Saint

Paradise #2

by Ted Dekker

Carl Strople was covertly recruited to Black Ops and given the most brutal kind of training any man or woman could endure. Now he belongs to The X Group. But why do they call him “Saint”? An assassin. The most effective killer in the world. And yet . . . Carl Strople struggles to retain fleeting memories that betray an even more ominous reality. He's been told part of the truth--but not all of it. Invasive techniques have stripped him of his identity and made him someone new--for this he is grateful. But there are some things they can't take from him. The love of a woman, unbroken loyalties to his past, the need for survival. From the deep woods of Hungary to the streets of New York, Saint takes you on a journey of betrayal in a world of government cover-ups, political intrigue, and one man's search for the truth. In the end, that truth will be his undoing. The Bookshelf Reviews, which gave this novel from Ted Dekker 5 out of 5 stars, stated, “ Saint reads like The Bourne Identity [Robert Ludlum] meets The Matrix meets Mr. Murder [Dean Koontz].”

Genres: Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Fantasy, Thriller, Suspense, Mystery

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Ted Dekker is known for novels that combine adrenaline-laced stories with unexpected plot twists, unforgettable characters, and incredible confrontations between good and evil. Ted lives in Austin with his wife LeeAnn and their four children.

Reviews

[Liz B · Rating 2 out of 5]

So when a student is excited enough about a book to bring it in to loan to me, then I do my very best to read the whole thing. This is sometimes a pleasure and sometimes quite painful (Eragon comes to mind).

Well, I did read all of Saint. It starts out very well--confusing in a good way, surprising, intriguing, very suspenseful--then degenerates into repetitive ideas and phrases. Throw in the obligatory salvation scene (it's Christian fiction) and I found it very tiresome.

Full disclosure: I'm Christian, but overall I don't like fiction marketed as such. I think that religious truths are conveyed much more powerfully when they're not in a deliberately "religious" book. (I feel the same way about CCM. Secular music that asks genuine religious questions is much more compelling to me.)

For example: Did you read A Wrinkle in Time? Do you remember the scene when Meg screams I LOVE YOU, CHARLES WALLACE? Powerful. Honest. Believable. Memorable. It's not Christian fiction but it says everything important about love and grace and sacrifice.

This book tries to do something similar, but because it's hobbled by the requirements of its genre (and the shallowness of the characterization), the climax has none of the power it needs to be believable.

Now add in a few more weaknesses (the following contains some mild spoilers):
1. Yes, Carl doesn't know who he is. I get it. Unfortunately, I never got to know him either--and therefore didn't care much. The closest we get to knowing him is when he's using his skills as an assassin, mostly in the first part of the book. He's intriguing then, at least. But it's hard to care about an assassin--Dekker tries to pull it off by making Carl childlike when not in superkiller mode, but it doesn't work. He's just dull.

2. Kelly, who DOES know who she is, isn't any deeper as a character. She loves Carl. She feels bad for what she did to Carl. That's pretty much it. She's got about as much depth as one of those girls Indiana Jones carts around.

3. This is a real spoiler, so please beware:

Carl avoided killing through most of the book (much like Arnold in T2)--when anyone died, it was either collateral damage caused by the bad guy or else a direct hit by the bad guy. The one exception? "Saint" (Carl) took hostage, then killed an Arab who was lobbying for the disarmament of Israel. He was no good guy--he had also contracted for the assassination of the US President--but the utter lack of soul searching on the part of the hero OR the noncombatant super religious good guys was disturbing to me. Assassination is murder. Carl was not acting in self-defense. He'd gotten Kelly back. The guy was unarmed. Maybe he needed to die--but maybe someone should've wondered a TEENY bit about it.

4. The villain! Ugh! Yeah, he's evil, but does he have to be so super evilly-evil? Englishman is a tiny bit creepy when he's first introduced in a viewpoint section--he's self-aware enough to realize he's a cliche, which could be chilling--but then he degenerates into being so evil that he's just silly.

Two books that do a much better job: The Stand--Randall Flagg is terrifying. Cowboy boots. Smiley face button.

