This book, to me, definitely has a voice that I associate strongly with Ed Wood (apart from Tim Burton’s/Johnny Depp’s interpretation of the man; I still love that movie tho’). The prose style is bland and straightforward with an increasing level of hyperbole which never quite reaches its height with a sudden almost anticlimactic summation at the end of the current thought or personal anecdote.
The first half of the book is thin and kind of boring save for the offbeat style which adds a level of palpable quitch to the reading. At about the direct center of the book come tales of accidents on Western movie sets which I found a high point. After that, the second half is full of interesting anecdotes, including one about Bela Lugosi coming out of a long career hiatus in the West Coast Theater in San Bernardino (my old hometown) on New Year’s Eve 1953 that I was never aware of. He also seems to have a penchant for describing what the women are wearing in any given anecdote, not a single scrap of clothing described for the men. Also, if the woman, often a girl, is hypothetical, then she’s wearing a white Angora sweater. He also has a habit of name-dropping all throughout the book although when he starts listing names, it is droll fortunately landing just above tedious. Somehow it matches his voice.
The book seemed to hit a natural conclusion at the end of chapter 10 and then went on to Chapter 13. These last three chapters feel tacked on and the last feels very cynical in its final tidbit of advice, the book's last line. Now, the advice found in this book is typically vague and often just plain bad advice. It seems it was pretty much useless when the book was written and is utterly incoherent today (if it ever was coherent in the first place). Here’s an example:
Everyone who wants to be a writer, no matter how successful he might be in other fields – even allied fields – doesn’t necessarily make it. It’s a tough row to hoe at best. Come to think of it, why don’t you give it up before you get started? And that’s not sour grapes! That’s good, sound advice, which few of you will take… but sound advice all the same. [pg.131]
Most of the advice found within this book takes this form though is not as discouraging as the last line of the book.
When the writer tries to give an honest view of Hollywood show business it’s somewhat boring and more indicative of Ed Wood’s personal experience (the only interesting thing about the first half besides its odd style). This got to me a little when he started talking about bill collectors coming to seize “your” assets for several pages. When the book becomes a string of his own recollections in the second half it gets so much better. By better I mean that the book throws off the thin premise of how-to-get-into-show-business and becomes more of a memoir and the collected opinions-of-the-day of Ed Wood Jr.
In addition, the author’s mood is palpable as the book moves from Chapter 1 to the last, Chapter 13. It starts with a cheery though bland voice, very much like those of the old black and white educational films screened in elementary classrooms in the 1950s, then into a lament as the book moves into memories professing love for everything past and a peculiar disdain for the current day (of its writing), to utter despair in chapters 12 and 13. The last sentence of the book is: “Believe it or not, your life is more real than the Hollywood scene.” The Hollywood scene which, if the earlier chapters are to be believed, was Ed Wood Jr.’s passion.
I did enjoy this book and would recommend it to those interested in the man or those seeking a very cheesy and seedy (and maybe a little dubious) portrait of the Mid-Twentieth-Century Hollywood machine as viewed from its fringe. Otherwise, the only things here materially are a handful of interesting Hollywood stories (only a few seem dubious but then again, I’m not reading Ed Wood's autobiographical material for cold hard facts) and the personal experience of Ed Wood disguised (badly) as a how-to-guide for aspiring young actors.
I’ll leave you with a favorite quote from the book:
Sex! It becomes all important. Sex! It becomes more important than any possible talent. [pg. 79] ( )

A little slow at first, but then breakneck action in a breathtaking landscape. ( )

The Templar Salvation is set three years after the events of The Last Templar.

It's of the same type of genre & vague plot, being the Templars have a secret and if it comes to light it'll destroy the Church/Christianity so someone wants it. It's well written and has a nice mix of past events, present action and a terrorist eager to damage Christianity to avenge his parents deaths.

A real page turner. Once you start it's hard to put down. ( )

I wish I had read the prequel to this book first but this book was loaned to me. This book can be read as a stand alone but there are references throughout the book to events that happened in the prequel. It didn't detract from the story but tantalized me to want to read the first book.

This is a cut above the usual airport, adventure novel. It reads like a Dan Brown but without the self-serving presence of the protagonist professor in those books. The main character appears to work for the FBI but reads more like a CIA agent. His ex-wife, who also appeared in the other book, is an archaeologist, so she is the character that lends relevance and explanations to the finds in the story. Khoury has created an excellent baddy - he is smart, narcissistic and has a purpose that seems more realistic than world domination.

The story goes back and forth in time. The flashbacks tell the story of the Templar Knight named Conrad and his mission. This part of the story is set in the 1300's. The more contemporary story begins in Rome (at which point I was groaning because that smacked of Dan Brown) but the majority of the story is set in Turkey. I loved that it was set there and the descriptions of the people, the countryside and the culture was fabulous. It inspired me to want to read more about Turkey which is a gift that a well written book can give you.

The author is English and his characters are American. There is definitely some cultural gaps in his knowledge and an assumption that Americans have no knowledge of anything that has to do with history. Having run up against this assumption in real life, I understand where he is coming from but given what his characters do for a living, it's not likely that they would be incredulous or not understand the historical significance of where they are or what they are doing.

The action was more violent and explosive than a typical Dan Brown thriller. There weren't a lot of twists and turns but the action was such that there were times I realized I was tensed up and then relieved when the sequence resolved which means the storytelling is pretty good.

Having been very disappointed at spending time reading "The Sign" I was a little reluctant to invest in this book but the person who loaned me the book asked that I stick with it because this book is better. It is - and by a lot. If you need a little adventure this a great book. It's not one for the great pantheon of literary works but it is one to take you on a journey, give you a little history and a great travelogue. This is a book for men and women. Guys will like the action and the technical aspects of international policing as well as the story. Women will like the action, adventure and the strength of the female character. Both will enjoy the travelogue and the history.

A great book for a rainy weekend in front of the fire.

( )

Ah, Tess and Sean are back. Tess is no longer an archaeologist, but an author of a piece of fiction that seems to bear a striking resemblance to Khoury's first book in the series, 'The Last Templar'. And Sean, Mr. FBI Agent, is still saving Tess' life.

Tess gets kidnapped and taken to Italy and so starts the chase, for more Templar treasure, which is never what the bad guys or good guys think it'll be. This time she and Sean are after the devil's writing, at least that's sort of what the Templar's call it in the book (multiple generations of Templars are involved in this one).

Like Khoury's other books this one is very much a thriller from start to finish. Also, like the previous Templar book, 'The Last Templar', Khoury went back and forth between the present day and the past where the riddles and such that everyone was solve originated.

It was a fine novel, well crafted, and it moved along at quite a brisk pace. The relationship sub-plot was nothing new unfortunately, but other than that it was a solid three star book. ( )