It disappoints me that, yet again, this duo has chosen to demonize the religions of pre-Christian Europe. While finding bright light in their Christian/Templar/Masonic magic, they elaborate the darkest forces in the Old Religion. They neglect the fact that the equalitarianism of Celtic culture provided one of the few bright lights of a more democratic process than the totalitarianism which so characterized medieval Christianity. Celtic Christianity did, indeed, shine like a light in those dark ages, not inspite of the dark religions they had forsaken, but precisely because their pre-Christian religions were so full of light, celebration, and lie-affirming beliefs and celebrations.

Overall, it was an enoyable book. Plenty of action, although a bit formulaic. The magical & occult material is not as rich as that found in Dion Fortune's novels, but this book is much more readable. If you're a die-hard Adept fan, you will want to read this book to experience more of the Saint Clair story.

Fun, longer than it is deep, perhaps even historically accurate. Doesn't quite make it to 4 stars, though. It gets 3.5 stars, rounded down because it felt a bit tired.

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Great historical fiction work with NO glaring inaccuracies!   October 16, 2000
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This book was a pleasure to read and hard to put down. It tied together the Templars, Wallace, the Bruce, the Celts, and more, in a finely woven Scottish plaid! I love Historical Fiction, and I HATE when they are historically inaccurate, but this book wraps itself around a framework of actual fact! Well worth the reading. I want to see more books like this!


Middle Catholicism & White Magic   May 13, 2000
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

What if...William--Braveheart--of Wallace was involved in a plot to revive both the Scottish monarchy and the mythical Temple of this lost militant Christian order. Turner & Kurtz weave a masterfully researched yarn that strives to answer the above while capturing the haunting magic of the Celtic Isles and blending it with it's Christian successor's beliefs. This page turner will thrill fans of fantasy and sword & sorcery while keeping those who love involved, political plots intrigued. The details of daily life are stunning...this is a labor of obvious love for the peroid and it's people.


Braveheart vs. Kurtz/Harris   April 6, 2000
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

I really enjoy historical fiction. I really enjoy fantasy. I really enjoy Scottish culture. And I loved the movie "Braveheart (also historical fiction)." With all these "enjoys" in place you would think that "The Temple and the Stone" was the perfect book for me. So did I.

Unfortunately, "perfection" left after I read it. What was left was disappointment. The premise was a good one but execution was let's say, "as brutal as William Wallace's execution."

Ms. Kurtz and Ms. Harris seem to really have a passion for the Knights of the Templar. This is not a bad thing, but without the Knights in this book, William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, etc. would be nothing more than bumbling Scots. The non-Templar characters knew nothing, the good Templar knights knew everything and saved the day at every turn; while the bad Templar knights were doomed to fail. Not to give anything away, but nothing bad really ever happens to the good Templar characters. Oh sure they lose their "Temple" in Jerusalem and they've got some corruption in their ranks, but who doesn't. There just never seems to be a serious threat to their knighthood lives.

It just became painfully obvious that the battle between good and evil would always result with good winning. Now don't get me wrong, I want good to win (I "enjoy" happy endings)like the next reader, I just want to be unsure about the outcome during the battle.


A syncopated plot line and lots of detail   September 10, 1999
 14 out of 16 found this review helpful

This book skips and starts between plot development and detailed descriptions. While successfully capturing the balancing act required of a neutral order of knighthood while competing kingdoms are at war, Kurtz and Harris all too often lose the reader in detail, however well written.

The book taken as a whole is not particularly compelling. No character evokes much empathy with the reader, and too many of the characters are two dimensional. On the other hand, the description is detailed, and rich pictures are painted with prose during the scenes where occult and heavenly powers are exercised.

The alternative history style holds great dangers to any author, most of which are successfully navigated. The linkage of early Celtic christianity to the highly politicized christianity of the 14th century is fairly well presented. If you don't know much about the Knights Templar, or Scottish history, you may enjoy the book for pure entertainment value. The more you know about 13th and 14th century European politics and history, the less this book is likely to entertain you.

A strong point to this book is its very digestable length. Far too many phone book sized fantasy novels on the market. This book is self contained and will create few problems with reading until 4 in the morning the night before and important meeting or exam. It may inspire interest in medevial European history, which is a rich and fascinating historical period for anyone to study or even just browse.

In a nutshell: worth a read, but not a must.