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    The Sword of the Templars
    The Sword of the Templars
    The Sword of the Templars
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Sword of the Templars

    Written by Paul Christopher

    Narrated by Paul Boehmer

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    After a lifetime on the front lines, Army Ranger John Holliday has resigned himself to ending his career teaching at West Point. But when his uncle passes away, Holliday discovers a mysterious medieval sword-wrapped in Adolf Hitler's personal battle standard. Then someone burns down his uncle's house in an attempt to retrieve the sword, and Holliday realizes that he's being drawn into a war that has been fought for centuries.

    Accompanied by his adventurous niece Peggy, Holliday must delve into the past and piece together the puzzle that was his uncle's life and his involvement with the enigmatic warriors known as the Knights Templar. But his search for answers soon becomes a race against ruthless, cunning opponents willing to die for their cause...and to kill Holliday for daring to uncover their past.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateAug 17, 2010
    ISBN9781400188864
    The Sword of the Templars
    Author

    Paul Christopher

    Paul Christopher is the pseudonym of a bestselling US novelist who lives in the Great Lakes region. He is also the author of The Secret of the Templars series.

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    Reviews for The Sword of the Templars

    3.5/5

    20 ratings12 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 2/5
      Medieval mystery, hidden symbols and codes, so I was rather surprised at my inability to get into the plot. I tried, I really did. But even till the end, it didn't do it for me. By my standard, there was quite a bit of historical information (which I've encountered in books of similar genre), which for whatever reason, I found to be dry and boring this time around. That aside, the plot had its fair share of cat-and-mouse, but to me, I found that the protagonists were mostly mouse, and for three-quarters of the time, on the defensive -- hence, rather tedious and wearisome.

      * I have a more favorable review of Book 2 of the series: 'The Templar Cross'.
    • 3/5
      Decent enough yarn but you'll not exactly be shocked at the developments!
    • 1/5
      The author interjected too many political and social view into the main character.
    • 3/5
      Templar Knights and a one eyed Indiana and details Book three of the year was Sword of the Templars by Paul Christopher. I haven't really read more then a couple Templar related books but I've always been fascinated by Medieval era things.The first you'll notice is the author uses tons of details for everything. He comes across as an obvious history buff and weapons buff in general. I myself, can't say I'm thoroughly knowledge on those subjects so I have to take them at face value. I found that the details were pretty easy to brush over to avoid getting bogged down in it and stuck. I also didn't feel like I lost anything out of the story.There were some pretty cheesy eliminates to the story. The main character "Doc" Holiday a retired vet teaching at West Point. Really Doc Holiday? After he's uncle dies (a scholar type, a la Henry Jones), Holiday and his second cousin once removed (a strange relation ship, who's name escapes me at the moment), goes take care of his estate. They come across this medial sword with Templar ties and then get caught up in a world of arson, murder and conspiracy. And Nazis, why does it have to be Nazis. Well at lease he didn't hate snakes, yet. All of this while traveling around the world on a mysterious source of unlimited funds. You do have to suspend some belief, but then again, you usually do with these genre.Oh, did I mention Doc has one eye. I'm sorry but at one point he was chasing someone through a forest and "had to keep one eye on the ground" to avoid falling. So if he kept one eye on the ground, how did he see where he was going? It cracked me up.Over all it was an ok read. I wouldn't recommend it unless your a die hard Templar fan and want to read something in that genre. I won't be reading more from this author, especially the next book about Doc. There has to be better ones out there. Drop me a note if you know one, I would like to read something better.Thanks,dave
    • 4/5
      A swift and unpredictable thriller in the tradition of Clive Cussler.
    • 2/5
      An entertaining romp, and rather better written than most of the plethora of post-Da Vinci Code pap that has flooded the market.
    • 3/5
      It was an entertaining read. Not earth-shattering brilliant literature, but it was packed with action and adventure and to be honest the end left me wanting more. I won't be disappointed as there are a string of these novels that I assume follows the characters introduced in this one. Another novel or two in and I might rethink this opinion- it might leave me singing higher praises or bemoaning the fact I got sucked into more.

