Product Description

The story of the rise and fall of the powerful and mysterious Knights of the Temple: the Third Crusade under Richard the Lionheart. It is sixty years since the secret Brotherhood of Sion, founders of the Knights Templar, uncovered the treasure vouchsafed them beneath the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Now the ambitious and ruthless Plantagenet King Richard the Lionheart leads the Third Crusade against Saladin, and both the honour of the Templars and the mission of the Brotherhood are at risk. Andrew Sinclair is one of the few survivors of the Battle of Hattin in 1187. As a member of the clandestine Brotherhood he was taught Arabic before being sent to the Holy Land on a mission that neither the Order of Templars nor the leaders of the Pope's armies can know of. Sinclair's captivity following the battle led to his friendship with the infidel and threatened to divide his loyalty. One of the great secrets of the Brotherhood is that they are not Christians, unlike the Templars. Sinclair's cousin and fellow member of the Brotherhood, Sir Andre St Clair, arrives with Richard from Cyprus.The secret mission they must pursue will lead them into the desert and the lair of the fearsome Assassins. And meanwhile Saladin's clever tactics in battle, including the butchery of the magnificent destriers, the massive horses that carry armoured Frankish knights, bring reversals to the Christian cause from start of the Crusade. But it is Richard the Lionheart's treachery and deceit that convince both cousins that the Crusade is a sham, and that all men are venal and greedy, driven by the lust for power. Only their knowledge of the Order of Sion saves them from despair: their secret mission becomes more vital than ever before. This glorious epic tells the true and truly astonishing story of the Knights of the Black and White.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15990 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

About the Author
Jack Whyte was born and raised in Scotland, and educated in England and France. He migrated to Canada from the UK, in 1967, as a teacher of High School English, but he only taught for a year before starting to work as a professional singer, musician, actor and entertainer. In the early 1970s, Whyte researched, wrote, directed and appeared in a one man show based on the life and times of Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet. Whyte's interest in the history of Britain springs from his early Classical education in Scotland during the 1950s, and he has pursued his fascination with those times ever since. Whyte is married, with five adult children, and lives in British Columbia, Canada.

Customer Reviews

Better than the first book....
Though it is best to read these books in order, this second book does stand alone but reading the first will help provide the reader with a clearer understanding of the plot. I found this second, in what I hope will be a trilogy by Jack Whyte, to be even better than his first book in this series. The story was much faster, now that we know the story of the mission of the friendly families using the Knights Templar as a front organization.

Andre St Clair was a wonderful new hero to balance off the angst of his cousin hardened Templar Knight, Alec Sinclair . The political intrigue and historical events of the era helped to balance the story with the history. The author doesn't get bogged down with excessive descriptions but one clearly feels that they are traveling with the crusaders as they move toward their destiny in the Holy Lands. My only objections was the story ended so abruptly I was caught off guard, but was beautiful in Andre's dedication to his cousin and his own personal journey. Can't wait for number three!!!

More tosh ... no better than the first
My review of the first in this trilogy also applies to this second part.

Having read over 500 titles on the Templars (including fact and fiction) this novel has got to be one of the most tiring and tedious.

It appears to an obvious attempt to cash in on the success of Brethren, Crusade and Requiem by Robyn Young; three books on the other end of the scale when it comes to comparing a decent trilogy about the Order.

Whyte's characterisation is laboured, and clear similarities between his characters and Young's are blatantly obvious and almost laughable. Some of the history is either badly researched, or an attempt to take the more controversial theories about the Templars into consideration... and most of those were plain barmy.

The covers of Whyte's trilogy are also blindingly obvious copies of the style of Young's trilogy and are really quite insulting to be even marketed in the same league.

I thought The Last Templar was a bit far fetched, but at least it kept the reader bounding along with the action, albeit set in the modern World.

Poor novels from a muddled and confused writer... don't waste your money, and stick to the original trilogy by Robyn Young.

Second Book in a Trilogy

Jack Whyte was born and raised in Scotland, but has lived in Canada for the last forty odd years. He is the author of several novels and this book is the first in a trilogy about probably the most famous Order of knights, ever to come through the pages of history, the Knights Templar.

Although the books are a work of fiction they are based on what is known about the order. Why they were formed after the First Crusade and why they continued to grow, both in power and influence from their small beginnings as escorts for pilgrims traveling through the Holy Land. These knights began from lowly beginnings becoming one of the most powerful and richest bodies in Europe, until finally the French King ordered them to disband. Burning their leader at the stake and sending many of those who managed to avoid punishment, into exile
The first book took a great deal of criticism, whether this was justified or not is up to you the reader to decide. I found it an enjoyable read and took it for what it is, a work of fiction, written to entertain the reader. Not the best book I have ever read, but certainly not the worst.

I am in agreement with the other reviewer that this second book in the trilogy is better than the first, perhaps the author became a little bogged down in the first novel establishing how and why the Knights Templar were established and to what extent they became involved in the history of the Crusades and the fighting in the Holy Land. This book seems to have more of a flow to it now that the ground work has been done.