And Roy Miro in Dean Koontz's Dark Rivers of the Heart. I read that book over 10 years ago and I still remember the twisty evil beneath the bland friendly surface.

The point is that evil hides itself--which is certainly not unknown to the Christian fiction genre...so why make Englishman so completely over -the-top?

5. Real spoiler here. The climax was just...weird. These are two super top-notch assassins! The deadliest in the world! And here they are head to head--throwing rocks at each other. Really? That's it? Yeah, they're throwing them supernaturally, but still...

OK, so here's the upshot: I finished it, and it wasn't nearly as painful an experience as finishing Eragon was. So now I have to figure out how to let the student know that I appreciate his loaning me the book, while not encouraging him to loan me other books by Dekker...

[Janie Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a second great installment to The Paradise series, and by far my favorite of the series. Such a profound read of hope, faith, love, and courage to be who we are meant to be. I was not going to read this one, I was going to skip to Sinner, book 3 of the series because I did not think this one fit in, but boy was I ever wrong. This book was the perfect fit.

I love love love the characters that Dekker has created for this series. So real and so deep from the inside out. All people just like you and me accept for a unique few. I felt like our favorite super heroes coming to the forefront to fight the evil the threatened our world. I can find no better way to describe the book. I found myself cheering them on with every page, crying with their failures and celebrating their victories. This book had me so immersed within the pages that I did not want the story to ever end.

I won't describe characters in depth in the case that it might ruin the story for others that will be reading it, but Carl is a true hero, and I loved taking the journey with him into discovering who is was meant to be, and deep down who he really is. He went through so much you can feel nothing but every emotion he himself had felt. This has definitely been one of the most profound series of the year for me. It gets a solid 5 for me and I look forward to the last installment of The Paradise Series.

Do you believe?

[T.E. George · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Almost a Five, October 6, 2006

Ok already. Apparently everyone else thinks everything Dekker does is a 5. But, I don't give out many 5's. It's kind of like when they started giving out perfect scores at the Olympics. What do you do when someone does better than perfect?

Showdown was magnificent and Saint came somewhat short of that. Dekker does a very good job of creating heroes who aren't always heroic. Saint struggles with identity just like we all do in one way or another. Who is he really? Who can he trust? Why should he care? Will what he is in his heart win over what others have manipulated him to become? All these question are answered at heart-thumping speed. And, like Showdown, don't expect this one to be a liesurely read over the holidays. Read page one and you probably won't stop until your finished!

Now back to the 5 thing. The Circle Trilogy (Black, Red, White) was as close to perfect as a writer can get. It should become a classic. As far as I am concerned, Dekker set the bar so high with The Circle Trilogy it will be hard to rate anything higher.

Now we can all catch our breath and wait for Skin to come out in a few months.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A continually brain washed agent is supposed to assassinate an Iraqi leader.

Shades of the Manchurian Candidate and Philip K. Dick.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

As is becoming routine for me, I jump into the middle of a book series. Haven't read any Ted Dekker before; thought I would give him a read. TD is a popular Christian author. I say "Christian" because his novels are found in the Christian section of most bookstores. Christian themes permeate his writing, though I would guess that some Christians would find his writing sacrilegious. Faith, and zero-point field theory, governs the use of supernatural powers in this second book of the Paradise Trilogy.

TD's style of writing is straight-forward and direct, good for a general reading audience. He creates imagery suitable for his tales, is adequately descriptive, and the pace of the story is fast. A good page-turner.

I would recommend this book for a number of reasons. The themes are interesting. The use of zero-point field theory in a Christian novel I find intriguing. Battles of Good vs. Evil I am always ready for. Page-turning action is a plus. And TD knows when to relax on the science on not explain too much.

[Hyacinth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the book. He kind of puts me in the mind of Frank Peretti with the good vs evil plot. There was some drag a couple of places in the book and I really didn't like the ending. I felt let down. Saint/Johnny/Carl was a bit much for me. I was ready to call in a psychologist to get a diagnosis. I will definitely read more of this author.

