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Treasure of the Templars: A Western Story
It's 1898, and archeology professor Roddy McGinnis is supervising a dig in a medieval dungeon when he unearths the journal of Peter Stirling. A 16th-century Scottish knight, Stirling had died there after being tortured to reveal the location of the gold treasury of the Knights Templar. And now McGinnis has found the map to the treasure's resting place in the New World, where Stirling and a group of knights had been sent to hide it. But, although the ancient order of warrior monks was disbanded, a shadow organization survives. They have a political agenda -- and they want the treasure.
327 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2000
About the author
Tim Champlin
68 books8 followersTim Champlin was born in North Dakota. He graduated from Middle Tennessee State College and earned a Masters degree in English from Peabody College, Nashville. He writes novels of the American West.
(source: Penguin Random House)
(source: Penguin Random House)
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 3, 2017
Although Disney is known for its animated characters and features, it's had its share of live-action movies as well. Many of these were aimed at an audience slightly older than the ones who watched Micky, but still featured simple plots, predictable characters and very few surprises.
Remove an early seduction scene, and Tim Champlin's Treasure of the Templars would fit into that set of stories just fine.
In 1898, professor Roddy McGinniss is about to present a paper at an academic conference that confirms the long-lost treasure of the Knights Templar was actually brought to the New World. But the modern-day version of the organization, a secret society of dubious character, doesn't want him to, and so makes a move against the professor and his niece Merliss. Fortunately, ex-Trappist monk Marcus Flood is able to help them both out and travel with them to the spot in the Southwestern U.S. where Roddy thinks the treasure is. But the modern Templars are barely behind them, and they want that treasure first.
Champlin writes mostly westerns, and in fact the Templar treasure is just a McGuffin to get the cast out into the desert in a "search for the lost mine" plot. It's very standard, barely paper-thin, and over and done with once the last page turns. Which is not that much different from all of those "family adventure" live-action movies from Disney, almost all of which are overshadowed by the better-known and generally better-done animated features.
Original available here.
Remove an early seduction scene, and Tim Champlin's Treasure of the Templars would fit into that set of stories just fine.
In 1898, professor Roddy McGinniss is about to present a paper at an academic conference that confirms the long-lost treasure of the Knights Templar was actually brought to the New World. But the modern-day version of the organization, a secret society of dubious character, doesn't want him to, and so makes a move against the professor and his niece Merliss. Fortunately, ex-Trappist monk Marcus Flood is able to help them both out and travel with them to the spot in the Southwestern U.S. where Roddy thinks the treasure is. But the modern Templars are barely behind them, and they want that treasure first.
Champlin writes mostly westerns, and in fact the Templar treasure is just a McGuffin to get the cast out into the desert in a "search for the lost mine" plot. It's very standard, barely paper-thin, and over and done with once the last page turns. Which is not that much different from all of those "family adventure" live-action movies from Disney, almost all of which are overshadowed by the better-known and generally better-done animated features.
Original available here.
Displaying 1 of 1 review