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The Heretic
(Templar Chronicles #1)
by
Boston SWAT officer Cade Williams didn't believe in the supernatural until a chance meeting with a fallen angel left his wife dead and him hanging on to life by the thinnest of margins. When he was discharged from the hospital he discovered that not only was he scarred, body and soul, but that the encounter had left him with a few otherworldly talents of his own.
Now, sever ...more
Now, sever ...more
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Paperback, 266 pages
Published
November 1st 2017
by Independently published
(first published 2005)
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Start your review of The Heretic (The Templar Chronicles #1)


A great start for a series, The Heretic introduces us to a new urban fantasy world filled with demons, specters and other supernatural beings. Knight Commander Cade Williams aka the Heretic and his Echo Team are an elite part of the Order of the Templars which is tasked with protecting mankind from all things supernatural. Cade is a strangely likeable character with his own peculiar charisma. Unlike most of the members of the Order he's not a blind believer and follower of rules and that makes h ...more

This is the story of Cade Williams, a member of the modern Templar Knights, who, in this book, are the secret combat unit of the Catholic church. They are charged with protecting mankind from supernatural-type evil. Cade leads the Echo Team, a combat unit known for their effectiveness in getting the job done. Cade is known by other Templar Knights as "The Heretic," due to his seemingly strange powers and his apparent lack of faith.
Five years earlier, his home is attacked by some sort of powerful ...more
Five years earlier, his home is attacked by some sort of powerful ...more

I'm beginning to get a feel for Nassise I think. I like most of the books I've read by him. There always seems to be a little flaw somewhere that keeps me from giving them the complete 5 stars. That said they are fast moving, exciting and interesting. He deals with interesting topics and the books deal with it in a "storyteller's" fashion. They are for the most part what I call "brain candy" but that's okay...I like good brain candy.
This deals with the idea that the Knights Templar were secretly ...more
This deals with the idea that the Knights Templar were secretly ...more

The Templars have become a secret organization that protects the world from supernatural threats. One of their members is known as the Heretic and is rumored to have strange powers. He and his team take on those cases when doing things strictly by the rules just won't cut it.
This story hit a lot of the buttons. A lot of action, a hero that can kick butt with some cool powers, and interseting bad guys. The writing is good and the plot flows well.
There are only a few negatives. A couple of scenes ...more
This story hit a lot of the buttons. A lot of action, a hero that can kick butt with some cool powers, and interseting bad guys. The writing is good and the plot flows well.
There are only a few negatives. A couple of scenes ...more

Heretic by Joseph Nassise takes takes two old storylines evil and and the Church and mixes them into one fantastic story. The Knights Templar are alive and well and protection the Church from evil in form of paranormal creatures.
Cade Willimas is a member of the modern day Knights Templars. He isn't what one would expect from a Templar. He no longer is much of a believer and is referred to as the Heretic. His world fell apart after his wife, Gabbi, was killed by a fallen angel. Cade was nearly ki ...more
Cade Willimas is a member of the modern day Knights Templars. He isn't what one would expect from a Templar. He no longer is much of a believer and is referred to as the Heretic. His world fell apart after his wife, Gabbi, was killed by a fallen angel. Cade was nearly ki ...more

Apr 25, 2013
Jacob Proffitt
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
unfinished,
urban-fantasy
This book isn't horrible. The writing is coherent and it has great action and the characters are very... manly. I just couldn't get into it and finally decided that my time was worth more than continuing the book (from about the 67% mark). Despite the urban fantasy setting (and my shelving it there), this book is much more a mens action-adventure novel (along the lines of Max Bolan or Remo Williams). The men are dedicated, capable, and well-trained and they dominate their paradigm in no-uncertai
...more

Joseph Nassise's Templar Chronicles series features a modern-day Knights Templar organization that battles the supernatural bad guys of the world. Its hero, Cade Williams, is a member of the Templars but has an uncanny reputation among the order for his psychic abilities. The Heretic is the first in the series and revolves around a cabal of sorcerers who is attacking Templar commanderies, slaughtering the members, and desecrating the cemeteries in search of a holy relic. Cade and his unit are as
...more

