The Knights of Black Chapter by Ken Bourne-Turner

The Knights of Black Chapter
by Ken Bourne-Turner
Printed by Lulu
Paperback/eBook
356 pages
ISBN: 9780955993602
Thriller

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The United Nations building in New York has been destroyed, the towering Duncannon Building in London has also been turned into a twisted wreck and  a 747 jet bound for Chicago from Johannesburg has exploded hundreds of miles off the African coast. All three incidents were timed to achieve the greatest death count possible. Both the American President’s and the British Prime Minister’s combined foreign policies are being blamed for the terrorist attacks.

In an effort to minimize political damage and to deflect the attention being focused on themselves, the two leaders decide on a small surgical response. They each agree to send one qualified man to eliminate the mastermind behind the three bombings. Total deniability of their involvement is acquired by promising the two they can split the 8 million dollar bounty resting on their target’s head. The villain? A man named Mohammed Abu Atif, who heads up a terrorist group called Al VL Sinda.

But what should be a simple operation becomes a life and death struggle against unseen forces so powerful the entire political stability of the world is at risk. These forces are twin branches of an ancient organization that have been fighting for world control since before recorded history. The secret organizations are not about to let two men, no matter how dangerous they might be, interfere with their plans. Hidden deep in the hierarchy of Freemasonry, both groups target the heroes: Lewis Ford, a former Seal and problem solver for the CIA and Harry Blakemore, a similar problem solver for MI6. I’m sure you can imagine the fun and action which follows.

Author Ken Bourne-Turner challenges readers to determine what is fact and what is fiction in his 2009 thriller, The Knights of Black Chapter. I’m going to help you to get started with this. As I review/critique his 356 page novel, I’ll answer a few of the larger questions posed by the novel, based on my own knowledge and research.

So to begin… Bourne-Turner has attempted to write a thriller in the vein of John Le Carre or Robert Ludlum. His book is an interesting “spy” novel, full of history, intriguing characters and larger than life issues. However, before I get into those aspects of The Knights of Black Chapter, I should deal with that word “attempted.” Bourne-Turner and his editorial team (mentioned in the credits) structured his thriller quite well, with one major exception. When writing a novel, an author must create a back story for his work: he must know the motivations of his characters, he must know these constructs intimately and the same applies for the world in which they’ll be existing. But he doesn’t and shouldn’t try to crowd all this knowledge into the tale being told. The back story allows him to make sure his characters operate out of some kind of history, that they remain true to the people this history has determined they are, and that they operate within the rules of the world the author has created for them. Bourne-Turner fails in this area. His characters supply the reader with so much information and so many connections and so many conspiracies it not only makes the book a difficult read, it’s unnecessarily confusing. More importantly, it destroys the “suspension of disbelief” all authors want from their readers. When a character gets up and delivers a complex monologue about several historical incidents that really don’t pertain to the immediate story, the reader is kicked right out of the fantasy. And he or she will resent it.

An example of one such kick in the pants for me was the number of good guys in the story who just happened to be 33rd degree Masons. In real life these elite Masons are hard to find. One does not earn such a degree. It’s bestowed upon you for outstanding Masonic service, usually over a lifetime. Bourne-Turner’s heroes are well-drawn, but there’s no way I can possibly believe Lewis Ford is a 33rd degree Mason. His character just doesn’t fit the profile.

Next, we’ll take a look at the fact versus fiction aspect of the book; the larger than life issues.

The Knights of Black Chapter is based on the idea that two opposing orders (the Incanda and the Black Chapter) split off from a small but very powerful group of people, called Rex Deus or The “King God” Bloodline, and now rule our present day world from the shadows.

I’ve read several theories regarding Rex Deus to date…
1. Rex Deus was an ancient religious order that has died out. I believe this.
2. This group predates Moses and may even go as far back as Adam and Eve. I doubt it.
3. In 2000, three authors published a book entitled Rex Deus: The True Mystery of Rennes-Le-Chateau and the Dynasty of Jesus. The premise of this book is that a Jesus and Mary Magdalene bloodline was part of a dynasty descended from a group of priests of the first temple built to God’s service in Jerusalem. They were known as the Kings of God. Many authors, including Dan Brown, have played with the idea that the bloodline of Jesus is alive, well and powerful. There doesn’t seem to be any replicable or concrete proof of such claims.
4. Bourne-Turner writes that Rex Deus actually split into two factions at some point in ancient history: a religion-oriented branch of 9 people known as the Incanda and a financial-leaning branch of 9 people known as the Black Chapter. Modern history has been determined by the constant struggle for world domination between these two very powerful groups. Bourne-Turner’s premise is interesting but completely fictional.

A few things here: a long time ago Freemasonry split into two groups: The York Rite, where the highest order one can achieve is Knight Templar and The Scottish Rite where the highest order one can achieve is the 33rd degree. Given all the references to Freemasonry in The Knights of Black Chapter, do you think, maybe, this is where he got the idea of a split Rex Deus? Second, nowhere can I find a real organization called Incanda (perhaps this is the author’s version of the Illuminati?). On the other hand there is a real order referred to as the Black Chapter: it’s actually a preceptory of the Orange Lodge, a protestant and somewhat political order which finds its beginnings in Ireland. I assume the author used this name because the Orange and the Black have often been associated with Masonry (My father and grandfather were both members of the Orange, and gramps spoke to me on many occasions regarding the similarities to Masonry. My grandfather was also a 32nd degree Mason and a Knight Templar. I, myself, am an accomplished Mason.).

My conclusion? The Knights of Black Chapter is based on a fiction. Does this mean all the revelations and history and talk of Masonry in Bourne-Turner’s book are also fiction. Not a chance. The author has done his research; his novel is full of little known and interesting historical facts. I found myself stopping quite often during the read to research the accuracy of a statement made by one of his characters. I’m sure you won’t believe that Jesus and Mary are buried beneath Rosslyn Chapel, but you should believe the portion of the 2nd Masonic degree that’s described near the end of the book, as well as the rendering of Hiram Abiff’s death (from the 3rd Masonic degree).

After all this, here’s what I’m left with… If I pare away the history lessons, The Knights of Black Chapter is a decent thriller. As such, I would suggest the ideal reader for this book would be those who enjoy historical fiction and those who don’t mind a heavier reading thriller (Again, I use John Le Carre as an example).

Other than the excessive back story, the novel does have some other editing warts the author should do something about: The use of “yeah” to indicate an American verbalizing “you” is as distracting as hell and, I believe, grammatically incorrect. There were also a few instances where the author had his Americans speaking in British slang–a simple mistake his proofreader should have caught. Transitions from one scene to another were quite often abrupt, the start of a new paragraph taking you from the middle of one scene to something completely different. Similarly, enough words were missed within sentences as to warrant a comment. And using two different spellings of Hiram Abiff? The Masons are going to get you, Ken!

For a first novel, I think Ken Bourne-Turner shot very high. Sure, he missed the centre ring, but he still hit the target. I can think of many books I would have thrown in a corner for the opportunity to read The Knights of Black Chapter. Don’t be discouraged by the technical criticisms Ken: it’s my job to list the good and the not so good.  Just keep on writing, and make sure you (and your editor) work on the piece until you can’t stomach looking at it anymore.


Copyright © Clayton Clifford Bye 2010.