The Templar Lance is a mysterious tale, standing at roughly 120 pages. Rob Johnson brings us a story of magic and intrigue as father Dan, a priest in training, studies an ancient manuscript that speaks of a sacred artifact. Set in both the present day and back in 1170s and 1180s, we follow the manuscript's story of young Liam as he learns the skills required of The Knight's Templar.

I enjoyed this book but wasn't sure about the plot line at first. The character's motivations and desires didn't seem clear to me and I found myself wondering where the story was going. While the story works to capture the reader's imagination, I felt that if Dan's character had been made aware of the ancient relic at an earlier time, then maybe the readers would understand where the book was heading.

I didn't notice any real change in Dan's character toward the end of the book. He seems to drift through the story with some strong opinions on religion and little else. John's character, on the other hand, was dark and mysterious. There was something almost hypnotic about the way he speaks and acts.

The style of storytelling is different to what I'm used to. While we do experience Dan's emotions, the chapters with Liam felt like I was being talked at. I understand that perhaps this was to get across the idea of his experiences being bound in the diary-like form of the manuscript, but it did make me struggle to continue reading at points.

For a shorter story than most, The Templar Lance provides a good deal of mystery, but lacks essential depth in some characters and could do with a little bit of foreshadowing toward the beginning in regards to the key concept of the novel, the lance itself. Please note that this is just my opinion and another person may think otherwise.

I would still recommend reading this as it did make me feel deeply about our lives here on earth, however, I would personally rate it at 3.5 stars. ( )