Steve Berry ”The Templar Legacy” (Cotton Malone book 1)

Grāmatas apraksts no Goodreads/Synopsis from Goodreads:

The ancient order of the Knights Templar possessed untold wealth and absolute power over kings and popes… until the Inquisition, when they were wiped from the face of the earth, their hidden riches lost. But now two forces vying for the treasure have learned that it is not at all what they thought it was–and its true nature could change the modern world.

Cotton Malone, one-time top operative for the U.S. Justice Department, is enjoying his quiet new life as an antiquarian book dealer in Copenhagen when an unexpected call to action reawakens his hair-trigger instincts–and plunges him back into the cloak-and-dagger world he thought he’d left behind.

It begins with a violent robbery attempt on Cotton’s former supervisor, Stephanie Nelle, who’s far from home on a mission that has nothing to do with national security. Armed with vital clues to a series of centuries-old puzzles scattered across Europe, she means to crack a mystery that has tantalized scholars and fortune-hunters through the ages by finding the legendary cache of wealth and forbidden knowledge thought to have been lost forever when the order of the Knights Templar was exterminated in the fourteenth century. But she’s not alone. Competing for the historic prize–and desperate for the crucial information Stephanie possesses–is Raymond de Roquefort, a shadowy zealot with an army of assassins at his command.

Welcome or not, Cotton seeks to even the odds in the perilous race. But the more he learns about the ancient conspiracy surrounding the Knights Templar, the more he realizes that even more than lives are at stake. At the end of a lethal game of conquest, rife with intrigue, treachery, and craven lust for power, lies a shattering discovery that could rock the civilized world–and, in the wrong hands, bring it to its knees.

                                                                                                                                                

Apraksts: Senajam Tempļa bruņinieku ordenim piederēja neiedomājamas bagātības un absolūta vara pār karaļiem un pāvestiem, līdz inkvizīcija un Francijas Filips IV viņus noslaucīja no zemes virsas, bet viņu paslēptās bagātības tika nozaudētas. Mūsdienās vairāki spēki sacenšas, meklējot Tempļa ordeņa Lielo mantojumu, kas, iespējams, ir daudz nozīmīgāks par jebkādiem pasaules dārgumiem un var pat pārvērst mūsdienu pasauli. Kad noslēpumam pietuvojas kādreizējais specvienības kaujinieks Malons, viņa dzīvība ir mata galā…

Izdevniecība/Publisher: Ballantine books

Kā tiku pie šīs grāmatas?/How I got this book?

Lejuplādēju no torenta

Vērtējums/Rating: 3.75/5

Mana recenzija/My review

Cik nu patiesi, vai drīzāk pieskaņoti literārajam darbam, tad vēsturiskie fakti minēti ļoti daudz. Vēl viena interesanta versija par Templiešu ordeni, kas ļāva viņiem kļūt tik vareniem, kur palika lielā bagātība, viņu sagrāves laikā.

Malons jau vairāk kā gadu nav aktīvajā dienestā, tā vietā pieder antīku/senu grāmatu veikals Kopenhāgenā. Šķietami nevainīga bijušās priekšnieces Stefānijas vēlme satikties iesaista viņu mežonīgā piedzīvojumā un senu mīklu risināšanā uz augstām likmēm.

Ja kādam šķiet, ka Templieši tika sagrauti, tad viņš kļūdās. Vadoņa nāve un jaunā ievēlēšana, kurš jau personīgi bija centies atrast zudušo, paātrina notikumu gaitu. Bet arī pašā ordenī nav vienprātības, kas, ja bagātības un zināšanas tiktu atgūtas, būtu darāms tālāk.

Stefānijas motivācija ir vienkārša. Kamēr viņas vīrs (pētnieks, vēsturnieks) bija dzīvs, Stefānija neko no viņa darīta neņēma par pilnu, kas arī viens no iemesliem, kāpēc atsvešinājās arī no dēla. Šajā ziņā būs necerēta otrā iespēja (abiem). Savas atziņas arī Malonam tiks.

Netrūkst ‘’spēlētāji’’ no malas, kas gan agrāk, gan stāsta darbības laikā mēģina iesaistīties.

Protams, par iemesliem ordeņa varenībai tiek minēts, ka Jēzus bijis vien parasts cilvēks bez jebkādas brīnumainas augšāmcelšanās. Kā būtiskas ik palaikam tiek piesauktas pretrunas reliģiskajos tekstos. Personīgi galīgi neesmu reliģiozs un arī ne no ticīgajiem, bet žēl par dažu tēlu rīcību grāmatas beigās. Toties bagātības vismaz būs pielietotas kaut cik lietderīgi.

Cepure nost mīklu un piedzīvojuma sastādītājam! : )

                                                                                                                                                

As to how truthful the historical facts mentioned in this book I don’t know but they’re a lot. Another interesting version about Templars, what allowed them to become so powerful and where all their treasure remained.

For more than a year Malone has retired from active duty and become an antique book seller in Copenhagen. But seemingly innocent visit from ex-boss Stephanie throws him back into action on high stakes.

If anyone thought that Templars were completely destroyed then they are wrong. Recent death of the master and election of a new one, who were already searching for the Great Devise, accelerates the events. But even between themselves in the order there are disagreements about what to do if and when it is found.

Stephanie’s motivation is very simple. While her husband Lars was alive she considered his work and passion as foolishness. Which was on of the reasons why her relationship with son Mark departed. There will be chances for both of them to make things better. Few realizations for Malone too.

There are plenty side players that would be happy to have some piece from treasure.

The reasons why Templars were so strong of course are religious (Christianity) and considers Jesus himself, that he was just a man to which I agree. Frequently there are mentioned contradictions in the religious texts. Personally I’m not a religious person or a believer but I hoped that characters would have done something different with that information. But at least the value of those treasures will be used usefully.