The Templar Treasure - Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris

Edited January 20th to add links to the other books in the series.
Edited August 21, 2011 to add the cover image.

The Templar Treasure
Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris
Ace Books
Copyright: 1993
0441003451

According to the back of the book:

A Secret Brotherhood. An Ancient Evil...

Mystic and historian, Sir Adam Sinclair is Master of the Hunt, leader of a secret brotherhood at war with the dark and unholy Powers that menace our world.

Now an urgent summons sets the Adept on a life or death search for the Seal of Solomon, an ancient bronze artifact that can bind - or unleash - the demons of old. Guarded for centuries by the legendary Knights Templar, the Seal has been stolen by ruthless and dangerous forces.

If humanity is to survive, Sinclair mus complete the quest for...

The Templar Treasure

This is the third book in the series. The other books are The Adept, The Adept: The Lodge of the Lynx, Dagger Magic and Death of an Adept. Also set in the same world are Lammas Night, The Temple and the Stone, and The Temple and the Crown.

The authors have filled this book with lots of little details that fill out the locations and scenes. I just wish I was more familiar with the settings. I think someone from Scotland or England who's visited Scotland before might have an even greater appreciation for the settings of the books. I know I do when I read books set in places I know or have been to.

The Templar Treasure is set about nine months after the end of The Lodge of the Lynx, and clearly things have happened since then, although everyone is still alright. Some of the things are setting up the next two books, like the relationship between Peregrine Lovat and Julia Barrett, introduced in the first book. Also the one between Ximenia and Adam.

The villains are all new as well, although just as interesting as the ones in the first two books. I can't help having some sympathy for Henri Gerard as well, despite all of the evil he ends up setting off.

Unlike the previous two books, the authors leave some of the side situations unanswered, and they don't come back to them in later books. I'd love to know what it was that Adam and the others found at Fyvie Castle in that hidden room. On the other hand, perhaps it's best not to know, even though the books are fiction.

This is the book which introduced the character of John Graham to me, although there is nothing said in The Templar Treasure to suggest that he has his own book, Lammas Night. That information came from one of the two stories set in this world in the three Templar anthologies Kurtz has edited.

Although I've seen some reviews criticizing writing in these books, to me they are 'old friends' that I can keep coming back to and enjoying over the years.

Unread Books 2009

Edited December 12, 2009 to add a number of books I've bought recently.

I've been joking for the past year or so that my 'To Read' pile is taller than I am. I'm no longer certain it's a joke, as I've been compiling a list of the books I own but haven't read yet. This year I intend to read at least ten of them. The list below is probably about half of the books in this category, and it's a mix of fiction and non-fiction (most of which are books on history, with a sizable mix of biographies thrown in for good measure). Once I've read a book on this list I'm linking from here to the review page for that title. Those books will also be marked with **.

