Vatican: A Novel [Hardcover]

Malachi Martin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The subject of this long and intriguing novel is the Vatican's elaborate bureaucracy, in particular its powerful financial network, headed by a mysterious figure known as the Keeper. Another central character, who gives the story its slant, is American Richard Lansing, who joins the Vatican as a young monsignore in 1945, and becomes the confidant of five successive popes. When he reaches the apex of his career, he staunchly opposes any Church bargain with Mammon. Martin (author of bestsellers The Final Conclave and Hostage to the Devil), was a professor in the Vatican's Pontifical Biblical Institute: he has an insider's knowledge of the intrigues and power plays that go on behind the papacy's smooth facade. His tale encompasses the fall of Mussolini, the penetration of the Vatican by a Soviet mole, the murder of a pope in the Soviet interest (with help from Vatican officials), and other major events real or imagined. Vatican is not unlike a bureaucracy itself: intricate, far from iconoclastic, and impeded in its forward progress by obsessive attention to detail. 60,000 first printing; $75,000 ad/promo; author tour. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternatesFebruary 12
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Those who read Martin's The Final Conclave ( LJ 3/15/78) will experience a strong sense of deja vu while reading his latest. The basic facts and premises in that work are here woven into a story around Richard Lansing, a young priest from Chicago, who arrives in Italy in 1945 for his ``Roman stint.'' The first 200 pages of the novel are a bit ponderous, but the pace picks up and the problems and factions in the Church are well portrayed. Vatican is scheduled to be a TV mini-series, so public libraries will want to be prepared for the demand. Mary Reimer, Harris Psychiatric Hosp. Lib., Anderson, S.C.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 657 pages
• Publisher: Harper & Row; 1st edition (January 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060154780
• ISBN-13: 978-0060154783
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #721,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More of a commentary than a novel, July 14, 2000

By 

David Zampino "21st Century Hobbit" (Delavan, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vatican (Paperback)

The late Dr. Malachi Martin has written, in "Vatican", a lengthy, well-sustained "novel" about the intrigues of the Holy See from 1945 until the mid 1980's. However, in many respects, this is not a work of fiction, legal disclaimers notwithstanding. These are real characters, given false names, but functioning much as they actually did in real life. Around this, is a cleverly woven plot of conspiricy, heresy and murder which is fictional (or at least conjectural in the mind of the author!)

It is clear where Martin's sympathies lay -- and they were not with the modern Church. However, as the book was written in the mid 80's, and Martin very obviously expected Pope John Paul II to die in that time frame, (and considering that Martin himself is now dead), it is impossible to conjecture whether or not he had a real person in mind for his novel's ending.

As a public service, here is a brief comparison between Martin's "fictional" characters, and their real-life counterparts:

Papa Eugenio Profumi -- Pope Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli)

Papa Angelica -- Pope John XXIII (Roncalli)

Papa DaBrescia -- Pope Paul VI (Montini)

Papa Serena -- Pope John Paul I (Albino Luciani)

Papa Bogdan Valeska -- Pope John Paul II

Paolo Lercano -- Michele Sindona

Roberto Gonella -- Roberto Calvi

Cardinal Buff of Westminster -- Cardinal Hume of Westminster

Metropolitan Nikodim -- Metropolitan Nikodim

Brother Reginald of Zaite -- Brother Roger of Tazie

Benjamin National Bank -- Franklin National Bank

"Problem Two" aka P2 -- Italian Masonic Lodge P2

And the list goes on. . .

All the "fictional" popes in the novel lived exactly as long as their counterparts in real life, died at just the right times (although Martin is colorful about who tried to kill whom when), and did many of the same things. Many of the "fictional" criminals did what their counterparts in real life were accused of doing, etc.

So yes, this is a good novel by itself -- but remember that Martin had an agenda in writing it -- and the agenda was not at all hidden.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inside look at Rome, May 15, 2001

By 

Chris J. Hudson "Chris Hudson" (San Antonio, TX, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vatican: A Novel (Hardcover)

Malachi Martin often gets a bad rap from some Catholics who feel that his conspiratorial novels are in some way disrespectful to the Church, however I found this book incredibly informative and I actually felt that it made my faith even stronger. It's hard to know where the 'fiction' ends and reality begins, but this book is incredibly interesting and I'd recommend it. The little details about life in Rome and the way things work in the Vatican are fascinating. To continue a previous reviewer's work, I'll post a comparison of a few more real-life counterparts that relate to Martin's 'fictional' characters:

Fictional name = Real name:

Cardinal Rollinger = Cardinal Ratzinger

Archbishop LaSuisse = Abp. Lefebvre

Msgr. Sugnini = Msgr. Bugnini

Cardinal Levesque = Cardinal Lercaro

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vatican, December 6, 1999

By 

David (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vatican (Paperback)

This is one of those books that you either get very bored with or which you are totally captivated by. Being a book of over approximately a thousand pages, there may be those that say Malachai Martin has gone into too much detail in many areas, however I feel that with that detail comes a very full reading experience. Mr Martin has written a book that - like no other - captures the intricacies of Vatican politics at the highest levels in a way that is fully interesting. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a full, interesting and informative read. Is a shame that this book is out of print!

DV