Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion
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The Last Templar
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JULY 2014 (Group Read 2): The Last Templar by Michael Jecks
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I always like a happy customer!
I was going to try and fit in City of Fiends this month, to go with the group read of The Last Templar (seeing as I have already read it), only I a had the wonderful book by Robyn Young Kingdom come in the mail and I am reading that instead.City of Fiends will have to wait until next month. :)
Michael wrote: "happy wrote: "IMO it's a really good series - I've read all 32 and am sad to see Mr. Jecks has probably wrapped it up."Nope! After the first 32 I thought it was time for me to have a holiday. I'v..."
To quote the sportscaster, Marv Alberts
YESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!
Michael wrote: "happy wrote: "IMO it's a really good series - I've read all 32 and am sad to see Mr. Jecks has probably wrapped it up."Nope! After the first 32 I thought it was time for me to have a holiday. I'v..."
That's fantastic news! :D
Terri's interview with Michael Jecks last year made me want to read his work so I read 'The Abbot's Gibbet'. I will definitely read more and I can see the attraction for readers of dropping into the world he creates, combined with a murder mystery, so I'd really like to read the discussion, even if reading this book will have to wait a little.
That is wonderful that the interview inspired you to try something you may have overlooked before. Thanks for the feedback, Jean. :)(Lovely to see you around again too)
Jean wrote: "Terri's interview with Michael Jecks last year made me want to read his work so I read 'The Abbot's Gibbet'. I will definitely read more and I can see the attraction for readers of dropping into th..."Thanks for that! It's good to see that interviews can have such a positive impact on people. Meantime, I hope you soon enjoy a squeaky-clean, new copy of Last Templar or one of the others in the series.
I'm quite enjoying the book so far. I like the pace at which the little bits of information come. Makes it difficult to formulate a suspect.
It's gone very quiet here... and I've finished the contemporary book I was reading, which has depressed me horribly, so a medieval murder could be Just The Thing. I'm in! I'll be a while catching up as I'm supposed to be cooking and looking after guests but, hey, priorities! ...
I know a bunch of people who are reading it on the quiet, but not commenting. We always have a lot of members who do that during the group reads. They sometimes lurk to see what others are saying though.
Sneaky :) I don't think this is a spoiler so I'll encourage the lurkers...It's a dramatic beginning, with the big historically real scene of the Templar execution in Paris. I live in France and the TV series 'Les Rois Maudits' (the cursed kings) was a great hit a few years' back and Gerard Depardieu is Jacques de Molay so I will forever picture him walking to the stake. I definitely want to read on even though this is a hundred years later than my period of obsession :)I think Michael sets the scene well and although he's answered one question re the Templars (why the confession and recantation?) another remains (why the accusation and persecution of the Templars in the first place - role of the King? role of the Pope?) I'm assuming this is the backdrop to the imagined characters and events but so far we have a dark shadow of a central character and haven't got to that yet. I'm interested in the backdrop so that's fine by me. Onward! Westward ho!
Jean wrote: "Sneaky :) I don't think this is a spoiler so I'll encourage the lurkers...It's a dramatic beginning, with the big historically real scene of the Templar execution in Paris. I live in France and the..."I recommend reading The Iron King, the first in Maurice Druon Maurice Druon's series (in English), which is what the television serial was based on. It gives a broader explanation of what de Molay et al went through. It also, I think, gives a more in depth feel for the length of time and the lengths to which the persecutors went to get those confessions.
I did really like this book. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it, because of having met these characters in some of the The Medieval Murderers but not completely understanding them. This book explains it all though, and now I understand the relationship much better.
What I do like that this book does is setting up so many suspects. That reminds me so much of people like Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, it's such a great tool to keep the reader wanting more. :)
Thanks, Darcy - I keep meaning to read 'the Iron King' and my French is fine for reading it in the original, so there's no excuse... so many tbr books!
Jean wrote: "Sneaky :) I don't think this is a spoiler so I'll encourage the lurkers...It's a dramatic beginning, with the big historically real scene of the Templar execution in Paris. I live in France and the..."Thanks for that, Jean. You have to bear in mind, though, two points: first, I never expected to be writing a book about the Templars directly. This book was using that persecution as the backdrop to a crime novel. Second, it was a first novel. I'd no experience or training as a writer, this was, I thought, a one-off novel. It was just a story that grabbed me and that I wanted to write, hoping that I could forge a new career (since computer sales had collapsed!) - however, after writing 31 books in the series, I went back to explain a bit more with a prequel as book 32. I've also left myself plenty of leeway to return and fill in the gap. It's something I want to do as soon as a publishers will back the idea.
Darcy wrote: "Jean wrote: "Sneaky :) I don't think this is a spoiler so I'll encourage the lurkers...It's a dramatic beginning, with the big historically real scene of the Templar execution in Paris. I live in F..."I've had the series recommended often, but sadly I don't have the French and hadn't found an English version. I understand that many of the themes I've written about, from the adultery in the Tour de Nesle, to the hideous end of the French princesses and their lovers are all covered in the Druon books? Thanks for that link - I'll have to go and get a copy - once I've finished my existing reading pile, anyway!
There should be lots of English copies now. Ever since Game of Thrones got so popular and Mr. Martin said it was a favorite of his....
They are indeed covered in The Iron King along with a couple other events surrounding the nobility and the papacy. I'm looking forward to reading your other novels. The Merchant's Partner and A Moorland Hanging are expected to make their arrival sometime this week.
Having this as a group read has made me think it's time to read the next book. So I shall be finding a copy of book six, The Leper's Return, soon and continuing on with the adventures of Baldwin & Simon.