Breath of Snow And Ashes - Diana Gabaldon - Fiction
Lord John And The Brotherhood of the Blade - Diana Gabaldon - Fiction
Lord John And The Hand Of Devils - Diana Gabaldon - Fiction
Star Wars: X-Wing Omnibus 3 - Michael Stackpole - Fiction (Graphic Novel)
**Blood Noir - Laurell K. Hamilton - Fiction
Strange Candy - Laurell K. Hamilton - Fiction (Anthology)
The Children of Hurin - J.R.R. Tolkien - Fiction (Fantasy)
On Faerie Stories - Ed. Verilyn Flieger - Non Fiction
The Tolkien Legendarium - Ed. Carl Hostetter - Non Fiction
Splintered Light: Logos And Language In Middle-Earth - Verilyn Flieger - Non Fiction
**Mr. Bliss - J.R.R. Tolkien - Fiction
Life In A Medieval City - Francis and Joseph Gies - Non Fiction (History)
Life In A Medieval Castle - Francis and Joseph Gies - Non Fiction (History)
Women In The Medieval World - Francis And Joseph Gies - Non Fiction (History)
The Histories - Herodotus - Non Fiction (History)
The Peloponnesian War - Thucydides - Non Fiction (History, Primary Source)
The Name Of The Rose - Umberto Ecco - Fiction
**Standard Of Honour - Jack Whyte - Fiction
The Eagle - Jack Whyte - Fiction
Absolute Honor - C. C. Humphries - Fiction
The Battle For Middle-Earth - Bonnie Rutledge - Non Fiction
The Ring Of Words - Jeremy H. Marshall - Non Fiction
Greek Lives - Plutarch - Non Fiction (History, Biography, Primary Source)
Roman Lives - Plutarch - Non Fiction (History, Biography, Primary Source)
**The Shadow of Saganami - David Weber - Fiction (Science Fiction)
The Forever Hero - L.E. Modesitt - Fiction (Science Fiction)
A Flame In Hali - Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross - Fiction (Fantasy)
The Fall of Neskaya - Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross - Fiction (Fantasy)
Zandru's Forge - Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross - Fiction (Science Fiction)
Ravens of Avalon - Diana L. Paxon - Fiction (Fantasy)
Ancestors of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley - Fiction (Fantasy)
God's War - Christopher Tyerman - Non Fiction (History)
**Fighting For Christendom - Christopher Tyerman - Non Fiction (History) (read as A Brief History of the Crusades)
Barbarians To Angels - Peter Wells - Non Fiction (History)
The Eagle and the Raven - Pauline Gedge - Fiction
On The Oceans Of Eternity - S. M. Stirling - Fiction (Science Fiction)
**Island In The Sea Of Time - S. M. Stirling - Fiction (Science Fiction)
**Against The Tide Of Years - S. M. Stirling - Fiction (Science Fiction)
**A Meeting At Corvalis - S. M. Stirling - Fiction (Science Fiction)
The Sunrise Lands - S. M. Stirling - Fiction (Science Fiction)
Tolkien: A Celebration - Joseph Pearce - Non Fiction
**Beowulf - Trans. Chickering - Poetry (Primary Source)
Beowulf - Trans. Seamus Heany - Poetry (Primary Source)
Job: A Comedy Of Justice - Robert Heinlein - Fiction (Science Fiction)
Darwin's Paradox - Nina Munteanu - Fiction (Science Fiction)
**Tangled Webs - Anne Bishop - Fiction (Fantasy)
**Lady Of The Forest - Jennifer Roberson - Fiction (Romance)
**Lady Of Sherwood - Jennifer Roberson - Fiction (Romance)
J.R.R. Tolkien: A Reader's Guide - Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull - Non Fiction
The History Of The Hobbit: Mr. Baggins - John Rateliff - Non Fiction
The History Of The Hobbit: Return To Bag-End - John Rateliff - Non Fiction
The Last Light Of The Sun - Guy Gavriel Kay - Fiction (Fantasy)
Masters Of Fantasy - Anthology (Fantasy)
Lives of the Twelve Caeasars - Suetonius - Non Fiction (History, Biography, Primary Source)
The Annals - Tacitus - Non Fiction (History, Primary Source)
**Bess Of Hardwick - Mary Lovell - Non Fiction (History, Biography)
An Imperial Possession - David Mattingly - Non Fiction (History)
The Peloponnesian War - Donald Kagan - Non Fiction (History)
Augustus: The Life Of Rome's First Emperor - Anthony Everitt - Non Fiction (History, Biography)
Cicero - Anthony Everitt - Non Fiction (History, Biography)
The Dark Champion - Kinley MacGregor - Fiction (Romance)
