The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry Book Review

 The Templar Legacy 

(Cotton Malone #1)

by Steve Berry 

Published Year: 2006

Page Count: 486 pages 

Medium Used: Kindle PW

Genre: Christianity, Historical Fiction, Faith, Knights Templar, Theosophical, Jesus Christ, Action, Adventure, Secret Societies,2025-read.

  Rating: 3.8/5

Coming on the heels of the The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown(released in 2003), three years after the book's release and dealing in a similar topic of hunt for the documents and treasure secreted away by the ancient Knights Templar and debating on the  exposure of that uncovered information to the world, it is impossible not to draw parallels between the two books. No doubt, this book is very well researched. I get a feeling that I have become an overnight expert on the religion of Christ and his life .. although I know what I know is only the tip of an ice berg! 

In the DaVinci Code, we see Jesus was believed to have been married to Mary Magdalene and their royal blood line still exists. It is these details and proofs that the Knights brotherhood strives to conceal. Here, in this book, it is proof that Jesus was only a man and never went with resurrection as Christians have been believing for the past two thousand years. In Da Vinci Code, solving the riddles was fun because they were simplistic and also made me feel incredibly involved. Here, the clues are few, random and much of the information they give out regarding the ancient times of Christ or the Knights don't apply to solving them. I didn't feel the thrill that comes from unraveling a twist or a riddle. But this makes sense. Because the puzzle is solved by Malone, a former CIA agent who doesn't have full fledged knowledge into the history of the brotherhood or Christ. 

The characterization of Mark Nelle felt off. If that is the character of a teenager who is still finding his sturdy step in the society, I would have been content. But to make such a ridiculous personality the next Grand Master felt outrageous and I have no connections with the brotherhood!! I was shocked, while reading, to learn that the much revered Shroud of Turin which bears the image of a man crucified is not from the 1st century (i.e. belonging to Jesus Christ) but from 14th century (belongs to the last known Grandmaster of the Knights Templar, Jacques DeMolay)!! And everyone has been convinced that the shroud belongs to Jesus and is worshipping it thus!

I liked the two or three twists that are put into the story. The betrayal of Mark's friend Geoffrey being false. The seneschal turning out to be Mark. I also liked how to book ended. With the revealed/found treasure diverted into worthy causes, villain Master Raymond De Roquefort ascribed the honors of the brotherhood albeit his reign being short. Does such treasure really exist? Are there seekers really traipsing the neighborhoods of France, Rome and Denmark searching relentlessly for this treasure trove?? Wonderful! 

 I question myself if people really know, today, that Jesus was not a God, he was a married man and he never resurrected into his human body after death, will they seek for other religions for comfort and solutions? I believe the answer would be a resounding yes! There is a big - no, huge! - difference between worshipping a man as a Prophet and revering him as a God! What surprised me is that having known the truth behind the myth of Christ resurrection, why the Templar Brothers remained solid in their faith and conducted their lives according to the teachings of Jesus! 

This is the age when people are averse to blind faith and want all their inner crises and questions answered. I know that Christianity falls short because it preaches about a single life .. where I know multiple lives exist going on forever, until salvation. They show Jesus Christ's resurrection into his own body and believe it happens to them too but why do we find their remains/bones untouched/unaltered,right?