The Book reads like a well done supsense novel
The 1st thing about the book that appealed to me was the fact that Read took a small chapter, just enough to give the reader an idea of the realities of the Holy Land during the Crusades, who and what the Knights Templar were and some say still are. Then after you are primed with the premise of the book, the reader is introduced to a world in which we today would think unimaginable but, the truth is what it is, and Read makes a point of remiding the reader that the Crusaders of Europe were not all the different from their Muslim counterparts at that time. Read takes a fresh in depth look at the Knights Templar, the role they played during all the Crusades, the HUGE internal organization in Europe and abroad and how they were not only instrumental in capturing the Holy Land during the crusades but, without them it could not have happened. I was impressed at how Read spun this tale in a suspensful way, a page turner so to speak but, at the same time the reader is blown away by the research that was done by Read for the book. I have read numerous Templar related books but, I think this is the first one that had me feeling as if the story we all know was somehow different as you see the hopes, dreams, feelings and politics of the Medieval mind, an excellent read, if you are familiar with the Templars, would like to get into some research on them, or basically like I stared years ago, curious about the mystical Knights Templar and the legacy they left us all in all an excellent Read, and with the HUGE amount of attention the Templars have recieved since Dan Brown's book, and the TONs of books DVDs and docudrama available now, this Piers Read book is an excellent choice to start with~!, enjoy
I did want to also mention that of course Read gets into the Myths+Legends surrounding the Templar and their downfall but, the bottom like is, this is a well done history book, nota conspiricy driven tale of the templar.Read full review