[Kathryn Spurgeon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ted Dekker's books are always intense and I can only read a few a year. This one grabbed me and drew me in like they all do. I love his writing.

[Joshua Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saint is the second book in The Paradise Trilogy by Ted Dekker. One thing that I want to get off my chest was that I didn't expect for it to be so twisty. Whereas the first book, Paradise focused heavily on the setting of Paradise and the spiritual/physical battle taking place in the town below, Saint shifts the perspective to the seeming aftermath of "Project Showdown" and the mysterious X Group. This is where the main crux of the story takes place.

Just as one reviewer noted: Saint reads like a mix of The Bourne Identity, The Matrix, and Mr. Murder. And the reviewer isn't that far off. Although I've never read Mr. Murder, there are definite hints of The Matrix and The Bourne Identity that really steps away from the singular focus of Paradise in the previous book, which I love. Seeing the political intrigue that takes place between the X Group, the president of the US, a Middle East peace initiative, and three souls caught in the middle. This was definitely a trip, in a good way.

Saint, or rather Johnny Drake from the previous book, definitely shows signs of The Bourne Identity in how he is trying to rediscover his identity after having it stripped from him by the X Group. However, the twist that Johnny willingly entered the X Group was definitely something I didn't see coming, and on top of that, that the Englishman was a creation of "monk" Marsuvees Black, the main antagonist of the Project Showdown trilogy. I always thought that Englishman had a weird fixation on Saint, but that revelation of his existence being because of evil makes going back and seeing the little things in his character so much more interesting.

Overall, I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars because while good, the beginning did seem to drag a little in trying to set up the eventual twists and turns that took place throughout the second and latter half of the book.

[Kitty · Rating 1 out of 5]

First of all, there was no indication on the outside of this book that it was part of a series. Ted mistakenly assumed that I would retain the information from reading Project Showdown. Because I didn't, all of the self-important worldbuilding (read: jacking off) in this one kind of missed the mark. I mostly read Dekker books because I like to count how many times he blatantly rips off Stephen King, Dean Koontz, or Michael Crichton. The other main reason is to rate how misogynistic the book is on a scale of one to five. This book was a one on the misogyny scale, pretty impressive for good old Ted. My review of this book is that it's bad. Thanks for reading.

[StarMan]

REVIEW: Magical non-realism... but some readers will dig this weird stuff. Prepare your eyeballs for much rolling.

RATING: 1.5 stars. Not really a book for me, but has merit as a supernatural/Christian-ish thriller.

DEMERITS: low realism, too many exclamation marks. But if you like unusual thrillers, you may dig this book.

BONUS POINTS FOR: Well, at least there was no gratuitous sex. I think this was supposed to be Christian-ish fiction?

[Josh Olds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who am I? Where do I come from? To whom do I answer? Why am I here? How to I embrace and use my talents and gifts? – These are all universal questions but they’re also specific to Carl Strople, the assassin who knows only what has been planted into his mind by the X Group. The X Group is a top-secret mercenary organization run by Laszlo Kalman. With his partner Agotha, the two destroy humans and make them killers. Their hope is simple: take away enough of a man and just maybe you can make him do things humans weren’t meant to do. But Carl Strople insists on discovering his true identity, and, through his training and missions, receives just enough hints that his view of reality is skewed to keep questioning.

Meanwhile, David Abraham—former leader of Project Showdown—has worked his way into the position of spiritual adviser and friend to the President. When the world presses the United States to support a resolution that would disarm the Middle East, only Abraham reacts to point out the folly of disarming Israel in the middle of countries dedicated to her destruction. But more than this, David Abraham knows it is folly because his son has seen it. A dozen years prior, Samuel Abraham had been forever affected by the events of Showdown. The redemption of Paradise left him with unique abilities given to him by the Books.

