Templar Chronicles: The Heretic
Posted on June 22, 2006 by Flames
Written By Joseph Nassise
An action filled mystery into the depths of the modern Knights Templar (hidden from the world that thinks they were wiped out long ago); Heretic focuses on Cade Williams and his team. Cade is known as the Heretic because of his strange abilities and personal quest against the supernatural. Other Templars either respect or fear him depending on which rumors they’ve heard.
Someone or something is attacking chapter houses throughout the country, killing the Templars that try to defend themselves and desecrating the grounds for a dark purpose. Cade is sent in to investigate and stop this menace before things get worse.
The supernatural elements of this book are dark and terrifying to those who face off against them. Most of the Templars have only their weapons and belief in the cause to fight back against the evil in the world. A select few have a touch of supernatural ability themselves. Cade is one of them, having the ability to “step” into the spirit world and talk to ghosts (which can often give him clues the living may have missed). Cade also has a sort of second sight which allows him to sense the supernatural. The newest member of Cade’s team, Duncan, also has some slight supernatural ability. He doesn’t want it however and faces moral challenges throughout the book as to its meaning and what he should do about it.
The enemy has quite a bit of supernatural ability, including powerful necromancy. Mortal cultists and other, less savory servants help the villain fight the Templars throughout the story.
The biggest weakness in this book is the main character, Cade Williams. He is too good at everything and always better than the much more interesting supporting cast. Duncan, Riley and the other members of Cade’s team are great characters; each of them has quirks, flaws and entertaining personality traits. The challenges these characters face are sometimes overshadowed by the brooding, yet always heroic Cade Williams. Cade saves the day when other Templars are losing against demonic enemies several times throughout the book. This is to be expected somewhat since he is the primary character of the story, yet some of the other Templars should be able to function a bit better than they are made out to be. Cade cannot possibly be the best at everything.
The mix of action and mystery throughout the story is well written, keeping the story moving along at a fast pace. The characters have little time to reflect or get bored as the enemy continues to attack the Templars throughout the tale. As part one of an ongoing adventure, Heretic stands on its own…yet leaves plenty of room for further adventure with Cade or other Templar characters.
An easy read for anyone looking for a mix of action and supernatural mystery, Heretic is worth picking up. I’m looking forward to the next installment and the upcoming comic book series by Markosia Enterprises Ltd.
Reviewer: Matt M McElroy
Heretic is also available as an eBook at the Flames Rising eBook Shop.
