Book Review: The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry (Cotton Malone #1)

The history of the knight Templar continues to be a subject of fascination today. From Dan Brown to Raymond Khoury, the story of the knight Templar is a well of inspiration for many contemporary authors of religious thrillers, often generating controversies upon publications . The Templar Legacy is a religious thriller, written by author Steve Berry. I borrowed this book from my local library, and I enjoyed it. I thought it was a good book. However, I think this book is also likely to offend the conservative minded, religious individuals. Without further delay, allow me to review this book.

Synopsis:

Cotton Malone, a former operative for the US Justice Department, is enjoying a quiet life after his retirement. Cotton made a living as an antiquarian book dealer in Copenhagen, Denmark. One day, his former boss, Stephanie Nelle, visited him with vital clues to solve a centuries old mystery. A mystery involving the supposedly extinct order of the knight Templar, and their most treasured secret, the Great Device. In this quest, Malone and Stephanie faced rivalries and dangers at every turn. They realized, at the end of the road, the Templar’s secret could rock the civilized world. Furthermore, if this secret falls into the wrong hand, it could bring the world to its knees.

What I think about this book:

I like reading religious thrillers. It is not because I have something against religion. But because when I read religious thrillers, other than the suspense, esoteric vibe, and excitements, I especially enjoy the undertone of independent thinking (a somewhat under-valued quality in the religious community), flying under the license of creative literature. So what do I think about this book? My opinion is The Templar Legacy is comparable to The Da Vinci Code. Both books used the history of the knight Templar, making a connection between the “supposed” treasures discovered by the Templars after the 1^st crusade, to the divinity of Christ. While the story in both books are highly fictionalized, but I think Steve Berry has done a better research in this book than Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code. This also means The Templar Legacy is not as much as a “page-turner” as The Da Vinci Code. Having said this, The Templar Legacy is an action packed thriller. Several places in this book did explore the historical facts in details, thereby slowing the pace of the story. While some might be less satisfied with the uneven pace, but I quite enjoyed how the author utilized historical facts and blended it with the plot, to construct a entertaining, believable story.

The characterization in this book is also very good. I like the character of Cotton Malone. He is somewhat similar to Dan Brown's character, Robert Langdon. Both are highly intelligent men, possessing similar character traits such as courage and perseverance. The biggest difference between these two characters, is that Cotton Malone was an ex-agent with martial training. This brought a James Bond feel to the book, and there are some intense action scenes. The action scenes, though octane driven, however, are quite realistic and believable.

As I have mentioned earlier. This book is likely to offend some conservative minded, religious individuals. The reason is because the story makes a speculation on the divinity of Jesus. Personally, I adopt an open minded attitude towards these things, so I found the story quite fun, and somewhat thought provoking. Unfortunately, for some religious individuals, a speculation on the divinity of Christ is bound to be treated as a subject of controversy that is both negative and offensive. Nevertheless, for the most part and for what it is worth, I think this book is an entertaining, weekend read.