The storylines converge when Strople is commanded to kill the President. In that effort, he discovers a little more about his past…and his ties to Project Showdown. Strople’s journey of self-discovery is thwarted by fellow X Group assassin Dale Crompton, known as the Englishman, who has ulterior motives of his own. No one is exactly who they claim to be, secrets abound, and, in the end, Strople must embrace his true identity and gifts if he is to survive.

With a fast-paced plot and adrenaline-laced twists, combined with Dekker’s signature spiritual themes, Saint is a compelling thriller that will keep you turning pages. Dekker challenges readers, especially Christians, to be radically affected by the faith they claim to have. Dekker writes through his character David Abraham:

“Superhero? Aren’t we all? Isn’t that what all men, women, and children of faith are? Isn’t that what Project Showdown was all about? We, the ostracized few, given power to aid the very society that fears us?”

Saint is a book to be savored if only for its themes. In a sense, we are all Carl Strople, seeking to find our identities in a world trying to define and control us. Dekker powerfully captures a poignant theme and plays it out marvelously in his novel. Consider it once more, this time from the lips of Samuel Abraham:

“Once born into childlike faith, brimming with belief, typical people begin to lose their faith. Society mocks them. Their friends smirk. They come to change the world, but over time the world changes them. Soon they forget who they were; they forget the faith they once had. Then one day someone tells them the truth, but they don’t want to go back, because they’re comfortable in their new skin. Being a stranger in this world is never easy.”

Saint continues the Paradise Trilogy some twelve years after the events of Showdown. The monastery has been disbanded. The kids have been placed into families. The books are gone. But four of the kids—Billy, Darcy, Johnny, and Samuel—have been forever changed. Saint’s weakness is its attempt to both integrate itself into the events of Showdown while remaining a standalone novel. In attempting to straddle the fence and offer both, Dekker falls a bit short on either side. To have no knowledge of Showdown is to be completely lost amid the book’s primary and most important plot twist. Yet, in the attempt to be a standalone, Saint doesn’t offer enough on the dozen years following Showdown. Many questions remain vague or unanswered. Dekker has to really work to make the novel a Paradise novel. In some ways, I get it. As an author, you don’t want the barrier to entry be “Read these ten novels or else you can’t understand the eleventh,” but at the same time, you either have to go all-in on your world-building or not.

With a few exceptions, the connections to Showdown seem written over an already-completed novel, as if Dekker took an established story and retrofitted it to be a Paradise novel. I don’t know if that was the case or not. Ironically, in a novel about struggling to find your true identity, Saint struggles to find its true identity. Dekker’s characterization lacks the depth one might expect of the second novel in a series that revisits established characters. Not enough work is done to show how the dozen years after Showdown has affected the citizens of Paradise. Even a main character, Johnny Drake, doesn’t seem like the same person he was in Showdown.

In the end, you’re left with the paradoxical thoughts that Saint is a better standalone novel than as anything that explains or furthers any story threads from the overarching Books of History Chronicles. But, read it without at least some knowledge the world it’s set in and some of the most impactful moments will fall flat. This could have been a great standalone story; this could have been a compelling BoHC novel. By attempting both, Saint moves from exceptional to just fine. It’s engaging and fun, and keeps the pages turning and the mind thinking—but as a follow-up to Showdown, it just doesn’t hit.

[Rachel E. Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read a Ted Dekker book in a few years, but this one was good. It was very fast paced, with lots of mystery and action. I know it can be read without reading the previous books, but I kind of wish I had read the book preceding this first. There was a lot of subtext I missed because I didn't. Carl/Johnny was a little confusing as he tried to figure out who he was, but that makes sense, since he was confused. The villain was good and a great foil to Johnny. (Even if he was a egotistical and I feel like I should have known who he was.) I enjoyed it, and now I kind of want to read more.

[Lindsay Duffy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book. Most of it was slow and boring. The last 6 chapters were great. I feel like most of the plot takes place there. But the other 38 chapters feel like one plot point drawn out.

[Lovely Day · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

Sooooooo BORING!!!

Plus almost not even connected the the first one at all!?!? Big disappointment!

[Amelia Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of Marvel-esque in some ways...think Captain America: The Winter Solider.
Super well written, and great plot twists!

