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The Templar Legacy: A Novel
by Steve Berry
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Ballantine Books (2007-11-27)
ISBN: 0345504410
EAN: 9780345504418
Dewy Decimal #: 813
Mass Market Paperback: 544 pages
Edition: Reprint
Release Date: 2007-11-27
SKU: 080616001
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: This copy is in good condition. No visible markings, highlights, tears to text. However, there are a few pages with neat underlining. A few top pages has reference smooth-out folds. Tight spine. No Dust Jacket. Soft Cover has crease on spine, with light/minimum, shelf/edge wear. Apart from minor flaws, one can get a lot of usage from this very interesting copy, worth having at an affordable price. (2H-95)
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
The ancient order of the Knights Templar possessed untold wealth and absolute power over kings and popes . . . until the Inquisition, when they were wiped from the face of the earth, their hidden riches lost. But now two forces vying for the treasure have learned that it is not at all what they thought it was–and its true nature could change the modern world.
Cotton Malone, one-time top operative for the U.S. Justice Department, is enjoying his quiet new life as an antiquarian book dealer in Copenhagen when an unexpected call to action reawakens his hair-trigger instincts–and plunges him back into the cloak-and-dagger world he thought he’d left behind.
It begins with a violent robbery attempt on Cotton’s former supervisor, Stephanie Nelle, who’s far from home on a mission that has nothing to do with national security. Armed with vital clues to a series of centuries-old puzzles scattered across Europe, she means to crack a mystery that has tantalized scholars and fortune-hunters through the ages by finding the legendary cache of wealth and forbidden knowledge thought to have been lost forever when the order of the Knights Templar was exterminated in the fourteenth century. But she’s not alone. Competing for the historic prize–and desperate for the crucial information Stephanie possesses–is Raymond de Roquefort, a shadowy zealot with an army of assassins at his command.
Welcome or not, Cotton seeks to even the odds in the perilous race. But the more he learns about the ancient conspiracy surrounding the Knights Templar, the more he realizes that even more than lives are at stake. At the end of a lethal game of conquest, rife with intrigue, treachery, and craven lust for power, lies a shattering discovery that could rock the civilized world–and, in the wrong hands, bring it to its knees.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews
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great storyteller, boring book
Rating  (3)
Date: 2008-11-20
I am a fan of Steve Berry. There is something exciting about following the adventures of Cotton Malone throughout Berry's novels, and he tells the stories in such a way that it is easy to get caught in the book as if you were right there with him. The Alexandria Link is one of those novels, and is what made me interested in reading Berry more. So, I picked up the Templar Legacy, and expected just as much of a suspenseful thrillride as The Alexandria Link. It wasn't what I hoped for.
The Alexandria Link made me feel less like I was in a story, and more like I was in a history lesson. The best part about Steve Berry is his novels are so well researched that they are often considered "too smart" by some whom I have discussed his books with. They see him as pretentious, even snobby. I don't think this is a fair judgement. Steve Berry instead seems to insist more of himself as a writer, which is why his books are researched to the point that nearly every location mentioned in his books is a geographical location for which he as visited. The issue here, is that it at times took away from the story.
The start of the novel was very interesting, but toward the middle, it was harder and harder for me to keep the book in front of my eyes without them getting heavy from sleep. Also, the adventure taken by Cotton Malone was not nearly as much of a rush as the first novel I read of Berry's. This was more of a treasure seeking crossword puzzle aimed at the elitist who refuses to read anything other than The New Yourker with their morning coffee.
There is never such thing as being too informative, but there is a such thing as too wordy. The storyline seemed to drag on infinitely and all I wanted was for the finishline to come out of the dark so I could finally see when it would end. The only way I knew was the number of pages I had left. It was not a "bad" book, but it was just boring.
Steve Berry is a great author, one of my favorites. But it was hard to read this novel only because the adventures of Cotton Malone simply were not as exciting as I had anticipated. I look forward to reading more, and seeing more of his adventures in other novels, but for now, I will just let this one sit on my shelf as another novel I was able to complete cover to cover.
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well, i finished it...
Rating (3)
Date: 2008-10-08
not bad, like most have posted already, more character developement would have really helped out the story,
that being said, i did enjoy the book and will continue with the series.
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Should've been better
Rating  (2)
Date: 2008-09-22
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Unfortunately, this book left a lot to be desired. Mediocre character development and almost obsessive overuse of "big words", almost to the exclusive point of proving the author can use them. For example, the word ensconse was used 2-3 times in the the course of 2 or 3 chapters, and then dissapeared completely from the author's vocabulary. And who uses the word eidetic in everyday conversation?
Perhaps the biggest problem I had w/ the story was how the author conveniently "forgot" to reconcile the resolution of the story w/ the well described goal of Cassiopeia Vitt's desire to bring down Christianity. It was an incomplete story.
For its good points, the author did develop some suspense and did hold my attention at times. He was able to create a very intricate story line and built-in mystery.
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Just ok
Rating (3)
Date: 2008-09-17
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This definitely a "genre book" - a bit of a clunky attempt to duplicate Dan Brown's writing, almost as if the writer is a fan and decided to give it a try, too. The plot is interesting, although it does meander a LOT with meaningless episodes that don't contribute much to the story. At times it appears that he used the thesaurus on Microsoft Word to edit his writing - for some reason the characters never "reply" or "say" - they "make clear" as in "It's time to go," Malone made clear" - which is a really weird construct he uses over and over again. But the real problem is that this genre isn't so much writing as describing - the dialogue, pacing, and plot unfolds as if the author is trying to describe a movie rather than write a book. At any rate, its mildly entertaining, but feel free to skip over boring parts to get to the end. As this genre goes this book is amateurish.
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Interesting.
Rating  (4)
Date: 2008-08-24
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry is an enjoyable read. The story covers all the same old Templar histories, but the author's added insights especially on the conflicts found in the gospels is refreshing. That truth is not the enemy of faith is once again proved out in this story of modern day Templars struggling between righting ancient wrongs and remaining true to the foundations of their order. The clues and puzzles that drive all the characters and the rights and wrongs of their own personal pasts add intrigue and scope. The story also has a small important part of modern life that most literature totally ignores, that of the divorced man who is living away from his children. What gives this story real worth is that the reader is left to weigh the value of truth, wealth, and knowledge against each other. This is a book of many puzzles some are blatant and others merely nuances.
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