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Saint Click title to read excerpt or buy from CBD.com By Ted Dekker / Westbow Reviewed by Karri Compton Dekker delivers a knockout hit with his new mind-blowing tale, Saint. Welcome to the world of Carl Strople, also known as Saint. A first rate assassin, he trains to efficiently kill. He has endured memory wipes, identity stripping, and grueling tests that push his body and mind to the limit. But then doubts slink unbidden into Carl's mind and he wonders who he really is. He doubts the reality that has been drummed into his brain as a black ops sniper. Can he survive the truth? As is true of any other Dekker book, little can be told without revealing an interesting plot point. No spoilers here. Just know that you will be taken on a ride that slams you one way, then another until you relinquish your preconceived notions and succumb to the story. And it's not only Carl's story, it's ours. Story is what Dekker does best. This one will not disappoint. In fact, those who have read Showdown will be jazzed to see the many correlations to Saint. And in the midst of it all, Dekker weaves in a parallel to life that will stalk you until you deal with it. Prepare for your brain to be rocked, your emotions to be squeezed, and your soul to be stirred. This comes most highly recommended. It is hands down the best novel I read in 2006. Dekker admittedly pushes the envelope with every new novel, but I disagree with those who say his works are too violent or over the top. He deftly deals with weighty themes in original ways. Saint is a must-read.

About Karri Compton View this review and more at: www.kcreviews.blogspot.com

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Saint By Ted Dekker Reviewed by Kevin Lucia An astounding, cracking good read founded on the Biblical truths of love, grace, and redemption. Carl Strople is many things. He’s a highly trained assassin, schooled in dozens of the most deadly martial arts. He has endured unbelievable feats of physical endurance and has mastered complete emotional control. He is rated in just about every weapon imaginable, and is the proud product of the most advanced chemical and emotional conditioning known to man. As a sniper, he can hit a target from an impossible 2,000 feat away; as a strategist his execution is flawless. As training progresses for his greatest mission ever - the assassination of the president of the United States - he shows just the barest hints of latent telekinetic abilities, as well. His memories broken down and built back up many times over, Carl Strople doesn’t know much about himself, but what he does know, he feels is truth, unreservedly: He is a survivor. He is utterly dependent on his handler, Kelly - a mysterious, beautiful woman he feels he loves but doesn’t understand why. He is destined for greatness. He is a killer. However, when he fails to kill Robert Stenton, the president of the United States, Carl’s rock-sure certainty falters. The fabric of his reality tears apart as strange, alien feelings well up past his emotional control. When he encounters a man claiming to be the president’s spiritual advisor, he hears two things forever changing who he thinks he was, is, and was meant to be. Remember Project Showdown. As a nefarious voice from the past would say, “game on, time to trip on some grace juice, baby.” Ted Dekker’s narrative style and prose continues to become seasoned and deft, placing him among the premier suspense novelists today. Not to discount his other fine works, but Saint feels heavier, more substantial, making Dekker worthy of being mentioned in the same name as Grisham, King, and Koontz. There is a maturity in the narrative voice speaking of a writer in his prime. The first half of the novel is jumbled and confused on purpose, giving us a front row seat to Carl’s mental maze. This is a nifty genre twist for Dekker; Saint reads like The Bourne Identity, (Robert Ludlum), meets The Matrix, meets Mr. Murder (Dean Koontz). Dekker also continues to build a new Christian mythology reaching past just one novel, combining many of his works into a far-reaching story arc that is yet to be revealed. Marsuvees Black is obviously not done stirring up evil, even if it is from beyond the grave. And of course, Dekker continually perfects the genre of “faith fiction”: an astounding, cracking good read founded on the Biblical truths of love, grace, and redemption.

About Kevin Lucia .