I think I may have only managed to finish this book through a combination of it being really quite short and a hope that at some point it was going to get better. It didn't.
It isn't an awful book but I struggle to find anything to recommend it. The plot is very simplistic; there are no real surprises. There isn't a single notable female character in this book, and the male ones are one dimensional. There's a guy; he's a strong and silent type. He's been wronged and now he's going to put it right ...more
It isn't an awful book but I struggle to find anything to recommend it. The plot is very simplistic; there are no real surprises. There isn't a single notable female character in this book, and the male ones are one dimensional. There's a guy; he's a strong and silent type. He's been wronged and now he's going to put it right ...more

Funny thing about this book. I received it last week as an r2r and was so excited to receive this book - Knights Templar + Demons, I mean, how could I resist? - and when I went to Amazon today to add my review, I found out that I had already purchased this book (I had found it for free on Amazon at one point and grabbed it) and had completely forgotten that I had done so. No wonder I was so excited haha. This is actually the third book that I have done this to. I guess that's proof positive that
...more

Read a story in Urban Allies anthology where the thieves were just blown away by the Templars, not because they were threatened, but upon approach to their hideout and as a matter of course, totally casually and with no thought to other options. Is theft an executable offense? What gave them the right? Not interested in this series at all after that. Usually anthologies get me interested in authors, and I was a bit intrigued until that insane level of violence for no good reason.

I was a bit surprised by this one. The story synopsis had sounded to me like the author was trying to combine too many elements in a story: ancient angelic weapons/relics, fallen angels, paranormal abilities, Templars, and necromancy ... I am sure I am missing a few others things, too. But it was free (at least at the time) through Amazon, so I downloaded it, and I finally got around to reading it.
I wished I hadn't waited so long. Nassise does a great job of keeping my attention as the story pr ...more
I wished I hadn't waited so long. Nassise does a great job of keeping my attention as the story pr ...more

This book sucked me in from the start, beginning with the brand new cover (not pictured). I'm always game for a more action oriented urban fantasy, especially one that doesn't focus on the same old same old types of plots. This one was different, but had some familiar flavors of urban fantasy.
The prose was solid, very stark, which I appreciate. There's no fat to trim plot wise as the story moves quickly from one event to the next with just enough time for the reader to process what's happening. ...more
The prose was solid, very stark, which I appreciate. There's no fat to trim plot wise as the story moves quickly from one event to the next with just enough time for the reader to process what's happening. ...more

This is a mix of action, the supernatural, paranormal fantasy, Templars and horror. I wanted to like this more. I thought that it was very predictable. I kept putting it down for several days at a time before continuing. I probably won't continue the series.
...more

The Knights Templar, thought to have been disbanded in the 14th century, are alive and well - reborn with a military hierarchy as an arm of the Vatican. Their new mission is to defend mankind from supernatural threats and enemies.
Knight Commander Cade Williams, known as "The Heretic", is head of the Echo Team, a highly specialized unit whose members each have unique "gifts". Cade had been a highly-decorated Massachusetts police officer and a member of Special Tactics. An attack that left Cade di ...more
Knight Commander Cade Williams, known as "The Heretic", is head of the Echo Team, a highly specialized unit whose members each have unique "gifts". Cade had been a highly-decorated Massachusetts police officer and a member of Special Tactics. An attack that left Cade di ...more

Dec 15, 2013
Ginny Lurcock
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
genre-fantasy-urban,
pages-301-500
So Jena, my partner in crime over at Pure Textuality, has been on me to read Joseph Nassise for like … ever. (I don’t remember when, so I’m going with forever) but I never got around to it.
Now I feel like a total jerk.
What I liked:
Mr. Nassise writes a pretty story. Well, okay, the story itself is actually gritty and involves a fair amount of insides that are now on the outside … but the actual structure of the story is so damn pretty. The way he used specific words to build a story is just an ...more
Now I feel like a total jerk.
What I liked:
Mr. Nassise writes a pretty story. Well, okay, the story itself is actually gritty and involves a fair amount of insides that are now on the outside … but the actual structure of the story is so damn pretty. The way he used specific words to build a story is just an ...more

