century Constantinople, where the Templars, too, will be revisited. The Knights Templar (think specials-forces units with a religious bent) have been decimated by powerful enemies, but there are a handful of survivors. Among these is the righteous Conrad, who, aided by his lover, the brave and adorable Maysoon, enlists in the struggle against malicious obscurantism. Thus, as it is with Tess and Reilly, so it is with Maysoon and Conrad, all warring on the side of the angels, the devil take the hindmost.

Probably irresistible to faithfulTemplarfans.But it's too talky, underimagined and much too heavy-gaited for mass conversions among the rest.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169464597
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	10/19/2010
Edition description:	Unabridged

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