Caesar - Adrian Goldworthy - Non Fiction (History, Biography)
The Fall Of The Roman Empire - Peter Heather - Non Fiction (History)
Xenophon's Retreat - Robin Waterfield - Non Fiction (History)
Isabella - Alison Weir - Non Fiction (History, Biography)
Anthony And Cleopatra - Shakespeare - Fiction (Primary Source)
Romeo And Juliet - Shakespeare - Fiction (Primary Source)
Richard III - Shakespeare - Fiction (Primary Source)
A Midsummer Night's Dream - Shakespeare - Fiction
The Comedy Of Errors - Shakespeare - Fiction (Primary Source)
All's Well That Ends Well - Shakespeare - Fiction (Primary Source)
Troilus And Cressida - Shakespeare - Fiction (Primary Source)
Henry IV Part One - Shakespeare - Fiction (Primary Source)
The Canterbury Tales - Geoffrey Chaucer - Poetry (Primary Source)
The Saga of Grettir The Strong - Fiction (Primary Source)
The Conquest Of Gaul - Julius Caesar - Non Fiction (History, Primary Source)
The Witch World - Andre Norton - Fiction (Fantasy)
The Annotated Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien - Fiction (Fantasy)
Rome And Jerusalem - Martin Goodman - Non Fiction (History)
The History of Britain - Simon Schama - Non Fiction (History)
A Distant Mirror - Barbara Tuchman - Non Fiction (History)
Thomas More's Magician - Toby Green - Fiction
Metamorphosis - Ovid - Poetry (Primary Source)
Mary Queen Of Scots and Lord Darnley - Alison Weir - Non Fiction (History, Biography)
Mary Queen Of Scots - Antonia Fraiser - Non Fiction (History, Biography)
Thomas Cromwell - Antonia Fraiser - Non Fiction (History, Biography)
The Medieval World - Eds. Peter Linehan & Janet L. Nelson - Non Fiction (History)
The Conquest - Elizabeth Chadwick - Fiction
The Archer's Tale - Bernard Cornwell - Fiction
Albion - Peter Ackroyd - Non Fiction (History)
Europe And The Middle Ages - Edward Peters - Non Fiction (History)
The Age of the Cathedrals - Georges Duby - Non Fiction (History)
A History Of Private Life I - Non Fiction (History)
A History Of Private Life II - Non Fiction (History)
The Peasantries Of Europe - Ed. Tom Scott - Non Fiction (History)
Law And Life of Rome - J. A. Crook - Non Fiction (History)
The Temple And the Lodge - Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh - Non Fiction
The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception - Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh - Non Fiction
The Battle Of Salamis - Barry Strauss - Non Fiction (History)
**Pilgrimages - John Ure - Non Fiction (History)
The Knights Templar - Piers Paul Read - Non Fiction
The Lost Tomb Of Alexander The Great - Andrew Michael Chugg - Non Fiction (History)
**His Majesty's Dragon - Naomi Novik - Fiction (Fantasy)
**Throne Of Jade - Naomi Novik - Fiction (Fantasy)
Empire Of Ivory - Naomi Novik - Fiction (Fantasy)
**Black Powder War - Naomi Novik - Fiction (Fantasy)
**Fortress Of Frost And Fire - Mercedes Lackey and Ru Emmerson - Fiction (Fantasy)
Guilty Pleasures 1 - Laurell K. Hamilton - Fiction (Graphic Novel)
Guilty Pleasures 2 - Laurell K. Hamilton - Fiction (Graphic Novel)
Greek Lyric Poetry - Trans. Sherod Santos - Poetry (Primary Source)
**Space Cadet - Robert Heinlein - Fiction (Science Fiction)
Trickster's Queen - Tamora Pierce - Fiction (Fantasy)
**Dream Warrior - Sherrilyn Kenyon - Fiction (Romance)
Khubilai Khan's Lost Fleet: In Search of a Legendary Armada - James Delgado - Non Fiction (History)
The Sharing Knife - Lois McMaster Bujold - Fiction (Fantasy)
On Sparta - Plutarch - Non Fiction (History, Primary Source)
A History Of My Times - Xenophon - Non Fiction (History, Primary Source)
**Bitten - Kelley Armstrong - Fiction (Horror)
**Moon Called - Patrica Briggs - Fiction (Fantasy)
**Blood Bound - Patrica Briggs - Fiction (Fantasy)
**Iron Kissed - Patrica Briggs - Fiction (Fantasy)
**Cry Wolf - Patrica Briggs - Fiction (Fantasy)
On The Prowl - Anthology (Romance)
Knight Of Darkness - Kinley MacGregor - Fiction (Romance)
Sword of Darkness - Kinley MacGregor - Fiction (Romance)
