Series Review: The Salt Lines

Reviewed by Kathy L. Brown

An epic tale of a secret society’s struggles to guard the ultimate artifact of power

The two-volume Salt Lines series brings together detailed and thorough historical research with an imaginative supernatural fantasy story. The story is ambitious, involving two plotlines that eventually interweave. 

In 1099, the French knight Godefroi de Bouillon leads the Christian Crusader forces to take Jerusalem from its Arabic residents. But his real mission is a secret one: to find and recover a mystic artifact called “the keystone,” said to be hidden in the city. His group of specially chosen and spiritually gifted companions are unexpectedly aided by their Muslim counterparts, who have been the artifact’s guardian until that point. And the artifact needs guardians because a chaotic force aims to capture the keystone for its own purpose, a goal inconsistent with human life as we know it. 

Godefroi’s party eventually solves the riddles and puzzles and overcome the physical and emotional challenges that protect the keystone. Although the Christians prevail at great personal cost, an unlooked for outcome leaves them questioning their decisions. They can only hope that a future generation will put things right. The Knights Templar are formed to guard this artifact through the ages.

Just over 200 years later, the second plotline takes up the resolution of the story. The Templars are losing their royal favor and political power. Newly sworn knight Bertrand de Châtillon-sur-Seine finds himself fleeing the king’s forces with his senior Templars as they guard a mysterious female traveler, Salome. She holds unique, intimate knowledge of the powerful artifact recovered by Godefroi. When the Templar party is wiped out, Bertrand takes up the mantle to be Salome’s protector, her “shroud.” Reluctantly, perhaps, but also eager for adventure. “He did not doubt that man, whoever he was, sought them at this very moment. And yet…hadn’t he always dreamed of emulating the mighty deeds of his ancestors?” Soon Bertrand and his servant journey with Salome to Britain in hopes of finding her ultimate refuge. 

The protagonists of both timepoints face mundane and supernatural enemies and challenges. Stakes are high for the characters as people and for the world. Female characters are understandably few but memorable. Most impressive is Justine, a noblewoman struggling to maintain some measure of independence in a male-dominated culture. She is the only non-magical woman in the story and shines as a smart, tough survivor.

The books take a third-person point of view with the narrative moving smoothly among the characters. Both books alternate passages from the two different timepoint plotlines, 1099 and 1307. The story is told in two volumes, The Hidden Keystone and The Final Shroud, breaking at a convenient point, but not exactly resolving stories, subplots, or character arcs in first book. 

The worldbuilding is richly detailed and immersive, conveying convincing details about the setting, attitudes, and horrors of war in these historical time periods. For example, we first meet Godefroi at the Mount of Olives in July 1099. “Heat shimmered above the bleached, stony ground. Godefroi de Bouillon, Duke of Lower Lorraine, paused in his march up the steep slope…Sweat soaked his linen undergarments and the padded tunic beneath his hauberk. His blond head, uncovered as a mark of humility, felt like it was slowly boiling.”

While epic in scope, the story focuses on the human experience of its characters, both nobles and low-born folk. My way into the story was through Remi, Bertrand’s servant. He asks the questions and expresses the thoughts that will be in the reader’s mind.

The mystical secrets of the story require much explanation, but the narrative usually manages to parcel out the Kabbalah lore and historical facts in an engaging, conversational manner. We learn just what we need to know when we need to know it to follow the plot. 

This series successfully portrays the real human struggles and sacrifices required to ensure that greater good prevails. Readers who enjoy historical fantasy in a DaVinci Code vein will enjoy these books.

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