The Order of the Knights Templar has persisted in secrecy through the decades, fighting to protect humanity from otherworldly evils most people would rather not know exist. Cade Williams, one of the most obscure amongst the Order, is also the most enigmatic and unorthodox, instilling fear even amongst his fellows; however, he might be the only person capable of saving the world from an evil so powerful that it threatens to destroy the divide between reality and a realm known as the Otherworld.
I ...more
I ...more

This is a fast paced urban fantasy, with hints of Dan Brown all over it, plus the special ops cast. You can read it in one sitting if you wish, because there aren't any to keep you to read it deeper.
The plot is predictable from the beginning, including the twist. The theme is overexposed already, especially after many books following the bandwagon of Dan Brown's type. So it is not that interesting, I would say. The characters are pure machismo and also predictable. Strangely, with all that downs ...more
The plot is predictable from the beginning, including the twist. The theme is overexposed already, especially after many books following the bandwagon of Dan Brown's type. So it is not that interesting, I would say. The characters are pure machismo and also predictable. Strangely, with all that downs ...more

This was a fast paced thriller with a strong supernatural element. The Templars were reformed and now work as a mostly military arm alongside the Church, protecting humanity from lurking nasties. Cade Williams, AKA The Heretic, leads a team of Templars assigned to some of the more unpleasant jobs. He joined after his wife was brutally murdered by something otherworldly, an attack which left him with some terrible physical and emotional scars, and some rather unexpected abilities.
The story moved ...more
The story moved ...more

Cade Williams didn’t do orders; he also didn’t do Rules - especially when they got in the way of his job as a Knight Commander of the Templars. Cade didn’t start out that way but having your wife killed in front of you tends to change your outlook.
Sean Duncan headed up the Protectors group of the Templars and is in charge of care of the Preceptor for North America. They are in Connecticut to investigate a Templar group left in ruins, all dead who were there at the time of the event. How did the ...more
Sean Duncan headed up the Protectors group of the Templars and is in charge of care of the Preceptor for North America. They are in Connecticut to investigate a Templar group left in ruins, all dead who were there at the time of the event. How did the ...more

I love a high stakes thriller with religious elements. The pacing of this story was consistent and it kept me interested, reading from beginning to end without many breaks.
The Heretic is a fairly run-of-the-mill religious thriller - the Catholic Church has an underground special ops group devoted to fighting back the darkness and keeping humanity safe; powerful religious artifacts are in danger of falling into the wrong hands. The story was decent, but the characterisation was not. Sadly, even ...more
The Heretic is a fairly run-of-the-mill religious thriller - the Catholic Church has an underground special ops group devoted to fighting back the darkness and keeping humanity safe; powerful religious artifacts are in danger of falling into the wrong hands. The story was decent, but the characterisation was not. Sadly, even ...more

Well this one is hard to rate...I almost stopped reading because it didn't really grab me until about half way through. that's a little late in the book for me, but I really hate to give up on anything! I'm glad I continued because it did get better. The last 25% of the book I really enjoyed. So I'm giving it a 3 (first half, a 2; second half a 4)
For me it was a pretty dry read in the beginning - didn't feel any emotional connection, and I enjoy the military aspects, but appreciate a little humo ...more
For me it was a pretty dry read in the beginning - didn't feel any emotional connection, and I enjoy the military aspects, but appreciate a little humo ...more

