The Templar

It almost read like a documentary at times but I really enjoyed it and look forward to the next one out next month. I wish there was more character development, but the detail of the journey was well written. To cover the period is difficult without appearing historically biased and I think Doherty does it well.

This exceedingly bloodthirsty book is the first in the series by Paul Doherty, telling the story of the first Crusade and the attempts by armies of Christendom to regain Jerusalem from the so-called Infidels. Don't start this book by thinking that it's anything but a full-on description of bloody battles, retributions and gruesome details of mass murder, as that's exactly what it is...not a pleasant tale of the Templars, Knights in shining armour! It's extremely well written by a writer whose research has obviously been extensive and who knows that the Crusades were horrifically cruel, stupid shows of power by men driven by religious fervour and lacking any compassion or mercy for the innocents who were slaughtered in the thousands by both sides. One couldn't call this a pleasant read, and while I appreciate his scholarship, I won't be reading any others in this series.

The prolific Paul Doherty has started another series with this book. This series depicts the rise and fall of the Knights of the Templar Order. Mr. Doherty bases his books on real historical happenings, and none more so than this book. He has it all here - the cruelty, the killing, the wars and the intrigue. This book tells the story of how the Templar Order began, and he builds his story around a true historical person, Hugh de Payens and his friend Godefroi of St. Omer. We also meet Hugh's sister and his other friend Theodore. There are a lot of other real historical people in the book as well. You will need a strong stomach to read this book. It is very realistic and there is a lot of death in it, as well as very descriptive war narratives that do not spare the details. Doherty writes historical fiction like no one else, and his knowledge of his subject is absolutely incredible. He makes the times come alive. This book begins in 1096 and ends in 1099 with Hugh and his army getting into Jerusalem.

"The Templar," by Paul Doherty is about the rise of the most mysterious, most famous, and one of the oldest orders of human history, The Knights Templar. The Templar takes us back to the beginning of the very 1st Crusade, when Pope Urban the III preaches about reclaiming the holy land from the "infidels." The main characters are people that many of us have heard before, such as Hugh de Payens and Godefroi of St Omer, whom become the founders of the "Poor Knights" the "Brethren" and more commonly known as the "Templars." However, the greatest interest in this book is not so much Hugh and Godefroi, but it is Hugh's sister, Eleanor. Through her eyes, her accounts, and her experience, she has put together an amazing chronicle of her life traveling from Champeigne, to the Jerusalem. Her accounts start with the original "Brethren" and marching with the "Army of God", it's 100,000 troops through the great lands of Europe, into Constantinople, and into what is now the "middle east." Through her accounts, we see the fear, the horrors, and Hugh's determination to bring a certain..order...to things. Because there is so much history, (over 4yrs of travel), Mr. Doherty is only able to select several moments in time that help transform, push, and convince Hugh of what he feels he was meant to do, and why he must do it. This story is gripping for the first page, and holds you through to the last. My only wish, is that I wished there was more details, more stories, and more on histories truly most elusive man, Hugh de Payens. The battles are real, the people are feel, the battles are real, and the hardships felt. Read "The Templar." You will NOT be disappointed.