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The Knights Templar battle an occult order in this "soundly researched [and] briskly paced" alternate history set during the Scottish War of Independence (Booklist). In this stunning sequel to their acclaimed historical fantasy The Temple and the Stone, coauthors Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris return to the legends of the fabled Order of the Knights Templar, the mystical medieval brotherhood of warrior monks born in the crucible of the Holy Land Crusades. Returning to a show more brilliantly recreated alternate past, two of the world's premier fantasists spin a breathtaking tale of courage, destiny, duty, and magic that unfolds against a backdrop of England's tumultuous struggle with Scotland and the heroic exploits of Scotsmen Robert the Bruce and William "Braveheart" Wallace. Unwavering devotion to God and their magical order has carried noble knights Arnault de Saint Clair and Torquil Lennox into the heat of battle in war-torn Scotland in these dark days of conflict, only to discover that there are forces at work far more sinister than kings and crowns. The English liege, Edward I, is determined to destroy the Knights Templar, who have sided with the enemy Scots, while in France, Philip IV, known as "King Philip the Fair," is driven by his greed for the legendary Templar wealth and would usurp the power of the Pope himself to attain their riches. But unbeknownst to either king, they are both in the thrall of the Knights of the Black Swan, a malevolent supernatural order with loyalties to Lucifer alone. On the eve of the decisive battle of Bannockburn, Saint Clair, Lennox, and their brave Templar brethren will be compelled to stand against these minions of the Devil, who are willing to see thousands die and kingdoms crumble to feed their unholy hunger for ultimate power. The Temple and the Crown is an epic tale that celebrates a history that never was, a legend that has endured for centuries, and the heroic exploits of Scotsmen Robert the Bruce and William "Braveheart" Wallace. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Not bad, not particularly good - I'm glad I read it and perfectly willing to swap it. There were a couple continuity errors, mostly with them being surprised by news they'd already discussed - Neil Bruce's death, for instance. But nothing major or story-disruptive. Also an interesting crossover with the Kurtz story in Tales of the Templars - the story was Sir Adam, her modern-day Adept, dealing with a Templar past life. The same person was a minor character in Temple & Crown, and it showed a lot more about him, including more about what Adam had seen in the story. Interesting.
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66+ Works 28,773 Members
Katherine Kurtz was born in Coral Gables, Florida on October 18, 1944. She received a four-year science scholarship to the University of Miami where she graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry. She completed an M.A. in medieval English history at UCLA while writing her first two novels, and working as an instructional designer for the Los Angeles show more Police Academy. She is also a professionally trained hypnotist, a student of comparative religion, and somewhat of an authority on heraldry and chivalry She has also joined with Deborah Turner Harris, and together they have written five books in an adept series of occult detective thrillers set in modern Scotland. Her first editing foray, Tales of The Knights Templar, appeared from Warner Books in 1995, which wa followed by a second volume, On Crusade: More Tales of The Knights Templar. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2001
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Statistics
- Members
- 234
- Popularity
- 138,638
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.37)
- Languages
- English, French
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 1
