BOB:
Acre, 1291 A.D. - As the city burns under the onslaught of the Sultan's men, Falcon Temple sets sail, carrying a small band of knights and a mysterious chest entrusted to them by the Order's Grand Master. The ship vanishes without a trace...

New York City, present day - At the Metropolitan Museum, four horsemen dressed as Knights Templar storm the gala opening of an exhibition of Vatican treasures and, in a brutal and bloddy attack, steal an arcane medieval decoder.

For FBI agent Sean Reilly and archaeologist Tess Chaykin this is just the start of a deadly game of cat and mouse as they race across three continents in search of the ruthless killers and a centuries-old mystery...

I can't quite put my finger on why, but this book just didn't thrill. Perhaps it was its sheer length or maybe I'm Templar'd out. The sentimental ending with Sean & Tess was just sickening - AS IF! The story had plenty of action, plenty of conspiracy, & a love interest, but it didn't raise my heart-rate. Decent but not thrilling.

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to tantan for the vbb.

Received from catsalive - many thanks!

I'm afraid this book didn't really do it for me. It's a very different book to The Da Vinci Code, but I found DVC really fast-paced and easy reading, whereas this just seemed to meander. There was a big build-up and climax which lead to a completely anti-climatic and silly ending. I also found the dialogue somewhat unbelieveable at times. In one section Reilly asks Tess about her beliefs, and she responds with a page-and-a-half of planned essay. People just don't talk like that! I also felt like I was being given a history lesson several times instead of learning from the story. The author would lapse into his own personal description of some aspect of the Templar's history, and it would veer completely away from being presented by the characters. I just found it jarring. Historical fiction to me is history presented through the eyes of the characters. Despite these complaints, there was some interesting historical information presented that I do want to learn more about.

I'll offer this up on the Oz VBB. Maybe there's someone else out there who will enjoy it more than me.

Donated to the Little Haven charity book sale.

Found this book in a St Vinnies in Mt Isa Queensland Australia. The book was a awesome read I had just finished Dan Browns 3 books The Davinci Code, Angels And Demons & The Digital Fortress and this book continued on the theme. It was a fantastic book and could not put it down. What a read. The ending was a little corny.