Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion

This is the discussion thread for the July 2014 group read of The Last Templar by Michael Jecks

I voted for both losers. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do..

You can always read a loser, there's a thread for that! :)

Yeah, I'll either end up reading one of the losers or catching up on a couple of series I haven't finished.

I'd like to contribute but it's about 20 years since I read this I think. I got three of these books as part of a book club deal and I had no real interest in reading them. I forced myself and thought they were all great! Some of Michael's books are a bit hit-and-miss, but this one was excellent, as are most of the ones I've read by him.

Matthew wrote: "Yeah, I'll either end up reading one of the losers or catching up on a couple of series I haven't finished."

I voted for both losers too, Matthew. :(

Steven wrote: "I'd like to contribute but it's about 20 years since I read this I think. I got three of these books as part of a book club deal and I had no real interest in reading them. I forced myself and thou..."


I have read 5 Jecks books now. A couple I was so-so on and a couple I really liked.

I'm so happy at least one of my votes won.
Can't wait to get this in the mail (hopefully next week) and start reading.

What cover did you get, Catherine? The one at the top of this thread or the new one?


The author Michael Jecks will be swinging by to keep an eye on us I think. ;)
So if you have any questions when you start it feel free to post them here and Michael will spot them.

I got the one at the top of the thread. I like that cover better than the new one. I love the old artwork look.

I admit, I am not a fan of the new one either. The Illumination cover (the one you got) is much more appealing to me.

I also bought the one with old artwork (one reason I love shopping used book stores!) I was sorry when it lost last time because I have wanted to try this series for awhile, but in the end I chicken out on trying the club losers. Despite the fact that I'm not big on discussion ( a little shy about MY participation in it, that is), I always read it and its much more fun than the loser threads!

I look forward to the comments - this is the one of the series that got me into mediveal mysteries in particular and historical fiction in general.

also IIRC, which at my age is getting kind of iffy, it is a pretty good read :)

It will be good to see what everyone thinks of this series. I've managed to read the first 5 so far and it wasn't until the last one that I really thought the series got going.

I couldn't find it at the first used book store I dropped by. Will continue the search.....

Candace wrote: "I also bought the one with old artwork (one reason I love shopping used book stores!) I was sorry when it lost last time because I have wanted to try this series for awhile, but in the end I chick..."

I understand that. While I am not shy about participating in discussions (tee hee..and I think you all knew that), it is more fun to join in the group reads than read the losers amoung the tumbleweeds.

Terri wrote: "Candace wrote: "I also bought the one with old artwork (one reason I love shopping used book stores!) I was sorry when it lost last time because I have wanted to try this series for awhile, but in..."

I have already started, and it is very interesting to me. It may be because I have been trying to force myself to read Outlander before the TV series starts and I've been feeling like its a chore. I'm giving it a break though, not giving up yet. I can't put my finger on why I prefer the Jecks so much more. Maybe later...after more thought

Candace wrote: "Terri wrote: "Candace wrote: "I also bought the one with old artwork (one reason I love shopping used book stores!) I was sorry when it lost last time because I have wanted to try this series for ..."

They are going to make a TV series for:

???????????
I've only read the first book so it will be interesting to see that on TV (especially the ending of book one).

Catherine wrote: "Candace wrote: "Terri wrote: "Candace wrote: "I also bought the one with old artwork (one reason I love shopping used book stores!) I was sorry when it lost last time because I have wanted to try ..."

Yes, check under our "series" thread. I know Terri just spoke of it somewhere recently. And as to it starting, I can attest to reading the article in this weeks Entertainment Weekly which showed the actors - I laughed because the pictures look just as Terri describes it.

Haha! Corny? Candace? Like a Harlequin romance? :)

Yes, I brought it up not long ago in that thread. If you want to check it out, Catherine, I'll post the link to that thread and the msg number for you to scroll back to.

Since I have read this Jecks book, I may read one of the others. I own City of Fiends. Which is one of the last in this 30- odd something book series.
I may read that one while you all read TLT in July.

Okay, the Outlander discussion was in this thread https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

And it starts at message 1372. Approximately. If you want to scroll back to the start of the discussion.

Terri wrote: "Haha! Corny? Candace? Like a Harlequin romance? :)

Yes, I brought it up not long ago in that thread. If you want to check it out, Catherine, I'll post the link to that thread and the msg number..."

Very corny. Nothing I would expect from a modern show. Just like the cover of a Harlequin, a few decades old. Surprising...

:) That gives me such a giggle.

Terri wrote: "Okay, the Outlander discussion was in this thread https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

And it starts at message 1372. Approximately. If you want to scroll ba..."

Thank you, I'll go check it out now :)

I'm starting a bit early, only because I couldn't wait lol. I don't have a lot of patience.
Even in person the cover is beautiful :)
I'm a sucker for a good cover.

Catherine wrote: "I'm starting a bit early, only because I couldn't wait lol. I don't have a lot of patience.
Even in person the cover is beautiful :)
I'm a sucker for a good cover."

