The Devil's Labyrinth: A Novel [Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

John Saul (Author), Jim Bond (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 17, 2007

After his father’s untimely death sends fifteen-year-old Ryan McIntyre into an emotional tailspin, his mother enrolls him in St. Isaac’s Catholic boarding school, hoping the venerable institution with a reputation for transforming wayward teens can work its magic on her son. But troubles are not unknown even at St. Isaac, where Ryan arrives to find the school awash in news of one student’s violent death, another’s mysterious disappearance, and growing incidents of disturbing behavior within the hallowed halls. Things begin to change when Father Sebastian joins the faculty. Armed with unprecedented knowledge and uncanny skills acquired through years of secret study, the young priest has been dispatched on an extraordinary and controversial mission: to prove the power of one of the Church’s most arcane sacred rituals, exorcism. Willing or not, St. Isaac’s most troubled students will be pawns in Father Sebastian’s one-man war against evil - a war so surprisingly effective that the pope himself takes notice of the seemingly miraculous events unfolding an ocean away. But Ryan, drawn ever more deeply into Father Sebastian’s ministrations, sees - and knows - otherwise. As he witnesses with mounting dread the transformations of his fellow pupils, his certainty grows that forces of darkness, not divinity, are at work. Evil is not being cast out…something else is being called forth. Something that hasn’t stirred since the Inquisition’s reign of terror. Something nurtured through the ages to do its vengeful masters’ unholy bidding. Something whose hour has finally come to bring hell unto earth.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bestseller Saul (Suffer the Children) links an exorcism of the devil with a plot to kill the pope in this over-the-top religious thriller. When thugs at a Boston public high school savagely beat 16-year-old Ryan McIntyre, who's struggling with the death of his father in Iraq, Ryan's mother transfers him to a Catholic school. At St. Isaac's Preparatory Academy, where a student's disappearance and other bizarre events have caused worry, a popular priest, Father Sebastian, takes a special interest in the newcomer. When word reaches the Vatican that Sebastian may have revived a long-lost rite to invoke the primitive evil latent even in the most innocent, the supreme pontiff himself plans a visit to St. Isaac's. Those looking for a more subtle treatment of a similar theme might prefer Whitley Strieber's The Night Church, but Saul fans should be satisfied. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Horror specialist Saul's new thriller is a career high for him, one that may prove controversial. It's a demonic-possession yarn set in a Catholic prep school in Boston, to which 15-year-old Ryan McIntyre's Iraq War–widowed mom, on the advice of boyfriend Tom Kelly, sends him after he is hospitalized from being beaten at public school. Two boys Ryan's age have disappeared from St. Isaac, but Kelly assures her that his good friend at the school, Father Sebastian, psychologist as well as priest, can help Ryan accept his father's demise. By the end of Ryan's first week at St. Isaac, one of the missing boys has been killed by police while committing bloody murder. During week two, Ryan finds the corpse of the other missing boy in the underground tunnels beneath the school. But Father Sebastian near-simultaneously finds Ryan. The psychologist-priest is an exorcist, too, and has found an ancient summoning rite that allows an exorcist control of the evil to be found in anyone. Sebastian has been testing his find on St. Isaac's students, and he definitely has an agenda, part of which is to get Pope Innocent XIV to come to Boston. Gratifyingly full of creepy, gory, and repulsive incidents leading to a nail-biting climax, the novel may draw fire as well as rapt readers for linking not just Islamic terrorism but Islam per se to absolute evil. Olson, Ray --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on MP3-CD Lib Ed; Library edition (July 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423304489
• ISBN-13: 978-1423304487
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)

More About the Author

House of Reckoning is John Saul's thirty-sixth novel. His first novel, Suffer the Children, published in 1977, was an immediate million-copy bestseller. His other bestselling suspense novels include Faces of Fear, In the Dark of the Night, Perfect Nightmare, Black Creek Crossing, Midnight Voices, The Manhattan Hunt Club, Nightshade, The Right Hand of Evil, The Presence, Black Lightning, The Homing, and Guardian. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling serial thriller The Blackstone Chronicles, initially published in six installments but now available in one complete volume. Saul divides his time between Seattle, Washington, and Hawaii.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scary, August 9, 2007

By 

Jeffrey T. Munson (Dixon, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Devil's Labyrinth: A Novel (Hardcover)

John Saul has written another thrilling novel, and this time, he writes about a very controversial and little-known subject: exorcism.

