Home > Categories > Books > Fantasy > The Youngest Templar review
It is the time of the Third Crusade. Richard, the Lionheart, known to all as 'the absent King' sits upon the throne. In a quiet corner of England, Tristan, a young orphan boy raised by the monks of St. Alban's Abbey, dreams of a life of adventure and more importantly to discover the truth about his mysterious past.
When a group of Knights Templar stops at the Abbey to rest for the evening, Tristan is offered a chance to become the squire of Sir Thomas Leux. Realizing this is a chance to have the adventure he seeks, Tristan agrees and Sir Thomas trains him in the ways of a knight.
Months later, with Sir Thomas in the Holy Land, Tristan and his comrades are besieged in the city of Acre. When the city is about to fall, Sir Thomas gives Tristan one last order. Return the Holy Grail, the most sacred relic in all of Christendom, to England for safekeeping. Tristan escapes the city by secret passage and sets off to fulfill his promise to Sir Thomas.
But every duty has a price. Along the way Tristan will make both friends and enemies and will be relentlessly pursued by Sir Hugh Montfort, an evil and cowardly knight who will stop at nothing to possess the Grail.
Product reviews...
Tristan, orphan and newbie Templar, sets off on an adventure to learn who he really is. A familiar enough premise, but pulled off with a strong voice and likable characters. I found the similar but different theme stretched a little far with 'Robard Hode' and 'Maryam' who turn up later in the story, but their genuinely funny characters made their names forgivable. Tristan was by far my favourite character. I appreciated his honesty, innate chivalry and the way that he didn't shy away from hard work. Unfortunately, just as I was beginning to like him, I hit the end of the book with a voilent thump, licked my wounds and began wondering where the next volume was.
Coming soon, I am told. I hope so! This book has a mother of all cliff hangars on the final page and really must be read with the sequel readily to hand.
Now to distract myself while I wait for 'Trail of Fate' to arrive.
Random listing from 'Books'...
Come on a colourful quest through the world of well-loved nursery rhymes. One intrepid boy discovers all the colours of the rainbow, from Bo Peep's white sheep to the Owl and the Pussycat's pea green boat. Alison Jay creates a spellbinding tale, full of visual jokes, which is a pleasure to discover.
All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.
"Focus 90% of your time on solutions and only 10% of your time on problems."
Anthony J. D'Angelo, The College Blue Book