**Lover Eternal - J.R. Ward - Fiction (Romance)
**Lover Awakened - J.R. Ward - Fiction (Romance)
**Lover Revealed - J.R. Ward - Fiction (Romance)
Sword and Sorceress VIII - Fiction (Anthology)
Sword and Sorceress XV - Fiction (Anthology)
Sword and Sorceress XIV - Fiction (Anthology)
Sword and Sorceress X - Fiction (Anthology)
Sword and Sorceress VI - Fiction (Anthology)
Sword and Sorceress IX - Fiction (Anthology)
Rocket Ship Galileo - Robert Heinlein - Fiction (Science Fiction)
The Real Middle Earth - Brian Bates - Non Fiction (History)
To Sail Beyond The Sunset - Robert Heinlein - Fiction (Science Fiction)
Lammas Night - Fiction (Anthology)
Roman Poets Of The Early Empire - Poetry - (Primary Source)
Readings In Medieval History - Patrick Geary - Non Fiction (History)
Troilus And Criseyde - Geoffrey Chaucer - Poetry (Primary Source)
Falls The Shadow - Sharon Kay Penman - Fiction (History)
The Reckoning - Sharon Kay Penman - Fiction (History)
Eleanor Of Aquitaine - Alison Weir - Non Fiction (Biography)
**Hand of Isis - Jo Graham - Fiction (Fantasy)
Growing Up In Medieval London - Barbara Hanawalt - Non Fiction (History)
The Lost Capital Of Byzantium - Steven Runciman - Non Fiction - History
Charmed Destinies - Anthology (Fantasy)
**Memoirs Of A Geisha - Arthur Golden - Fiction
The Ties That Bound - Barbara Hanawalt - Non Fiction (History)
Making A Living In The Middle Ages - Christopher Dyer - Non Fiction (History)
The Art Of Medieval Hunting - John Cummins - Non Fiction (History)
Medieval English Prose For Women - Eds. Bella Millett & Jocelyn Wogan-Browne - Non Fiction (Primary Source)
Water For Elephants - Sara Gruen - Fiction
The Parafaith War - L. E. Modesitt Jr. - Fiction (Science Fiction)
For Us The Living - Robert Heinlein - Fiction (Science Fiction)
Sword and Sorceress I - Fiction (Anthology)
Sword and Sorceress V - Fiction (Anthology)
Sword and Sorceress VII - Fiction (Anthology)
Against The Odds - Elizabeth Moon - Fiction (Science Fiction)
Jewels: A Secret History - Victoria Finlay - Non Fiction (History)
Dictionary Of Mythology - Non Fiction
Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched The World - Viki Myron - Non Fiction (Animal Stories)
Galore - Michael Crummey - Fiction
A Gate At The Stairs - Lorrie Moore - Fiction
**The Golden Mean - Annabel Lyon - Fiction (Historical Fiction)
Hadrian - Anthony Everitt - Non Fiction - Biography
The Inheritance Of Rome - Chris Wickham - Non Fiction (History)
The Chronicle Of Bury St. Emund's - Non Fiction (Primary Source)
Confessions Of A Radical Industrialist - Ray C. Anderson - Non Fiction
Josephus - Non Fiction (Primary Source)
Women in Early Medieval Europe 400-1100 - Lisa M. Bitel - Non Fiction (History)
An Illustrated History of its First 12000 Years: Toronto edited by Ronald F. Williamson - Non Fiction (History)
Becoming Modern In Toronto: The Industrial Exhibition - Keith Walden - Non Fiction (History)
The Complete World Of The Dead Sea Scrolls - Phillip R. Davies, George J. Brooke and Phillip R. Callaway - Non Fiction (History)
The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English - Non Fiction (Primary Source)
The Black Ships - Jo Graham - Fiction (Fantasy)
**Gwenhwyfar: The White Spirit (A Novel of King Arthur) - Mercedes Lackey - Fiction (Fantasy)
Born of Night - Sherrilyn Kenyon - Fiction (Romance)
**Griffin and Sabine - Nick Bantock - Fiction
Sabine's Notebook - Nick Bantock - Fiction
The Golden Mean - Nick Bantock - Fiction
Alexandria - Nick Bantock - Fiction
Morningstar - Nick Bantock - Fiction
Gryphon - Nick Bantock - Fiction
Londinium - John Morris - Non Fiction - History
The Archaeology Of Roman Britain - R. G. Collingwood - Non Fiction - History
Lord of the Two Lands - Judith Tarr - Fiction (Fantasy)
Daily Living In The Twelfth Century - Non Fiction (History)
Cathedral, Forge And Waterwheel - Francis And Joseph Gies - Non Fiction (History)
Medicine And Society In Later Medieval England - Caroline Rawcliffe - Non Fiction (History)
Peony In Love - Lisa See - Fiction