[Anna Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

My first Dekker book.
Thank goodness I got it at a box sale for pennies.

I'm offended.

I'm offended at the over-use of pop culture references. Only a pitiful writer describes his characters as having 'Jude Law' hair and 'Robert DeNiro' smile. SERIOUSLY!?!? And there's no description, outside of that. And it wasn't just one 'Jude Law'. The author has a thing for Jude, apparently, from the multiple references.

I'm offended at the character portrayals. The only one honest is Englishman, in this stupid book. Kelly lies the ENTIRE book, but we're supposed to believe she's earnest in anything? David Abraham withholds truth, the president withholds truth... even the main character is holding his own truth hostage - something he would NEVER do, if the Spirit is actually residing within. And if he DID have the power specified (which is alluded to as coming from a Divine source)... the book suggests that the Divine couldn't bring anyone thru trauma intact. I take great offense at that.

I'm offended at the author's pitiful, almost non-definition of love. And this is supposedly written by a 'believer'. Peretti knows more. MacDowell has the answers you need. You likely know both, and could glean a bit more. But this is abysmal. It's churchianity, at it's finest, and I'm spewing it out of my mouth, with how lacking in heat or cold it is.

I'm offended that the Word isn't book enough, that he has to have a mystical, magical text found in the States (of all places) that gives prophecies. About Israel, of course, but that's really more as a nod to historical context. Honestly, the amount of prophecy unfolding, even as he was writing this drivel, was staggering, and NOBODY was watching it. The fictitious trumped Truth, and the Father is not impressed. What he COULD'VE been researching, watching, writing...!! And instead - this?!

I'm offended that Elohim isn't God enough, that mystical, magical statements from children are required to bring about supernatural powers. Don't mix my Creator in with that. It's abominable.

I'm offended that Dekker attributes the miracles of Samson and Elijah to the men, not the Creator. Likewise, the ENTIRE book, even thru the end, he writes that all 'powers' come from the people, not their master. Not only unBiblical, but heresy.

I'm offended that the author intimates that spiritual power cannot be manifested without physical change. Samuel never aging, Carl with his 'truth eyes'... I suppose this is because Elisha was bald, Samson had special hair, and Paul had a 'thorn in his side'? Preposterous - nothing could be further from the Truth. There is sown a spiritual body, and a physical body... and they are VASTLY different things. Again, a disregard (or even distortion!) of scripture.

I'm offended that the author suggests that demons can't be overpowered in any way by the power of God. Carl couldn't stop the car, turn the boulders away, etc... WHY NOT?! Is not your deity stronger than death and Hell, Dekker? Because mine is - and the only way Carl's wouldn't be is if he's not serving Yehovah Elohim. Which would make the book even *worse* heresy.

I'm offended at the shoddy writing. Only crap writers need six to seven names for their characters. As if Carl/Peter/Johnny/Elmer/Saint/etc. would be so much better fighting Englishman/Dale/Unman/etc? Try NOT insulting your readership.

I'm offended at the blatant rip-offs from TV and film. This isn't allegory, it isn't anything LIKE allegory, it's "I want to write like Ludlum and have heroes like the unbelievers do"... while sacrificing the integrity of Truth for bestsellers. Remember that bit about 'the first shall be last'? This is your celebrity. Shameful, that.

I'll be tossing this in the burn barrel. I would never pass such a thing on.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book starts out with this guy, Carl, waking up, no idea who he is or where he's at. He sees that he is in a room chained to a bed with his wife. A man walks in the room and gives Carl a challenge. Carl must assassinate two targets in one hour with only two bullets without killing any one else. He fails, the man kills him, his wife, and their son. This covers the first few chapters of the book, it ends up going crazygonuts. The thing about the plot is that you have to read Showdown before you read Saint. Yes, this is set in the Books of History universe, or the Dekkerverse as I like to call it.