I'm loving it! I've found a new series. Unfortunately a l-o-n-g series...

Candace wrote: "Catherine wrote: "I'm starting a bit early, only because I couldn't wait lol. I don't have a lot of patience.
Even in person the cover is beautiful :)
I'm a sucker for a good cover."

I'm loving it..."


Yeah, I was shocked to see how many books he has written in the series.

IMO it's a really good series - I've read all 32 and am sad to see Mr. Jecks has probably wrapped it up.

Candace wrote: "Catherine wrote: "I'm starting a bit early, only because I couldn't wait lol. I don't have a lot of patience.
Even in person the cover is beautiful :)
I'm a sucker for a good cover."

I'm loving it..."

It won't take long to work through them. Trust me on this. LOL

I can happily inform you guys that you ahve TWO at the beginning you can read.
There is a prequel, released last year, that tells the story of Baldwin before he ever sets foot on the pages of The Templar Series.

I recommend the prequel as a good one to read before you go all in for the series. It gives an insight into the character and how he became the person he is. Why he makes the choices he does.

Templar's Acre

As well as that recommendation, I can also recommend that if you start struggling to find books in order in the series, the last ones still make sense.
I came late to the series and hadn't a hope in hell of finding all the books. So I read the last three in the series (not including the prequel) and it all made complete sense to me.
In other words, the books can all stand on their own feet.

In addition to what Terri says, the later books are more into the politics of Edward II's court and less of a mystery - although except for the prequel (#32), there is always a mystery to be solved :)

This maybe just me, but I like the fact that they are all real time - except for the last one each book follows its predecessor cronologically

happy wrote: "In addition to what Terri says, the later books get more into the politics of Edward II court and less into the mystery - although except for the prequel (#32), there is always a mystery to be solv..."

Which is why I lost interest in the later books. I started reading them for the mysteries. I've read plenty of other fiction and non-fiction books about the court politics of Edward II.

Also, you can get some little fixes in the The Medieval Murderers, as some include a section with Baldwin. He wasn't in the last one or two, but he'll be reappearing in the next one.

Good - I missed him :)

Darcy wrote: "Also, you can get some little fixes in the The Medieval Murderers, as some include a section with Baldwin. He wasn't in the last one or two, but he'll be reappearing in the next one."

I love those books. It's such a wonderful idea and every book so far has worked really well.

On chapter six, and this is my guess on who the killer might be (I'm probably wrong lol).
Hopefully the spoiler thing works.

(view spoiler)[
I'm thinking it's his son, only because at the moment he is the only one with a motive. Then again there was a lot of people who didn't like his drinking.
(hide spoiler)]

I actually can't remember who the killer was. lol. How peculiar. I think I have read too many mysteries in between reading this one and now.
I read this one over a year ago.

I don't remember either.....too many mysteries!

ditto :D

If anybody is interested, I did this interview, on the associated A&M blog, with the author Michael Jecks last year when he released the prequel to this series.

There are some points in the interview relevant to The Last Templar and other books in the series, so the interview may be of interest to you, even though it was done last year for the Templar's Acre release.

http://ancientandmedievalmayhem.blogs...

Dawn has added a video to the group's videos to coincide with this read.
This Templar one is 15mins long, but very interesting.
https://www.goodreads.com/videos/6754...

Have just finished and I really enjoyed this - so glad I joined this group. It was an entertaining story, and there were some great descriptions - especially the smells! Will definitely be reading more from this series, thanks for picking this book!

Glad you enjoyed it, Pamela. :)

Started the book today.

Are you rereading it Linda? I see you gave it 2 stars. Does that indicate a reread, or have you finished it already?

First read, I promise. I cannot find the two star mistake,but I have been having problems with Goodreads. They are supposed to be working on it as we speak. I am near the end of the book, and I will rate it more than two stars!

Terri wrote: "What cover did you get, Catherine? The one at the top of this thread or the new one?


The author Michael Jecks will be swinging by to keep an ey..."
keeping an eye on things ... !

Candace wrote: "I also bought the one with old artwork (one reason I love shopping used book stores!) I was sorry when it lost last time because I have wanted to try this series for awhile, but in the end I chick..."

Catherine wrote: "I got the one at the top of the thread. I like that cover better than the new one. I love the old artwork look.
"

I do like the old covers. Especially since readers can see the story and see how far they've got, but I do think that they look very dated now. I'm really happy with the new style - I think it makes the titles look less YA!

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've been writing about this period for 20 years, after all. I like the series, though, and I will return to it, once I reckon I've rested a little and can come back to it fresh. There are lots of areas: the escape of Edward II, the life of Baldwin after the escape from Acre, what happened after the arrival of Abbot Bonus to Tavistock, what happened to the Bishopric after the death of the second bishop in only a couple of years ... and then there's the end of Mortimer and the beginning of Edward III. The series will keep going. Apart from anything else all the characters are personal friends of mine now!