Robert the Risen begins at the Fall of Acre (A.D. 1291) when Robert is pulled out of the rubble of the collapsed castle (after three days--hence his new surname). Bektash al-Fakhri, a Mameluk general, is his captor, and Robert is recruited to Bektash's body guard detail for the next seventeen years. Among the others in Bektash's retinue are a Buddhist monk (whose acupuncture brought Robert back to life), an itinerant Irish priest, Sufi warriors, and others. Over the course of Robert's enslavement, a dialogue among spiritual cousins (Jewish, Christian, and Muslim) is mediated by the Buddhist monk. They exchange ideas, meditation practices, and generally challenge each other to attain Enlightenment.
Except, of course, when they aren't engaged in the numerous battles the Mameluks fight over these turbulent years. When Bektash dies, Robert is manumitted in the general's will, and Robert heads home. In Tunis, he finds that the French king arrested all the Templars in France on various charges, and the pope let him get away with it. When Robert's party gets to France, Robert is imprisoned in the pope's estate. There Robert confronts the pope, eventually escapes, and finally reunites with his cousin, William the Fearless, in London.
The story is historically accurate. The speculative pieces are in the spiritual practices the Templars were alleged to have learned from the Sufis and the Gnostics. The further speculation is about what happens psychologically to 'warrior monks, ' hence, the inclusion of a Buddhist monk from the Shaolin Monastery.
Since the author holds both a Master's degree in Transpersonal Psychology, which explores the psychology of all religions and is an 8th degree black belt (Master) in Kung Fu San Soo, he is uniquely qualified to engage in this speculation.
