Crusade of Fire: Mystical Tales of the Knights Templar

November 1, 2002
The third in Kurtz's series of anthologies exploring the legend of the Knights Templar is another treat for lovers of historical fantasy. Kurtz opens with her own almost straight historical piece about the origins of the Templars, and Debra Doyle and James D. MacDonald close with a humorous piece about a couple of modern Templars finding an occult mystery in the ranks of Kipling fans. In between, Kurtz's frequent collaborator Deborah Turner Harris explores Richard the Lion-Hearted, Susan Shwartz adds a moving pendant to Scott's " Ivanhoe," Robert Reginald involves the Templars in a historical mystery with William of Occam doing the detecting, Patricia Kennealy-Morrison introduces her extravagant Keltiad to the Templars (or vice versa), and so on. The authors are all competent and even expert handlers of historical milieus, and those offering the farther-out tales of the Templars and the occult don't overindulge themselves. A historical fantasy collection worth well more than its price.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)