The story starts out normal enough, but it gets to be extremely weird by the end. Not Eternal Sonata/ makes no sense weird, more like speculative fiction kind of weird. I personally didn't change the overall quality of the book, but I know that some people don't like it. Then again, if you've read Showdown, you can expect the same level of oddness in Saint.

Belief is the main theme of Saint, belief in God to be specific. I'm all for allegories, but not at the expense of the main character. Half the time Carl is an awesome action hero, but towards the end he becomes a whiny punk "that just wants to be a normal boy". I realize that Carl is confused by this point, but it doesn't make sense that an assassin that's specifically trained not to have any emotions suddenly becomes angsty. Plot convenience?

Dekker also introduces a great idea in the middle of the book where some one could plan exactly what some one was going to do on an emotional level. I suck at explaining it, but trust me, it's interesting. Unfortunately, Ted must not have liked the idea as much because it doesn't get mention again until the end of the book, and only then to say that it doesn't actually work. Oh well.

Ted writes in his usual style for Saint. If you haven't read any of his books before, that means a really straightforward third-person narrative. And of course it has the mandatory chapter from the antagonist's perspective. Also, Ted continues to write terrible, cheesy love scenes. The simplicity of the writing is actually beneficial for the action scenes. I can finally understand what awesome things are going on in these scenes (unlike in Snow Crash).


Which leads me to my next point, the action scenes, Saint's biggest achievement. The moments where Carl is a crazy action hero are great! Of course, as I've said before, these moments are countered when Carl is an enormous wimp. It's not so much that he's being a wimp, it's that his entire character is changed, just so Dekker can have his allegory.

Despite the bad things I've said about Saint, I don't regret reading it. The action scenes are insane, it's short enough to read in a weekend, and it continues Showdown, my favorite book ever. If you read Showdown and can borrow a copy from your library or a friend, then go for it. I'd hesitate to buy it, but it's still a fun ride.

[Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second book in Ted Dekker's Paradise Trilogy, Saint, included amazing literature but lacked in plot depth. The story begins with a man named Carl who cannot remember who or where he is. He is ordered to undertake a secret mission where he has one hour to infiltrate a hotel and assassinate two important guests. If he fails, his wife and son will die. When he returns from the mission, he finds that the mission was a sham; in reality, he has no family - he is training extensively to become an expert assassin. Throughout the book, he struggles through understanding his identity and finding the truth about his past while executing dangerous assassinations.
Saint is an excellent example of Dekker's outstanding writing. He often switches between third-person and first-person narrative to help the reader understand the characters in the story. One reason for his thrilling style of writing is his mastery of syntax. Often he writes in long sentences, but when things become intense, he tends to use shorter sentences that quicken the reader's heartbeat along with the characters. He also consistently ends his chapters with either a cryptic quote from a character or an unexpected action that is not resolved. These techniques leave the reader unable to stop reading and frantically trying to figure out what just happened.
I personally have read better books by Ted Dekker; this was not one of my favorites. The description of the three-star rating is simply, "I liked it." This emotion matches the rating of the book. Many of the characters - even the main characters - as well as many aspects of the plot lack severely in depth. This causes confusion and the inability to truly relate to the characters. Also, while Dekker includes some interesting plot twists, some of the scenes do not contribute to the plot and simply confuse the reader about what is going on. Still, his brilliant writing style and interesting storyline give the story some credibility as a Ted Dekker book. Overall, this book had an average plot, but is a must-read for anyone who is a fast-paced thrill-seeker.

[Glenn Koerner · Rating 2 out of 5]

From a purely sci-fi point of view, this story was good. It kept my interest with a multitude plot of twists throughout. From a Christian perspective, I thought the book fell short of its potential.

In a discussion about the possibility of the main character Carl/Johnny having his abilities linked to belief, it's never told what he's believing in, just belief in general. Without something connected to it, belief is a string tied to a balloon that isn't there. It has to be linked to something or it's an empty word without meaning or substance.

In a second conversation, it's explained his powers don't come from belief, but from love. The reason he lost his powers was because he didn't feel that an assassin could be loved. At this point, I was waiting for some mention of God sending Jesus here to save mankind by the sacrifice of His own life, but it was never mentioned. Carl/Johnny links his love to Kelly and her devotion to him, and God is only mentioned in a few stray lines of dialog.