Wish me luck. I keep buying more books instead of reading the ones I already have. Maybe I'll manage to read twelve or more of these this year though as seven of the books on here are new acquires rather than books that have been sitting around for a year or more.

New Tolkien Book Upcoming

Just saw on one of the blogs I follow that there's a new book by Tolkien coming out later this year.

You can find more information at John Rateliff's blog entry, here.

This new book is, apparently, Tolkien's retelling of the tale of Sigurd. I know I'm looking forward to this one now that I know about it.

Andre Norton - Upcoming Books

According to the Chapters/Indigo website, a number of Andre Norton's books are supposed to be due out again in the near future either on their own, or in omnibus editions. She's one of my favorite science-fiction authors, with series like The Solar Queen and Beast Master.

Star Flight
May 26th, 2009
An omnibus volume containing the books The Stars Are Ours and Star Born. I don't think I've read either book, actually.

The Game Of Stars And Comets
April 7th 2009
Another omnibus edition. This book has four: Voorloper, The X Factor, The Eye Of The Monster, and The Sioux Spaceman. Of this volume, I've only read Voorloper, I think. It was certainly a good story. The Sioux Spaceman looks like it will be interesting, according to the description.

From The Sea To The Stars
January 27th, 2009
This book contains Sea Siege and Star Gate. From the description, Star Gate looks as though it will be a good read. Sea Siege, on the other hand, I read a couple of years ago and I didn't care for it especially. It's been long enough now, that I don't remember why particularly.

The Search For The Star Stones
Released November 4th, 2008
This omnibus volume contains the books The Zero Stone and Uncharted Stars. Unlike the other books listed, I already have both as separate books, but I have yet to read them, so I have no comment to make.

Dies The Fire - S. M. Stirling

Dies The Fire
S. M. Stirling
ROC Publishing
Copyright: 2004
9780451460417

According to the back of the book:

The Change Occurred When An Electrical Storm centered over the island of Nantucket produced a blinding white flash that rendered all electrical devices and firearms inoperable - and plunged the world into a dark age humanity was unprepared to face....

Michel Havel was flying over Idaho en route to the holiday home of his passengers when the plane's engines inexplicably died, forcing a less than perfect landing in the wilderness. And as Michel leads his charges to safety, he begins to realize that the engine failure was not an isolated incident....

Juniper Mackenzie was singing and playing guitar in a pub when her small Oregon town was plunged into darkness. Cars refused to start. Phones were silent. And when an airliner crashed, no sirens sounded and no fire trucks arrived. Now, taking refuge in her family's cabin with her daughter and a growing circle of friends, Juniper is determined to create a farming community to benefit the survivors of this crisis....

But even as people band together to help one another, others are building armies for conquest.

Dies The Fire is a book that was recommended to me at work last week. I thought it was interesting, so I picked up the one copy on the shelf. I'm glad I did, as I've had a hard time putting it down, culminating in finishing it at one thirty this morning. I've already bought the sequel, The Protector's War.

As I mentioned, this is the first book in the series. The other books are, The Protector's War, A Meeting At Corvalis, The Sunrise Lands and Scourge of God. Whether that completes the series, or if there are more to come, I don't know.

I've seen some reviews which complain about how contrived the storyline is, with everyone having some needed skill, but that didn't affect my enjoyment of the book at all. It would have been interesting for one of the main or secondary characters to have not had a skill, and see how they muddled through, but the layout that Stirling created makes sense.

The characters are certainly an interesting bunch. Astrid, a Tolkien and fantasy novel lover, Juniper's daughter being deaf, Will Hutton and his horses. The book is full of quirky and interesting characters.

For a fantasy and science fiction lover, there's a bit of a game of 'recognize that reference'. Tolkien of course is a big one, but there are also mentions of Mercedes Lackey's books as well as some classic science fiction series.

There is a slight element of magic as well, but it's not made explicit whether it's simply coincidence or something else, although the implications are there, and it helps set things up for the next book. The question is, in my mind at least, is this something that worked before the Change, and was simply made more obvious, or something else that changed along with the inability of mechanical things to work?

I was rather surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, as I tried, but couldn't finish The Peshwar Lancers about a year or so ago, and I didn't think too much of the coauthored books of the Ship series, written with Anne McCaffrey.

All the historical details Stirling added were another nice touch to this book, and the bits and pieces of history he's chosen to have his characters resurrect make sense, although it seems a bit that every character (at least on the side of the good guys) knows his or her history as a hobby if not at the university level.

Although the book store categorizes this book as science fiction, to me it is just as much a fantasy novel.

One other question I felt Dies the Fire raised for me is "How well would I do in a situation like that?" All I can come up with is "not very well". Read the book and ask yourself the same questions.

Google Adsense For Dummies - Jerri Ledford

Edited on March 2nd, 2009.

Google Adsense For Dummies
Jerri Ledford
Wiley Publishing
Copyright: 2008
9780470292891

Quick and understandable. I bought the book yesterday evening, and I finished reading it this morning (with time for sleep).

Normally I avoid the Dummies series (and also the Idiots series), there's just something about the title that turns me off. However, I was flipping through this book, it being one of the only recent ones I've seen about Google's Adsense program, and I found several useful tips on just quick flips, so I decided it was worth it to buy the book.

Although the book title is Adsense, much of the book content is as much about ways to increase the traffic to your site as it is optimizing the Adsense ads. There are chapters on server logs, on Search Engine Optimization and the like. The author's rationale is that the more people find your site, the more they are likely to click on the ads. Makes sense to me.

Regardless, I found there were a lot of things I could apply to my site, (and to this blog) to perhaps improve traffic and visibility. Some of it I'd read before, in a couple of other books on Google, such as the importance of constant new content. Even if you know some of what Adsense for Dummies has in it, I'm sure you'll find other information you didn't know before.

