not so good - Rated 
The knights of the Black and white I gave 5 stars, but regretfully find my self unable to do the same with this one. There was not the gripping scenario of the first book.
It does stand alone, and if other reviewers research the books they read, they will find it is intended to be part of a trilogy, and I personally am looking forward to the next installment.
It is condemned as merely using themes that have been used by other authors and inserting storylines that have been proved to be nonsense. If we wanted the "truth" we would not read fiction. Fiction is to entertain and for that is what this book did. Ok it had ideas that have been proved not to be trus, but so what.. none of us really know the truth of this period. It did however bring across very well the ideal that the Knights were selfserving not church serving. That Richard Lionheart was merely human.
Read it as a novel, if you want fact - look elsewhere. Entertainment is there in the pages.
A little dissapointed.... - Rated 
Like a previous reviewer, I too hope this is part of a trilogy, however, given the lack of teaser first chapter at the end of the book I doubt it. There's no getting past that this is a very, very well written book, however, it in no way shape or form, other than the Templar theme and character names, continues on from the first book. You could easilty read this as a stand alone book and ctach up on the plot as the book progresses.
The plot is thick, it moves along quickly, sometimes a bit obvious as to what's going to happen next, sometimes not, but I was left feeling the the writer was somtimes a bit lost as to where to go next with it, so stuck in some details about the logistics of the third crusade to pad the book out, which although showing great research, doesn't help at the plot at all. He also kind of emplhasises King Richard's sexual preferences alot Which left me wondering why has he seemed to make such a big deal out of it? I agree with the previous reviewer who said it ends abrubtly, the only ending I have comes across like this so far is The Hstorian, which like ths book, just ends, and really that's it.
Give this book a read if you read the first one, but don't expect a follow on, it's anything but.
Freemasonic nonsense - Rated 
I radically disagree. Jack Whyte does us a great service: by preaching the Freemasonic claims to roots in the Templar Order, he amply demonstrates the nonsense both of their claims, which are clearly self-serving, and of the premise on which his books are written.
The consequence is that although he does bring some interesting detailed insight into certain motivations of historical personalities, any possibility of treating this seriously goes overboard by his unnecessary adoption of this conspiracy theory - he would have been as well served by simply claiming family interests as a motivation for his characters. Moreover, he totally fails to justify his choice of main characters, other than to hijack some of Dan Brown and Michael Baigent's claims, long since proven to be nonsense.
Technically, this is a poorly-written hack novel, the kind of thing to be bought in desperation in the backstreets of La Palma - and then left there.
Second Book in a Trilogy - Rated
Jack Whyte was born and raised in Scotland, but has lived in Canada for the last forty odd years. He is the author of several novels and this book is the first in a trilogy about probably the most famous Order of knights, ever to come through the pages of history, the Knights Templar.
Although the books are a work of fiction they are based on what is known about the order. Why they were formed after the First Crusade and why they continued to grow, both in power and influence from their small beginnings as escorts for pilgrims traveling through the Holy Land. These knights began from lowly beginnings becoming one of the most powerful and richest bodies in Europe, until finally the French King ordered them to disband. Burning their leader at the stake and sending many of those who managed to avoid punishment, into exile
The first book took a great deal of criticism, whether this was justified or not is up to you the reader to decide. I found it an enjoyable read and took it for what it is, a work of fiction, written to entertain the reader. Not the best book I have ever read, but certainly not the worst.
I am in agreement with the other reviewer that this second book in the trilogy is better than the first, perhaps the author became a little bogged down in the first novel establishing how and why the Knights Templar were established and to what extent they became involved in the history of the Crusades and the fighting in the Holy Land. This book seems to have more of a flow to it now that the ground work has been done.
Better than the first book.... - Rated
Though it is best to read these books in order, this second book does stand alone but reading the first will help provide the reader with a clearer understanding of the plot. I found this second, in what I hope will be a trilogy by Jack Whyte, to be even better than his first book in this series. The story was much faster, now that we know the story of the mission of the friendly families using the Knights Templar as a front organization.
Andre St Clair was a wonderful new hero to balance off the angst of his cousin hardened Templar Knight, Alec Sinclair . The political intrigue and historical events of the era helped to balance the story with the history. The author doesn't get bogged down with excessive descriptions but one clearly feels that they are traveling with the crusaders as they move toward their destiny in the Holy Lands. My only objections was the story ended so abruptly I was caught off guard, but was beautiful in Andre's dedication to his cousin and his own personal journey. Can't wait for number three!!!
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