In a comment about Carl/Johnny going blind, it was compared to Samson losing his sight as the cost of his power. However, in the Bible, it wasn't Samson's power that cost him his sight, it was when he told the secret of his strength and was robbed of his power that he lost his eyes. If he had kept his mouth shut, he would've kept his power and sight to the end of his days. A slight discrepancy.

The death of David Abraham felt pointless. Sometimes the death of an innocent can spur the hero to bring down the villain, but this didn't change anything. As far as I could tell, it served no purpose.

An action packed story with a pretzeled storyline to keep readers guessing, I would recommend it to those who like supernatural sci-fi and are not concerned or distraught by the death of supporting characters, but if anyone is reading for the Christian aspect, pass.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Saint, Carl Strople struggles to find his identity as an assassin. He is not certain about who he is, but his number one goal in life is to find the truth. Since he could remember, all he has been taught is how to kill as a part of an organization called the X Group. His training takes place deep inside Hungary and he spends long periods of time pushing beyond his physical limits in order to be the very best sniper known to man. This story takes Dekker's readers from Hungary to the streets of New York City. Once assigned on a mission there to kill the president of the United Sates, things take an unexpected twist.

For me, Saint left me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading the book. It is filled with unique characters and heinous antagonists. I really loved the excitement, the mystery, and the adventurous tone Ted Dekker used while writing this novel. His descriptive, yet easy to understand style of writing may be one of the key elements in drawing his audiences in. I would definitely recommend this book out there to anyone who loves Sci-Fi fantasy and anyone who is willing to use a little of their imagination.

[Aaron Chesnut · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Saint was a thriller keeping you hanging at the end of every chapter. Got to keep full focus. If you like to guess what's going to happen in the next chapter then this book is for you, because it will throw you for many loops. The main character Carl is a loving assassin that has no memory of his past but a powerful mind. His mind was said to have been more powerful before he was taken from his previous life. He has trained himself to have total control of his emotions. Until something triggers his memory and he loses his control. If you want to know more you will have to read it yourself and find out the full story.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great insights from Dekker:

Unless you embrace you alien status and step willingly into the role (Ephesians 2:8-10), you will fade into powerless obscurity – so it is with all the faithful.

Accepting your true identity means understanding that you are a stranger to this world. A freak, ostracized by the very people you want to help.

I don’t think you really care about anyone other than yourself. You’ve had to focus almost exclusively on yourself in order to survive. As a result, you don’t care about having the power to fight evil unless it threatens something you care deeply for.

[Deb Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young man is recruited for Black Ops. He is then given invasive procedures, so he will forget his identity and all that came before the X Group. He is given the name 'Saint" and exposed to the most brutal training a human can endure. Through all these efforts to erase his past fleeting memories start to reveal a more ominous reality. The love of a woman and unbroken loyalties to his past are all he needs for survival. From Hungary to New York this book is full of action, government cover-ups, and political intrigue. AWESOME book!

[Djtrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very exciting action packed book. It starts out with a man who is trapped in a room and doesn't know who he is. Throughout the book his memory slowly comes back and he realizes that he must kill or be killed along with the rest of the ones he loves. I would recommend this book to all readers who love mystery and action.

[Adrienne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read ALL of Ted Dekker books and this one just does NOT live up. It's good from the beginning, but kinda looses you 1/3 of the way through, and I was REALLY let down at the ending. It's a good story line, but just a let down.

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reseña en español completa

I really enjoyed, the message was GREAT but...

Great job Kelly! Because I didn't like you, I rate this book with 4.9 stars!

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started like gangbusters but then slowed down. Was still a pretty good read.

[Cheyenne Schoeman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Flawed theology and a snail-speed page-turner to boot.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still my favourite Dekker book. <3

[Chris Stapleton · Rating 3 out of 5]

less of a great read that "Paradise" but still good