Darcy wrote: "They are indeed covered in The Iron King along with a couple other events surrounding the nobility and the papacy. I'm looking forward to reading your other novels. [book:The Mer..."
Really glad to hear it, Darcy. I think you'll find them much better polished, I have to say. Last Templar was a first novel that had a lot of problems, whereas the next two were really just a joy to write. Hope you like them!
Dawn wrote: "Having this as a group read has made me think it's time to read the next book. So I shall be finding a copy of book six, The Leper's Return, soon and continuing on with the adventures..."Ah, Leper was a great book for me. I used to give a lot of talks about it, but had to stop because I found the treatment of those accused of being Lepers was just too painful to relate and I'd choke up each time. One awful speech was in front of well over a hundred lovely people at the Plymouth Athenaeum, where I was forced to stop talking for several minutes to compose myself! Not very professional. My agent always called it my first love story, which I suppose is true, but it's the driving plot of how people were treated that got to me each time.
Happy reading!
That's interesting. Might I ask what were the problems with 'Last Templar'?I'm really into the story now. I love the scope of the book: the feeling of being in a medieval community, the range of characters and suspects, and, most of all, the landscape with all that brooding forest and moorland. The journeys strike me as particularly authentic and I am definitely riding alongside the posse.
The only thing that's interrupted my enjoyment (apart from jobs to do at home!) has been some awkwardness in switching point of view. This jumps around too much for my taste and I've been confused a couple of times (but my husband would say this is normal).
That was the problem: continuity. I had a new copyeditor who changed huge amounts, including inserting glass in windows, chimneys in villeins' houses, and replacing "vill" with "village". All in all, it wasn't a pleasant experience. However, the editor and publisher were very supportive and agreed I could change back anything I didn't like. So I did. Sadly, that means I also red-lined many of his good changes to my grammar and continuity! Still, it has been modified again in the last year, because it was reedited for the new Simon and Schuster editions. Hopefully that means it's a more pleasant read!
It fascinates me to get the inside story! I really like the detail about building methods and jobs.
Jean wrote: "It fascinates me to get the inside story! I really like the detail about building methods and jobs."If you're really interested, look me up on Youtube. Search for writerlywitterings and you'll find a bunch of videos about me and anecdotes about the books. Cheers!
Michael,Thnx for the info - I'll check out the youtube :)
Linda wrote: "The Leper's Return was my first Michael Jecks book. I enjoyed the read tremendously!"Very glad to hear it! Thanks for that!
Linda wrote: "The Leper's Return was my first Michael Jecks book. I enjoyed the read tremendously!"I don't remember which was the first one I read - somewhere about #10 I think. When I read it I was hooked and went back and caught up and continued as Mr Jecks released new volumes in the series.
He is definately one of my go to authors for medevial mysteries :)
I'll raise a glass to that, Happy! I feel important: Mr. Jecks said my name!
I take that back. He did not say my name, but he did direct a 'thank you' my way.
I thought I would look and see how the group has rated this book in general and I see we were pretty positive about it:5 star - 4
4 star - 7
3 star - 9
2 star - 3
1 star - 0
I've been enjoying this discussion, but haven't joined in. I read The Last Templar long ago enough that it has partially slipped through my sieve-like brain, except that I remember how much I enjoyed it and didn't guess the ending at all!
Finished! And enjoyed very much. Having read a later book in the series, I made some assumptions about who-dunnit that turned out to be wrong so that was interesting. I'm intrigued by the background on lepers now so I'll definitely read 'The Leper's Return' but I think I'll enjoy reading more of the series if I don't gulp them down all at once - I can see me dipping into one every now and then over several years.
Considering how many of them there are, you will need a few years. :)
I have always been interested in the Knights Templar and sympathized with their treatment, which I feel was a result of greed by the French King and the current Pope at the time. Michael Jecks seems to agree with my position. This was a good read with a very interesting ending.
Dawn wrote: "Considering how many of them there are, you will need a few years. :)":) That's what got me into reading Michael Jecks' books - finding out that it would work to just read one ... or two... or a few!
It's interesting comparing with the Robyn Young take on the Templars (and she was the author of the last group read I joined in on so thanks, Terri for all the fun you organise!) I thought Robyn Young's books (Brethren trilogy)went more for the idea of the order imploding from its own corruption, if I'm remembering them correctly.
I haven't read that much about the Templar's but I've always been more inclined toward believing the corruption stories. Maybe not all of the knights but in general, as a group.
Jean Wrote:It's interesting comparing with the Robyn Young take on the Templars (and she was the author of the last group read I joined in on so thanks, Terri for all the fun you organise!) I thought Robyn Young's books (Brethren trilogy)went more for the idea of the order imploding from its own corruption, if I'm remembering them correctly
Happy to help. :)
I am actually in the middle of the last book in Robyn's trilogy now. Tis very good.
I didn't read The Last Templar with you all because I had already read it. I did, however, finish book #29 (I think that is the number) back in early July.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Excellent reviw as usual Terri!
Thankyou, Sir Happy. :)
Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction
Books mentioned in this topic
The Last Templar (other topics)The Leper's Return (other topics)
The Leper's Return (other topics)
The Leper's Return (other topics)
The Leper's Return (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
The Medieval Murderers (other topics)Agatha Christie (other topics)
Dorothy L. Sayers (other topics)
Maurice Druon (other topics)
Michael Jecks (other topics)
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Nope! After the first 32 I thought it was time for me to have a holiday. I'v..."
YaaaaaY!