I picked this book up as a Kindle freebie, which generally means my expectations are fairly low, and was very pleasantly surprised. Heretic is a dark military urban fantasy. If you're looking for girls kick butt or vampire romance don't look here. Instead the focus is on the Knights Templar and their battle against sorcerers and demonic forces of the paranormal. It's not a perfect book, but it was a quick fun read and I'm intrigued enough by the plot and the characters to buy the rest of the ser
...more

I enjoyed this book very much. The characters are well defined, the story is very good, and the writing is good. Although the story isn't as good as The DaVinci Code (but how many books of this type are), it is superior in character development. The writing in a few spots was weak, but overall, it also surpassed DaVinci code (which had clean, but perfectly sterile prose). As some have mentioned, this book could have benefitted from better editing, but I didn't find it seriously lacking in that d
...more

This book sucked me in right from the beginning and held me there until the very end. The only thing I didn't like about this book was putting it down.
While The Heretic is about the Knights of Templar, a religious order, it is not preachy and does not force any particular belief on readers. The Heretic is nonstop action, a paranormal thriller filled with the intricacies of relationships, struggles with faith, love, vengeance and duty. The writing is vivid, the characters made me care and the plo ...more
While The Heretic is about the Knights of Templar, a religious order, it is not preachy and does not force any particular belief on readers. The Heretic is nonstop action, a paranormal thriller filled with the intricacies of relationships, struggles with faith, love, vengeance and duty. The writing is vivid, the characters made me care and the plo ...more

Templar Chronicles: 1
This book suffers a bit from character bloat - the author introduces many side characters only for them to end up dead a few pages later. It's a little hard to tell who's important enough to keep track of. This book is pretty much entirely action, with teasing glimpses of character development. Carnage everywhere. High death toll in this story. There's a lot of POV switching, but with everything else going on, it's handled skillfully enough not to be an annoyance. At 253-som ...more
This book suffers a bit from character bloat - the author introduces many side characters only for them to end up dead a few pages later. It's a little hard to tell who's important enough to keep track of. This book is pretty much entirely action, with teasing glimpses of character development. Carnage everywhere. High death toll in this story. There's a lot of POV switching, but with everything else going on, it's handled skillfully enough not to be an annoyance. At 253-som ...more

This was the beginning of a new author obsession for me. I love these books! They're about an elite group of Templars who are called into fight evil, and I mean true evil. They're right up there with the Harry Dresden novels and the John Taylor novels and I LOVE those!
Alas, the latest Heretic book is not yet available for my nook and it sounds like he may just write one more after that before ending the series. I'll be very sad if he ends Cade's adventures after only five books. ...more
Alas, the latest Heretic book is not yet available for my nook and it sounds like he may just write one more after that before ending the series. I'll be very sad if he ends Cade's adventures after only five books. ...more

I thought when I came across this book that it was simply another military series in the style of Mack Bolan and those types of modern stuff. However, this book and series are cool. Add supernatural elements such as a world between life and death, millitary for the church due to such creatures, and people with supernatral abilities all make this a pretty sweet series. Yes, the characters and plot are cool. But why spoil those?

Apr 16, 2012
Ken
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
supernatural-fiction,
fantasy
I read this in the Kindle format. When I first picked this up, I had never heard of the author or the book before. I just decided to read it on a whim, thinking the short blurb about it showed promise. After that,I couldn't put it down. This was a really well written story, including elements of religion that were handled quite well. I felt the idea of one of the top soldiers being The Heretic to be quite interesting - showing God is in it to win it.
...more
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Action/Adventure ...: June 2020 Random Read Part III Group Read: The Heretic by Joseph Nassise *Spoilers* | 3 | 9 | Jun 01, 2020 11:25AM | |
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Free on Libboo | 1 | 7 | May 13, 2013 02:54PM |
I'm the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than fifty novels, including the Templar Chronicles series, the Jeremiah Hunt trilogy, and the Great Undead War series. I've also written several books in the Rogue Angel action/adventure series from Gold Eagle. I'm a former president of the Horror Writers Association, the world's largest organization of professional horror writers, a
...more
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Templar Chronicles
(8 books)
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