History
The Heretics’ Revenge (Bargain Book)
Condemned as heretics by the Catholic Church, the 13th-century Cathars are persecuted, tortured, and finally burned alive at Montségur. But according to legend they hide their riches and relic beyond the castle walls on the eve of their demise.
In the 1930s, Otto Rahn dedicates his life to recovering the long forgotten relic, and coerced by Himmler joins the SS to find the ‘Holy Grail’ for the Nazis. Exposed as both Jewish and homosexual, Rahn commits suicide. But not before he entrusts his notes to his niece. Notes that have never been found.
Seeking a challenge after retiring early, businessman Steve Jackson embarks on a modern-day search for the fabled Cathar cache. With French girlfriend, Manon Lubin, they locate Rahn’s abandoned clues in the Black Forest. The notes become a key to locating a religious discovery even greater than the Dead Sea Scrolls, and unleash a 750-year old time-capsule of revenge that threatens to shake the Church of Rome to its foundations.
The massacre of the Cathars and the true story of Otto Rahn are interweaved and then continued with the fictional search for the treasure and relic. Rich in historical detail, this fascinating and absorbing story, set in France and London, climaxes with a thought-provoking and controversial conclusion that brings The Heretics’ Revenge.
Meet Martin Barrett
Martin Barrett is a retired design engineer living in the small New Zealand old gold mining town of Arrowtown in Central Otago. Raised and educated in London, he and his wife have traveled throughout France over many years. Interest in the 13th century Cathar heretics of Montségur, in south-west France, and their treasure and relic has taken him on two research trips to Cathar stronghold.
Motivation for The Heretic’s Revenge was twofold. Could the Cathar treasure be found today, and what might it turn out to be? And secondly, a complete account of the siege of Montségur and the 20th-century involvement of Otto Rahn just needed to be told.
Martin hates books with excessive padding and storylines that are implausible and has strived to avoid this. He enjoys skiing, biking, and walking in the mountains surrounding Arrowtown.