Khoury, Raymond
Entry updated 12 September 2022. Tagged: Author.
(1960- ) Lebanon-born investment banker, screenwriter, illustrator and author, mostly either in US from 1975 or latterly in the UK. His Last Templar sequence beginning with The Last Templar (2005), in which a contemporary archaeologist begins to discover, via papers and treasure hidden in a pouch, the true Secret Masters history of the Knights Templar; she is soon joined by an FBI agent. Some scenes are set in the thirteenth century. A secret epic, which falls short of creating a literally fantastic Alternate History, is unpacked in the next volume. Subsequent titles in the series engage the couple in occult-tinged Technothriller threats to the world. The Last Templar sequence of Graphic Novels beginning with The Encoder (2016) with Miguel Lalor repurposes the earlier Templar narrative.
Khoury's singletons may be of more direct sf interest. They include The Sign (2009), set in a world distressed by Climate Change, into which what may be an Alien intervention, or the Word of God, intrudes minatorily. The Ottoman Secret (2019; vt Empire of Lies 2019) is an Alternate History tale whose Jonbar Point is generated when a naked Mysterious Stranger gives the sultan, Mehmed IV, a secret Weapon – ie explosives from two centuries hence (see Time Paradoxes) – that enables him to conquer Vienna in 1683. But by the twentieth century, Ottoman rule of Europe depends more and more precariously on concealing the secret underlying its triumph.
Khoury has written episodes of the genre Television series Dinotopia (2002-2003) and the mini-series The Last Templar (2009) based on his above-cited novel. [JC]
Raymond Khoury
born Berut, Lebanon: 1960
works
series
Sean Reilly and Tess Chaykin
- The Last Templar (New York: E P Dutton, 2005) [Sean Reilly and Tess Chaykin: hb/Walter Bibikow]
- The Templar Salvation (New York: E P Dutton, 2010) [Sean Reilly and Tess Chaykin: hb/]
- The Devil's Elixir (New York: Penguin Books, 2011) [Sean Reilly and Tess Chaykin: hb/]
- Second Time Around (London: Orion, 2013) [vt of the above: Sean Reilly and Tess Chaykin: pb/]
- Rasputin's Shadow (London: Orion, 2013) [Sean Reilly and Tess Chaykin: hb/]
- The End Game (London: Orion, 2016) [Sean Reilly and Tess Chaykin: pb/]
The Last Templar
- The Last Templar: Vol 1: The Encoder (Canterbury, Kent: Cinebook, 2016) with Miguel Lalor [graph: illus/pb/Miguel Lalor]
- The Last Templar: Vol 2: The Knight in the Crypt (Canterbury, Kent: Cinebook, 2016) with Miguel Lalor [graph: illus/pb/Miguel Lalor]
- The Last Templar: Vol 3: The Sunken Church (Canterbury, Kent: Cinebook, 2017) with Miguel Lalor [graph: illus/pb/Miguel Lalor]
- The Last Templar: Vol 4: The Falcon Temple (Canterbury, Kent: Cinebook, 2017) with Miguel Lalor [graph: illus/pb/Miguel Lalor]
- The Last Templar: Vol 5: The Devil's Handiwork (Canterbury, Kent: Cinebook, 2018) with Bruno Rocco [graph: illus/pb/Bruno Rocco]
- The Last Templar: Vol 6: The One-Armed Knight (Canterbury, Kent: Cinebook, 2018) with Bruno Rocco [graph: illus/pb/Bruno Rocco]
individual titles
- The Sanctuary (New York: E P Dutton, 2007) [hb/]
- The Sign (London: Orion, 2009) [hb/]
- The Ottoman Secret (London: Michael Joseph, 2019) [hb/]
- Empire of Lies (New York: Forge, 2019) [vt of the above: hb/Getty Images]
links
previous versions of this entry