Review of Ted Dekker's Novel Saint

Title: Saint
Author: Ted Dekker
Publisher: Westbow Press, Nashville
Copyright: 2006
Pages: 347
ISBN: 1-59554-006-7
Genre: Christian suspense

Carl Strople awakes to find himself bound to a bed, with his wife crying beside him. At least, he thinks she's his wife. He can't really remember who he is, how he got here, or why these people want him. Yet they demand that if he wants to save his wife's life, he will kill Joseph and Mary Fabin. It doesn't matter who they are or what they've done. His only concern must be to kill them both. But Joseph Fabin seems to be expecting Carl. Joseph tells him that he's not really Carl at all. Of course, Carl can't remember exactly who he is anyway, but he remembers the woman on the bed. Kelly. He knows he loves Kelly. He must make a choice.

With all the plot twists and mistaken identities of the popular Bourne movies, Saint maintains a fast pace from cover to cover. Yet the complexity of Dekker's characters far outstrips anything I've seen in Hollywood movies. Dekker doesn't dismiss the spiritual aspect of his characters' lives. Carl is more than a man with a lost identity. He's a soul who must make choices between good and evil. True to the theme that has run through Dekker's recent novels, the plot of Saint hinges on the battle between good and evil. And good's greatest weapon against evil is the truth.

In Saint, Dekker uses Carl's growing awareness of himself and his background to delve into the theme of good and evil. Carl struggles to determine what defines both good and evil and to remember what he once believed. Although the average reader lives a life far different from Carl's, his essential dilemmas might sound familiar. Who am I? Who do I trust? How do I know good and evil? Do I believe?

Do I believe? Do I really believe? I suspect that many people of faith ask themselves this question during times of intense struggle. And unless we close our eyes to the reality of good and evil, we will certainly enter times of intense struggle. For this reason, Carl becomes a character very easy to identify with. True, the circumstances of his life sound a bit incredible, but then the supernatural usually is.

In May 2007, Dekker wrote about his "Naked Novels." After the release of his novels House, Saint,and Skin, Dekker observed, "It occurs to me that I tend to write Naked Novels. Meaning my characters are deeply flawed, struggling with real evil, living in worlds in which the darkness is dark and the light is anything but gray." ¹

Read Saint, and you will find Dekker's philosophy of good and evil portrayed in an engaging manner. If you believe his philosophy is true, you might even find Saint inspiring. Though Dekker writes fiction, he clearly believes that good and evil are real, and they will fight to the death. Explaining why he writes these "Naked Novels," Dekker said simply, "Why? Because it's the naked truth." ²

¹ Ted Dekker, "Get Naked and Save the World." Ted Dekker.
² Ibid.