Key Details Title: Templar Written By: Jordan Mechner Illustrated by: LeUyen Pham & Alex Puvillard Year of Publication: 2013 Goodreads: Link A brooding not so pious not so brave knight? Check A colourful cast of side characters providing comic relief and daring rescues? Check Sword fights, chase scenes & hidden treasure? Check Check and Check This was a random graphical novel that I picked up at the Big Bad Wolf sale which I thoroughly enjoyed. The story is set during the late 13th Century after the Siege of acre in 1291 where the Crusaders lost their last substantial foothold of the Holy land and follows the events leading upto the dissolution of the Knight's Templar the most famous crusading warrior monks of the time who are the centerpiece of the story. The story follows the antics of Martin; a not so pious and not so brave Templar and his band of Misfits who come together after the dissolution to locate the fabled treasure of Solomon which is supposed to have been uncovered by the Templar's in the Holy Land and was the main motive of the Phillip IV; the King of France who was deeply in debt to the Templars to dissolve the order. The novel is in the tradition of a crazy heist caper al la Ocean's Eleven, The Italian Job where Martin & Co have to band together to locate and steal the treasure literally under the noses of Chancellor Nogaret who is the chief antagonist of the novel. Throughout the novel, there are some good character developments and attempts to challenge some of the typical stereotypes of the genre such as Madame De Chalancon who is Martin's love interest who is the main (and only) female lead in the novel who is a strong character who stands her ground in a strongly patriarchal society. I was also surprised by the role of her brother who is a Bishop and where alot of the religious authority figures tend to get alot of the negativity from authors writing a few centuries down the line, it was interesting to see how his character was treated. In terms of the book, don't be fooled into thinking this is a light read due it being a graphical novel and is in fact a mammoth book with over 400 pages. Having said that the pacing of the story is good where the buildup and planning of the heist is dealt with in great detail while the action sequences deliver the punches effectively. The art style is reminiscent of other illustrated stories of Robin Hood and the artwork during some key moments really does shine through. Overall, If your a fan of the Tales of Robin Hood or Walter Scott novels like Ivanhoe this is definitely the book for you Martin & Co getting ready to embark on their heist Some of the great artwork in the novel which is keeping with the tradition of the medieval adventure novels
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AuthorAvid reader of Historical fiction, High fantasy novels, Comics & Graphic Novels. Passionate about teaching & the future of education in general. Categories
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December 2023
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