On the downside, the book is already outdated, even though it came out just last year (now that the New Year has passed us by). For example, the Referrals program which the book spends part of a chapter on seems to have been canceled. Also, it looks like the Adsense for Feeds, which at the time of the book's writing was still in beta seems to have gone live for everyone, although I can't seem to get it to work for me.

There were some sections, such as the ones on video ads that I'll admit I skipped reading as they don't fit in with any of my sites as I have them currently planned.

I'm hoping the tips the book had will show some improvements for me on my sites. Either way, I'm putting more work into both right now.

I do recommend this to anyone interested in the Adsense program, it worked in a logical progression that seems to be missing from the Adsense help center.

Challenges

I've never tried a book challenge before, but I'm going to try the What's In A Name challenge this coming year.

The requirements are to read a book from each of the categories (taken from the introductory post at the What's in A Name blog:

*Dates: January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009

*The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories.

1. A book with a "profession" in its title. Examples might include: The Book Thief, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Historian

2. A book with a "time of day" in its title. Examples might include: Twilight, Four Past Midnight, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

3. A book with a "relative" in its title. Examples might include: Eight Cousins, My Father's Dragon, The Daughter of Time

4. A book with a "body part" in its title. Examples might include: The Bluest Eye, Bag of Bones, The Heart of Darkness

5. A book with a "building" in its title. Examples might include: Uncle Tom's Cabin, Little House on the Prairie, The Looming Tower

6. A book with a "medical condition" in its title. Examples might include: Insomnia, Coma, The Plague

I'm thinking of the following tentative list:
1: Beast Master by Andre Norton
2: Caress of Twilight by Laurell K. Hamilton
3: Children of Hurin by J.R.R. Tolkien
4: Lord John and the Hand of Devils by Diana Gabaldon
5: Fortress of Frost And Fire by Mercedes Lackey
6: Plague Ship by Andre Norton

Some of these are going to be re-reads but not all of them. One or two, I've had for over a year and have yet to read them, so this should be a good push to get reading.

The Adept: The Lodge of the Lynx - Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris

Edited on January 20th to add links to the other books in the series.
Edited on August 21, 2011 to add the cover image and some formatting.

The Adept: Lodge of the Lynx
Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris
Ace Books
Copyright: 1992
0441003443

The blurb on the back of the book:

He is eternal
So are his foes...

Through countless lives and eras, the Adept has fought against the powers of Darkness. Now, as psychiatrist Adam Sinclair, he leads his loyal Huntsmen against supernatural evil in all its myriad forms.

But the Darkness is striking back - In the guise of an unholy cult long thought to be extinct. Endowed with the elemental energy of an ancient Druidic artifact, the Lodge of the Lynx stands ready to unleash destruction on Sinclair, his allies and, ultimately, all of Scotland.

The old battle begins anew - and this time the future may belong to The Lodge of the Lynx.

This is the second book in the series, which is comprised of: The Adept, The Adept: the Lodge of the Lynx, The Adept: The Templar Treasure (I'm now rereading this one), Dagger Magic and The Death of the Adept. Two other books, The Temple and the Stone and The Temple and the Crown are set in the middle ages in the last years of the Templar Knights that are linked to this series as well, although somewhat tentatively if I'm remembering right. Its been a while since I've read those two books. There are also two short stories set in the same world and time period in two of the Templar anthologies Katherine Kurtz has edited.

The Lodge of the Lynx follows up on The Adept, starting almost immediately after that book left off. Given the start of this book, I'd say it isn't more than a couple of weeks after the end of the previous book. The two books could almost be seen as one book in two parts. This was the first book from the series that I read originally, and I did find things a bit confusing at first then, as the character introductions all occurred in The Adept. Now though, having read the books several times in order, I consider them to be 'old friends'.

All of the loose ends from The Adept are wound up in this book: Gillian Talbot/Michael Scot being the main one, and a whole host of new characters are introduced. Some of them, such as the villains will turn up in later books in the series. In fact, some of the events in this book are setting the stage for the fifth book in the series, Death of an Adept.

To give you an idea of how much I've enjoyed this book, my copy is starting to look as though it came from a public library: a couple of the pages are torn, the spine is getting faded and the corners and edges are all battered.

As with Lammas Night, this is an older series, marked by Indigo Books as 'sold out', and your best bet for finding the books is a used book store.

I wish I knew of more books like these. The closest I can think of are Mercedes Lackey's Diana Tregarde books.

