Imagine a Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys mystery with all the delightfully cheesy trappings, set in Scotland with lots of occult bits. That is the basic description of Katherine Kurtz's "The Adept," a stately supernatural thriller that seems to be gleefully rolling in cars, kilts, gentrified upper-crust cliches and magical reincarnation stuff. It's strictly a guilty pleasure -- fun but slightly goofy.Sir Adam Sandler is a shrink, baronet... and Adept mage for the forces of Light (ah, the shorthand for generic Good). While visiting an old friend, he encounters a young artist named Peregrine Lovat, who is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.It turns out that Peregrine has a psychic gift that allows him to foresee things and hear voices, and he's desperate for Adam's help. So Adam reveals that both of them are part of an elite force of reincarnated Templar knights, who have battled evil throughout the centuries. And now he's taking Peregrine under his wing to teach him.Unfortunately, dark things are afoot in Scotland, including the theft of a sword that may have supernatural power, grave-robbing, necromancy and a string of murders. Using ancient Scottish artifacts and blood magic, a wave of evil sorcerers are coming to steal an ancient treasure -- unless Adam and Peregrine can stop them."The Adept" is porn for people who love reading about Anglicized aristocracy, big crumbling castles and ivy-draped manorhouses, blue-bloods and lots of clothes and cars. The story practically swims in this, until it sometimes feels like you're swimming in jolly-good, veddy-veddy-elegant surroundings -- especially since most of the main characters seem to be "the right sort of people" (minus the pleasantly middle-class McLeod).So if you don't like hearing about every aspect of clothing, jewelry and hairstyle at whatever genteely wealthy party the characters are attending, this may not be your cup of tea.However, the mystery is the strongest point of the story, if a bit Hardy Boys at times. The base of the book and its characters will be familiar to mystery fans: the detective and his sidekick, the friendly policeman (McLeod) who tags along on their adventures, and a dastardly plot to do... something. Despite a suspenseful prologue, it doesn't get moving until a good one-third of the way through the story, and things slowly rev up to the breathtaking climax.And Kurtz soaks it in a generous amount of occult goings-on, which may baffle people who don't know much about reincarnation, occult theory and the sort. There are even fairies (not cute little gauze-winged creatures, as Adam tells us), a Ban-sidhe, and a chuckleworthy cameo at the end.As for the characters, they feel slightly unreal -- Adam and Peregrine don't get angry or frustrated, they have no skeletons in their closets, they have no sex lives, and they're resolute pillars of virtue with few flaws. Peregrine is made somewhat more interesting, though, due to his emotional problems and initial hysteria. And McLeod is just an all-around fun guy, a rollicking Highland chieftain in a cop's uniform."The Adept" has some serious flaws, particularly the focus on upper-crust trappings rather than the mystery -- but when it focuses on the mystery, it's a pretty fun supernatural thriller.
Found this whole series on the shelf at the library across the river I joined for books my own library doesn't have. I took it because I have read a number of the Deryni series by Kurtz and enjoyed them. This is very different. Written in the early 1990s, set in Scotland of the present day, it nevertheless has a somewhat historical feel to it. Perhaps that is because so much of it takes place in stately homes and ancient sites. The one thing I enjoy most about the whole series is the basis of the powers the characters use is a deep Christian faith. Christian and Jewish mysticism form a centuries old tradition that seems to be completely ignored these days. Sir Adam Sinclair (yes, those Sinclairs are distant relatives and he does eventually get out to Rosslyn Chapel, but that's in a later book) is a psychiatrist in his day job, but he is also Master of the Hunt, the head of a group of psychics charged with protecting humanity from evil and humans who bring evil into our world. He works closely with Inspector Noel MacLeod, of the Scottish police. The first book introduces Peregrine Lovat, a gifted portrait artist who is developing psychic powers he doesn't know how to deal with. The books are written in the third person, but the point of view shifts frequently among these three, whatever enemies they are hunting and the victims they seek to either help or avenge.The one aspect of the stories that strays from traditional Christian belief is the strong element of reincarnation. The heroes are reincarnated heroes; the villains are sometimes reincarnated villains, but the rest of us apparently only go through life once. It's an interesting twist on a popular esoteric subject.This book starts the series off well, introducing the characters and backstory and setting the scene without confusion or too much didacticism. I finished it ready to dive right into the next with happy expectation.The Adept
What do You think about The Adept (1991)?
I must say, I am a total sucker for anything in the occult fiction realm. I like when I find a series that can entertain me for a while, and I think I've found one here. So...if you're looking for some extraordinarily great literature, you're not going to find it here, but you will find a fun story filled with elements of the arcane and esoteric (along with some Templar knights!). This is just one of those books you read when you need something light and fun.Set in Scotland (another reason I like this book!) the main character is Sir Adam Sinclair, who is a psychiatrist when he's not busy being keeping the elements of darkness in check. Sinclair leads a very privileged life with a manservant named Humphreys at an estate called Strathmourne, and is well respected in his community. So the story opens with Sir Adam making a visit to a dear friend, where he meets an artist doing her portrait. This artist has the name of Peregrine Lovat (hmm), and Adam realizes he has met another like himself. He takes him under his wing and becomes a sort of mentor to Peregrine. Anyway, it happens that there is some black magic shenanigans at work with the theft of a wizard's sword at the beginning being only the first phase of a plot by a group of unnamed villains.This book is one just for fun and I plan to read the entire 5-volume series.03/31/2006
—Nancy Oakes
I have always been interested in Knights, especially the Knights Templar, Christian Warrior Monks from about 1100-1300 AD. The Adept is a modern day reincarnate of one the Grand Masters of the Knights Templar. He among the other Knights continue the eternal fight between Light and Darkness by tapping into the mystic powers of their past lives to defect such enemies like the Nazis. This book has everything that I love in stories, English and Scottish history, knights, magic, mystery, in a modern world that I can relate to. Once you have read this book you will want to read the whole series.
—Tobias
Really well done characters. Very interesting use of the paranormal, and unique way of connecting light/religion. Great mysteries with unusual detectives. I've probably read these at least 6 times. On my short list of books to pick up and read every couple of years.
—Jenna