      I'm a sucker for anything 'templar'- be it based in historical fact or tales that delve more into the realm of alternate history. I would say this one comes out with a mix of historical fact and the fantasy inspired by Dan Brown's books on the templars. If you are willing to tolerate these things side by side, you will enjoy this.
    • 2/5
      I enjoy the occasional thriller, and I have an abiding interest in the medieval ordercalled The Poor Fellow-soldiers of Jesus Christ and Solomon's Temple, or Knights Templar, for short. Since Dan Brown's silly little fairy tale, there have been many offerings in the thriller genre dealing with these Crusader-monks and their putative hidden purpose and succession down into the present. I enjoy these tales, as far-fetched and obviously ridiculous as most of them are, because they make for a pleasant adventure. Suspension of disbelief for the sake of the tale is usually easy.UNLESS ... the writer begins his tale with such egregious errors in historical fact that it blows one completely out of the story. Such a book is THE SWORD OF THE TEMPLARS. It has the same faults that most of these ancient-conspiracy-hidden-treasure-world-changing-revelation type books: utterly improbable thesis, insufficient motivation, plot driven as much by coincidence as by the protagonist(s)' actions, omnipotent and omnipresent villains. All this can be forgiven, if, as I said, one enjoys the occasional dip into this kind of story, as I do. What is unforgivable is the plain errors in Templar fact on which the author grounds his plot. Here are a few:**THE BOOK: Hughes de Payens, the Templars' founder, was said to have gotten the backing of Godfrey of Bouillon, who had seized the title of King of Jerusalem, for the creation of the Order of the Temple.HISTORICAL FACT: When the Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099, they elected Godfrey de Bouillon to rule the City, but he, a pious man, refused to accept the title of king in the city where Christ was crucified. He would only accept the title, "Defender of the Holy Sepulchre." Further, Godfrey lived only one year after the capture, dying in 1100. The Templars did not form until 1118 or 1119, under the sanction of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem.**THE BOOK:Attributes the pamphlet, "De laude novae militiae" ("In Praise of the New Knighthood") to St. Alberic of Citeaux. HISTORICAL FACT: De laude nova militiae was written in the period 1128 - 1131 to establish that the new order was justified in waging war and shedding blood. It was written by St. Bernard of Clairevaux. Alberic had died in 1108.**THE BOOK( p. 273): "Innocent was Pope during the Crusades. He was the one who eventually ordered the Templars to be arrested and killed." HISTORICAL FACT: Innocent was A pope during the Crusades, which lasted for more than two hundred years, but he was not the pope that presided over the destruction of the Templars. That was Pope Clement V, who, because of a promise he had made to King Philip IV (called "The Fair") of France prior to his elevation as pope, colluded with the French king in the sordid charges against and destruction of the Order.There are others. Mistakes like this rob the readers of the simple, escapist pleasures to be had in books of this ilk.
    • 3/5
      It was an entertaining read. Not earth-shattering brilliant literature, but it was packed with action and adventure and to be honest the end left me wanting more. I won't be disappointed as there are a string of these novels that I assume follows the characters introduced in this one. Another novel or two in and I might rethink this opinion- it might leave me singing higher praises or bemoaning the fact I got sucked into more.

      I'm a sucker for anything 'templar'- be it based in historical fact or tales that delve more into the realm of alternate history. I would say this one comes out with a mix of historical fact and the fantasy inspired by Dan Brown's books on the templars. If you are willing to tolerate these things side by side, you will enjoy this.
    • 3/5
      John Holliday's life changes when his uncle dies and he and his cousin discover a medieval sword among his belongings. Things start to get strange when the house burns down and Holliday and his cousin Peggy Blackstock find themselves on the run and trying to find out why and what's going on. The story is entertaining, as long as you don't poke too hard, the history is dodgy, and the visit to Ireland was superficial and annoying for this Irish person.It did draw me in and keep me reading and enjoying it, so kudos for that, but it's bubblegum.
    • 4/5
      pretty good - a little confusing at times though
    • 3/5
      A fairly standard modern-day-thriller-chasing-ancient-treasures story. It's done competently, if not overly compelling. It's no Dan Brown novel for sure, but it's short and fast-paced enough to be interesting.