Rereading

I do a lot of re-reading books, and so, inspired by Darla of Books and Other Thoughts, I'm adding a tag just for that. In fact, I'm going to go through the posts I've already made and tag them for it, and not just start from here on in.

Some of the books that are going to be getting this tag today include the Tamora Pierce books, Sherrilyn Kenyon's older books (if I've read them recently enough for the blog), Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books and the Katherine Kurtz Adept series.

Merry Christmas everyone.

I've removed the Christmas songs list from the blog, mostly because it was slowing things down for me. Well, that and the fact that Christmas is almost over :)

I hope to add reviews soon for Smart Cookies: Making More Dough and the second Adept book by Katherine Kurtz.

I've also started reading a translation of the letters of Abelard and Heloise, as well as a couple of recent anthologies including Dark Hunter stories by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Those should be experiences as I haven't read anything by the other authors in the anthologies.

Upcoming Paperback releases

These are some of the books being released in paperback that I think might be interesting in the near future. All of the release dates are taken from the Indigo/Chapters website.

Acheron
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Due out March 31, 2009

One of the Dark Hunter series, Acheron's story has finally been told. It came out in hardcover last August. I found it to be an incredible story when I read the hardcover. My review, although I haven't bought the book yet. I've been waiting for paperback.


The Snow Queen
Mercedes Lackey
Due out February 1, 2009

A gem of a story, to say the least. This is the most recent of the Five Hundred Kingdoms series. I'm not sure though if it is the fourth or fifth in the series. Either way, I loved it. My review of the hardcover edition. Again, I've been waiting for it to come out in paperback before buying.


Victory Conditions
Elizabeth Moon
Due out January 27, 2009

The conclusion to the five book Vatta's War saga. Elizabeth Moon is one of my favourite authors for both her science fiction and her fantasy. This definitely met the standard. My review.


Swallowing Darkness
Laurell K. Hamilton
Due out August 25, 2009

The hardcover of this book is barely out yet, and they've got the paperback lined up already! This is the most recent of the Merry Gentry novels, and I think, one of the best. I'm waiting for the paperback though to buy it. My review of the hardcover.

The Adept - Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris

Edited on January 20th to add the links to other books in this series.
Edited again on August 21, 2011 to add the cover image.

The Adept
Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris
Ace Books
Copyright: 1991
0441003435

The blurb on the back of the book:

More than a doctor,
more than a detective...

He is Sir Adam Sinclair: nobleman, physician, scholar - and Adept. A man of learning and power, he practices ancient arts unknown to the twentieth century.

He has had many names, lived many lives, but his mission remains the same: to protect the Light from those who would tread the Dark Roads.

Now his beloved Scotland is defiled by an unholy cult of black magicians who will commit any atrocity to achieve their evil ends- even raise the dead!

Only one man can stand against them...
The Adept

This is the first book in the series: The Adept, The Adept: the Lodge of the Lynx (my current read), The Adept: The Templar Treasure, Dagger Magic and The Death of the Adept. Two other books, The Temple and the Stone and The Temple and the Crown are set in the middle ages in the last years of the Templar Knights are linked to this series as well. There are also two short stories set in the same world and time period in two of the Templar anthologies Katherine Kurtz has edited.

As the first book in the series, The Adept sets up the major characters very well, but it also stands as a full book on it's own, although it doesn't exactly wrap everything up, leaving plenty for the next book.

As with Lammas Night, this is an older series, and your best bet for finding the books is a used book store.

There's plenty of action as well, making this an exciting book. Even though I've read it several times, I generally have trouble putting the book down at night. It's always 'just one more page and I'll put the book away'. Then I realize it's already the next day and the book is finished.

Kurtz and Harris use foreshadowing and hinting very well in all of the books to build the tension, and the events, taken in sequence, even with the magical included are very believable, building one on the next.

I wish I knew of more books like these. The closest I can think of are Mercedes Lackey's Diana Tregarde books.

Lammas Night - Katherine Kurtz

Edited on January 23rd, 2009 to add links to the books in the Adept series.

Lammas Night
Katherine Kurtz
Ballantine Books
Copyright: 1983
0345295161

The blurb on the back of the book:
What magic can stop Adolf Hitler - History's most evil Black Magician?

Modern War
The year is 1940
Hitler's Germany is about to employ the secret arts of evil witchcraft to destroy England. What can stop them?

Ancient Weapon
It is the mission of John Graham, colonel in British Intelligence, to stop the onslaught of evil with an extraordinary strategy that defies all the rules of twentieth-century warfare: Unite the different witches' covens throughout England, drawing upon powers that reach back through dark centuries, in a ritual of awesome sacrifice on the first night of August, the magical Lammas Night.

