Book Review-Newer Books 15

Review—The Devil’s Labyrinth

John Saul wrote The Devil’s Labyrinth. Ballantine Books published the novel in July 2007; the book has 352 pages.

          Boston and the Catholic Church have been under fire for many issues in the past, but none as heinous as the plot proposed by John Saul in his latest novel. Catholic rites and beliefs are rooted in history and have undergone many transformation; many have been lost over the centuries. Exorcism though often focused on in movies is rarely truly achieved.

          Ryan McIntyre has been troubled since the death of his father in Iraq. After a particularly troubling event at his current school, his mother decides that St. Isaac’s boarding school will be a better place for him. Her husband has been dead for two years and she has become involved with a man who has connections to the school. Ryan is admitted to the school and soon finds himself in the midst of strange happenings. Other children have disappeared from the school under circumstances that have not been explained. Father Sebastian came to St. Isaac’s some time ago and the troubled children have been improving, at least on paper. This school has aspired to remove the evil from inside of the children that come to them with hope, faith, and trust. They hope to gain the notice of the Catholic leaders and through rituals performed in the tunnels deep below St. Isaac’s floors, Father Sebastian and a few selected staff choose teenagers troubled and not so troubled, to show that extracting evil that invades the world is a reality and possible. Only, this is not the only goal of Father Sebastian and his plans are much more insidious. Through videos of his achievements, he gains notice of the pontiff, who is not only planning a world tour, but also changes his plans to add Boston to his itinerary. The danger is not only to the children, the city of Boston and its visitors are in peril.

          John Saul has written numerous novels, yet this one is not only disturbing to a belief system that is already troubled, but this book trades on the perils our own country has been victim to and still guards against daily. The novel jumps around from belief system to belief system and throws in terror as an extra bonus. What is probably meant to be extra entertainment is only extraneous. There are few answers regarding the supposed exorcism and the evil this world faces will not be changed by such actions.