Ryan McIntyre is a sixteen-year-old student at Dickinson High School. He's a good student and gets good grades, but the weight of his father's death in Iraq is weighing heavily on his mind. One day, Ryan is severely beaten by some fellow students. His mother, Teri, acting on the advice of her new boyfriend, Tom Kelly, enrolls Ryan at St. Isaac's Catholic Boarding School in the hopes of removing Ryan from danger. Unfortunately, Ryan's danger is just about to begin.

St. Issac's has a terrible secret; one student, Jeffrey Holmes, has disappeared without a trace and another, Kip Adamson has killed a woman. Kip himself was shot by police while in the act. However, despite these occurances, Ryan settles in and even meets some new friends, including Melody and Sofia. Ryan also meets and befriends Father Sebastian.

In the next two weeks, Ryan's life will change forever. Father Sebastian, who claims to have mastered the ability to exorcise demons from people is, in fact, doing just the opposite: He's putting evil into people; an evil which he himself can control, and Ryan, Sofia, and Melody are the three chosen to do Sebastian's evil bidding. To complicate matters even further, the Pope has been made aware of Father Sebastian's apparent successes with exorcism, and he has planned a visit to Boston to observe Father Sebastian's techniques first-hand. But Father Sebastian has his own plan in mind for the Pope, and Ryan, Melody, and Sofia are to be his pawns to carry out his plan. Ryan has a crucifix which his father gave to him which is supposed to protect him from evil. Will it work, or will Father Sebastian succeed with his diabolical plan?

This book is a first-rate thriller. The crescendo builds throughout the book until the entire story is brought together at the end. The characters are well-developed, and the reader can easily identify with them. The story is well-written and covers a major religious controversy; the rite of exorcism.

I recommend this book very highly. It is a first-rate supernatural thriller that will keep the reader guessing until the exciting ending.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars My first John Saul novel and I'm not impressed, November 24, 2007

By 

Copperpot - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Devil's Labyrinth: A Novel (Hardcover)

Eh, I saw this at my library and liked the blurb on the inside cover flap, so I figured I'd give it a shot. It was a quick read, which is why I gave it two stars rather than one. At least I could finish it in an afternoon rather than slog through it. I was definitely unimpressed by the book, from the underdeveloped characters (basically all of them), to the undeveloped plot line, to the ending where you just kinda say, "huh? What?" and close the book for good. Exciting premise, but really didn't pan out. I kept waiting for more of an explanation about, I don't know, the actual title "The Devil's Labyrinth" and how it truly related to the story, but I never really got a fully explained answer. I feel duped. I guess it's my fault for picking up any book that has "Labyrinth" in the title.
If you get it at the library, it's an exciting and quick read, but don't expect any real depth. Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's worst "beach read"-type books (high excitement and quick reads without huge depth) are better than this book any day. I'm glad to see from the other reviews here that he's done better.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars No more like this please Mr. Saul!, August 18, 2007

By 

OlyNomad (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Devil's Labyrinth: A Novel (Hardcover)

I have read every one of John Saul's books, I'm a huge fan of his...and so I really wanted to like this book. Only because it was his book and out of loyalty to him did I make it through and finish it. I was even willing to get past the religious aspect of it.
But it was just boring and the characters I never really cared about or believed credible. Like the woman just blindly following the new man in her life and not picking up on any of his controlling manipulations. And I kept waiting for it to explain how things were happening, how the evil was being put into the kids and it never did. It never explained such a significant aspect of the story! The ending was very weak and too hastily tried to wrap things up and I honestly was just glad to be done with it.
I feel guilty even writing a "bad" review for a John Saul book but I had to be honest about it.