Lammas Night is an older book. I tend to say it's set in the same world as the Adept series: The Adept (which I'm reading now), The Adept: Lodge of the Lynx, The Adept: The Templar Treasure, Dagger Magic and Death of an Adept. Thing is, it was written before the other series, so properly, I should say they were set in the world of Lammas Night. However. the books don't overlap until The Templar Treasure, when Gray (John Graham) plays a role. There's also, if my memory is correct a short story in one of the Templar anthologies that Katherine Kurtz has edited (Tales of the Knights Templar, More Tales of the Knights Templar and Crusade of Fire) where Grey and Adam are interacting.

Good luck finding Lammas Night, although it's well worth the read. I ended up searching used bookstores for a few years, but it was well worth it. I've read the book before, but this last time the ending brought tears to my eyes.

Katherine Kurtz uses foreshadowing very well in this book and the others that I've read. As the book builds I found myself hoping that this time things would work out, even though I've read the book before. Of course the story didn't change though. Every time I wish it would. I don't want to say more for fear of spoiling the story, however.

Meme - Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Review Blogs

Copied and pasted from Scifiguy's blog:

Meme - Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Review Blogs

John Ottinger at the excellent Grasping for the Wind has put out the call to create the ultimate blogroll of science fiction and fantasy book review sites (and in my mind that includes sites that feature urban fantasy and paranormal). So have a look at what John has to say below and see if you can add to the list. As simple as posting a revised list to your own blog.

My list of fantasy and sf book reviewers is woefully out of date. I need your help to fix that. But rather than go through the hassle of having you send me recommendations or sticking them in comments, what you can do is take the following list and stick it on your website, then add yourself to the list, preferably in alphabetical order. That way, I will be able to track it across the web from back links, and can add each new blog to my roll as it comes along. So take this list, add it to your blog, and add a link to your blog on it. If you are already on the list, repost this meme at your blog so others can see it, and find new blogs from the links others put up on their blogs. Everybody wins! Be sure to send the list around to others as well. There is an easy to copy window of all the links and text at the bottom of this post to make it even simpler to do.

I would be ever so grateful if you would help me out.

THE LINK LIST

The Accidental Bard
A Dribble Of Ink
Adventures in Reading
All Booked Up
The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.
The Agony Column
Barbara Martin
Bibliophile Stalker
Bibliosnark
BillWardWriter.com
Blood of the Muse
Bookgeeks
Bookslut
Bookspotcentral
The Book Swede
Bookrastination
Breeni Books
Cheaper Ironies [pro columnist]
Cheryl's Musings
Critical Mass
Dark Wolf Fantasy Reviews
Darque Reviews
Dave Brendon's Fantasy and Sci-Fi Weblog
The Deckled Edge
Dragons, Heroes and Wizards
Dusk Before the Dawn
Enter the Octopus
Eve's Alexandria
Fantasy Book Critic
Fantasy Cafe
Fantasy Debut
Fantasy Book Reviews and News
Fantasy and Sci-fi Lovin' Blog
The Fix
The Foghorn Review
From a Sci-Fi Standpoint
The Galaxy Express
Galleycat
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
Grasping for the Wind
The Green Man Review
Highlander's Book Reviews
io9
Jumpdrives and Cantrips
Literary Escapism
Michele Lee's Book Love
Monster Librarian
Mostly Harmless Books
My Favourite Books
Neth Space
NextRead
OF Blog of the Fallen
The Old Bat's Belfry
Outside of a Dog
Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Piaw's Blog
Post-Weird Thoughts
Publisher's Weekly
Realms of Speculative Fiction
Reading the Leaves
Rob's Blog o' Stuff
ScifiChick
SF Diplomat
SciFiGuy
Sci-Fi Songs [Musical Reviews]
Severian's Fantastic Worlds
SF Gospel
SF Reviews.net
SF Revu
SF Signal
SF Site
SFF World's Book Reviews
Silver Reviews
Speculative Fiction Junkie
Speculative Horizons
Sporadic Book Reviews
Stella Matutina
The Sword Review
Tangent Online
Temple Library Reviews
Tor.com [also a publisher]
The Road Not Taken
Un:Bound
Urban Fantasy Land
Vast and Cool and Unsympathetic
Variety SF
Walker of Worlds
Wands and Worlds
The Wertzone
WJ Fantasy Reviews
The World in a Satin Bag
WriteBlack

New additions

I've added some more book review blogs to the sidebar today, as well as adding a link to Elizabeth Moon's new blog on the world of Paksenarrion.