Fifteen-year-old Ryan McIntyre is sent to St. Isaac's Catholic school where he becomes involved in an ancient Catholic rite, exorcisms and sinister plots. He begins to suspect his friends and mentors, and even himself. Something dwells within him and he must use the memory of his father to fight against evil.

The book has a definite creepy, supernatural vibe with a bit of religious themes, too.

The first half of the novel was particularly enjoyable to me, as I followed the main character's discovery of sinister forces at work within the boarding school, its catacomb basement and its faculty.

The second half of the book greatly disappointed me. The book had the potential to explore the ancient rite of true exorcism, as well as a few other key religious themes, but if falls far short of reaching any conclusion. For me, the book had the potential to delve into deeper meaning (perhaps on par with a book like, "The Davinci Code"), and it didn't even approach any type of explanation behind the actions and themes presented.

Also, the ending was entirely predictable. There were some surprises about halfway through the book, which I enjoyed, but explanations behind the characters' motivations would have been helpful. Leaving some kind of unexpected characters or actions would have helped the ending greatly.

move on to a more gripping tale.

John Saul has written numerous best-selling novels. It's my belief that this particular book is not on par with the majority of hi work.

It falls flat by the end, leaving the reader dissatisfied with the overall experience.

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Created May 05, 2008 at 9:14am • Submit your own review...