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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bn.com
Dan Brown called one of Steve Berry's previous novels "my kind of thriller." With The Templar Legacy, Berry proves his mentor's point by unleashed a Da Vinci Code-like thriller that engulfs its hero smack in the middle of a massive Knights Templar conspiracy. He packs his novel with arcane Gnostic lore but keeps his protagonist and his readers breathless to the end.
Publishers Weekly
There are times when Corrigan attempts the French accent of this book's arch-villain, Raymond de Roquefort, that he sounds like nothing so much as Peter Sellers's Inspector Clouseau with a bad head cold. Corrigan gamely tackles what so many other readers tiptoe around, imitating each of the voices in Berry's international array of shadowy operators. While the results are occasionally, unintentionally comic, Corrigan is to be commended: his multivoiced, one-man-band reading makes for a wildly enjoyable listen. Berry's novel follows in the tradition of The Da Vinci Code, mingling medieval Christian secrecy and contemporary intelligence-agency intrigue. Corrigan contains multitudes, and his able array of voices show a man who greatly enjoys the opportunity to have the stage of Berry's book all to himself. Having fun with his reading, Corrigan masterfully conveys the entertainment value of Berry's convoluted story. Simultaneous release with the Ballantine hardcover (Reviews, Dec. 19, 2005). (Feb.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Berry's third thriller (after The Amber Room and The Third Secret) is not to be missed. The first in a planned series of four books featuring Cotton Malone, a former U.S. Justice Department agent turned Copenhagen bookseller, this work takes on the legend of the Knights Templar, a rich and powerful order of knights supposedly stamped out in the early 14th century-but not before hiding a legendary cache of wealth. Cotton joins forces with former boss Stephanie Nelle to investigate the recent surprise appearance of a journal belonging to her deceased husband, a leading researcher of the treasure of the Knights Templar. Cotton and Stephanie quickly discover that the Knights Templar is far from extinct and will do just about anything to prevent them from discovering its secrets. Anagrams and complicated symbology abound, and comparisons to The Da Vinci Code are inevitable, but Berry distinguishes himself with a complex, well-written, and extremely readable story. Highly recommended for all public libraries.-Andrea Y. Griffith, Loma Linda Univ. Libs., CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Good knights and bad knights chase each other around southwestern France in yet another tale of Sensational Untold Christian Revelation. Berry's The Third Secret (2005) dished up a papal suicide and some direct transmissions from the Virgin Mary at Fatima in 1917. Further papal nastiness figures in this take on the Knights Templar, a now-vanished but once vastly rich and dangerously powerful order that went from a gang of nine protectors of medieval pilgrims to one having near control of Western Europe. Their downfall came when craven Pope Clement V bowed to the will of his owner, France's King Henri IV, whose eye was on the great pile of Templar loot. With a nod from the pope to leaders of the Inquisition, the knights were disinherited, dismissed and, in some cases, flambeed. But did they really vanish? Their loot never made it into the royal coffers. Could they in this day and age be holed up in the shadow of the Pyrenees, disguised as simple 20th-century monks? And could their billions of euros in gold, jewelry and objets religieux be far away? Danish billionaire Henrik Thorvaldsen, among others, ponders this question. His late friend Lars Nelle got many readers to consider the possibilities when he published scholarly novels about the mysteries of Rennes-le-Chateau, a burg in the Languedoc with its share of secrets. Now Nelle's estranged widow Stephanie, a Department of Justice attorney, has received tantalizing information that brings her to Copenhagen, home of her dashing former employee, bookseller Cotton Malone. Before the two erstwhile associates have even said hello, a Knight Templar snatches Stephanie's backpack and slits his own throat. This is just the first of manyencounters between the good Americans and the evil Templar Raymond de Roquefort, all of which lead to stunning secrets about the central Christian mystery. A long, tortuous journey to an unsurprising, though thoughtful, end.
From the Publisher
Praise for Steve BerryThe Amber Room
“Sexy, illuminating . . . my kind of thriller.”
–Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code
“Magnificently engrossing, with wonderful characters and a plot that speeds, twists, and turns. Pure intrigue, pure fun.”
–Clive Cussler, author of Sacred Stone
The Romanov Prophecy
“Perfect for thriller fans and history buffs alike. Fabulous plot twists.”
–David Morrell, author of The Protector
“Compelling . . . adventure-filled . . . a fast-moving, globe-hopping tale of long-lost treasure and shadowy bad guys.”
–San Francisco Chronicle
The Third Secret
“Controversial, shocking, explosive . . . rich in a wealth of Vatican insider knowledge and two thousand years of Virgin Mary visitations. The Third Secret will change our view of the relationship between religion and wisdom.”
–Katherine Neville, author of The Eight
From the Hardcover edition.
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