Customer Reviews

The Devil's Labyrinth: A Novel

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

The latest novel by John Saul is yet again, another HUGE disappointment. I really use to enjoy his novels, but for some reason, the last few ones have been so - so boring.

This newest one is no exception. It felt to me as though Saul went on and on in the first chapters in order to describe the dysfunction our main character was going through (including getting beaten up) - but it takes so long and its so detailed that I lost interest.

The strength that Saul usually brings to his books is what I call a "quiet terror" but in this book - terror is replaced by sheer boredom. NOTHING HAPPENS for the longest time - that by the time the suspense actually kicks in - I have completely lost interest in the whole thing.

BORING.

Saul's thriller is fantastic... It's a demonic-possession tale set in a Catholic school in Boston. Because a 15 year old boy named Ryan McIntyre has been picked on and beating as his public school his mother sends him to St. Isaac, a private school to finish his studies. Two boys Ryan's age have vanished from St. Isaac, and a mystery begins. 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 dead body of the other misplaced boy in the secretive tunnels beneath the school. There is a priest at the school, a "Father Sebastian" who be-friends Ryan and tries to help him in his new move to the school. The psychologist-priest is an exorcist, too, and has found a primeval summoning rite that allows an exorcist control of the evil to be found in anyone. He feels the school in evil and possessed by a demon that needs his exorcising ability. Sebastian has been testing his find on St. Isaac's students, and he has a schema, part of which is to get Pope Innocent XIV to come to Boston. (I won't give the story away.....) This novel and plot is actually a bit different for Saul. It is disturbing and a bit abhorrent at times; my kind of book.

Overall I enjoyed this latest thriller by John Saul. The beginning of the novel moved a little slow and seemed a bit wordy. It didn't take long though, for it to pick up steam. It was suspenseful and sometimes graphic, two things Saul is known for. As another reviewer noted, the plot had some holes. In my opinion, it also lacked closure.
Not his best work, but not his worst. An overall average Saul novel.

The new novel by John Saul is really good. A lot better than last years 'In the Dark of the Night' (see review) or 'Black Creek Crossing' (see review). This book is in one word a religious thriller.

After being beaten up at his public school, Ryan McIntyre, whose father was killed overseas (he was in the military), is sent to St. Isaac's Preperatory School. The school has been racked with two blows: one missing boy and another that has died dramatically. The school looks to its newest teacher Father Sebastian for help. He is well versed in the old rituals and especially exorcism. But is he drawing evil out or let evil in? Eventually, the Pope takes notice and decides to make a trip to the school. The book makes a turn into a terrorism thriller. After a few curveballs and some relizations, the book ends in an amazing non-stop action-packed ending.

A few things I didn't like about the book. One, the teenagers don't come off as sixteen and up. They play more like they might twelve-years-old. Secondly, the book seems to jump around through too many points of view (one point of view, you aren't even sure who it is). Lastly, again he rights a do-nothing epilogue, it does nothing to cap the story really and makes you wonder even more. Over all it was good read and a gem compared to some of his latest novels.

This is the second John Saul novel I've read, and I enjoyed it a lot. I don't usually read or watch horror these days--I'm not a fan of zombies and vampires and Texas chainsaws and hills with eyes. But the premise of THE DEVIL'S LABYRINTH was enough to make me buy the book, and I'm glad I did.

Ryan MacIntyre is a troubled 16-year-old mourning the loss of his father in the Iraq war, and he's the target of violent bullies in his local public school. So his mother sends him to a remote, creepy Catholic boarding school where all hell breaks loose. Literally. Something has taken possession of St. Isaac's School, and only Ryan stands in its way....

John Saul is definitely a member of the old guard of horror writers, the ones who know that less is always more and quiet horror is always the most effective. The suspense builds slowly, and the chills just keep growing. It's wickedly entertaining and devilish fun. Enjoy!

SO glad I got this at the library, and didn't pay for it. He seems to write either VERY good books (Manhattan Hunt Club) or lousy ones (The Swarm). This was more like The Swarm. It's a shame, because it's a great idea for a story, and the ancient Catholic church topics (like Da Vinci Code) are so popular now. First half was boring, second half was mildly exciting, but also predictable, and at times, disgusting. Enough plot holes to drive a truck through. Pass on this one...

I am a very big fan of John Saul's work. I think that he takes evil in it's purest form and has no problem making it tangible. Many authors would rather have a psychological edge, never letting the reader "see the monster".

In this book, John Saul again creates an evil that is completely available to the reader and leads you on a pathway that extends straight from that evil's cold, dead heart. I was very impressed, as I always am, with John Saul's development of the story and I loved the events unfolding as they did, although the bulk of the ending was a bit disappointing to me.

I would have like the antagonists to be a bit more supernatural in the being, and the ending left alot of ends untied as there were many questions that could have been asked after the final page. I don;t want to give away anything in this review, but I felt that this last third of the book felt a bit rushed and almost leading up to deus ex machina. Granted, Mr. Saul gave us an ending to the main storyline that made sense, it was just that many of the sub-plots fell a little bit short of answering my questions.

Overall, I thought it was a good book, just 50 pages shorter than it needed to be, and I would recommend it to John Saul fans. If you are just getting into John Saul, go back into the catalog and read The Blackstone Chronicles or The God Project to get a better sense of whom you're dealing with.