Where do I even start?

Let's play Bad Writing Bingo.

We have a bunch of characters we know next to nothing about? Check!
Forced teenage romance? Check!
Dead parent? Check!
Evil badman dating live parent...whom wet know nothing about? Check!
Racial stereotypes? That's a big check.

So, yeah. I didn't like it. Muslims aren't Satanists. Teen romances where I know literally nothing about one of the characters involved aren't remotely interesting. What do I know about Ryan? His father died fighting terrorists, he gets beat down for standing up to a bully (whom we never see again) and doesn't like his mom's new boyfriend...thankfully the guy turns out to be evil so we don't need a moment of character development where Ryan across his father's death and his mother moving on. Nah. He's just EVIL.

I'd touch on the author having no clue about how old Islam is...but given the sheer stupidity of the entire storeys execution, that seems to be unnecessary.

This was, at base, a pathetic attempt to capitalize on anti-Muslim sentiment and (in that lone score) it succeeds.

I don't recommend it and I'm very disappointed as I usually enjoy Saul's work.

After 20 horror novels usually involving the supernatural and children, John Saul has managed not to rework old material, but write an engaging and contemporary tale for his fans. The Devil's Labyrinth refers to a tunnel complex under a Catholic boarding school, which is used as a short-cut and also for far more nefarious purposes. The story is full of malevolence and Saul captures the elements of ancient evil very well, crafting a plot which is quite unpredictable at times, twisting and turning until the very end. There are some glaring plot holes, and the novel will leave readers with some unanswered questions. Also don't expect reams of character development, or a volume full of originality, for the subjects in Labyrinth are common in horror fiction, yet Saul manages to keep it fresh and sustains your interest until the very end by adding elements not usually seen in the genre.

No quiero destripar la novela, pero me uno a todos los seguidores de John Saul que han quedado descontentos con el final. Habría sido TAN REMATADAMENTE FÁCIL tirar por otro lado (más obvio, pero menos vulgar). Al menos el audiolibro trae una entrevista con el autor bastante interesante.

Great buildup to the climax, but unfortunately everything after the climax - falling action, resolution (narrative structure) was rushed and practically ignored. In a practically 400-page novel, the climax takes place on page 388, just 4 pages before the end of the book. This is not enough time or space or effort to draw the story to a proper close, and while I enjoyed the exposition and rising action to the climax, the blatant lack of a proper wrap-up was an irredeemable disappointment.

Decent book that takes two settings and eventually merges them together. You go from narrative from one setting to the other and back before they flow together. Ending was a little dull, but last climax point was good. Overall good read.

Un thriller horror soft. Un fel de dark academia. Așa aș cataloga pe scurt povestea. Te ține acolo, acțiunea curge rapid, nu te pierzi în descrieri. Dar parcă aveam nevoie de ceva mai dur și, având în vedere că e considerată o carte horror, am zis că e cu noroc. Nu e rea, dar în niciun caz nu e dură. Adică nu mi-e frică să stau în întuneric acum, după ce am terminat-o.

Well it was better than a lot of John Saul books but that isn't saying much. Could have done without the Islamophobia, but otherwise at least the subject matter was good. Too confusing.

This book had a disapointing ending.

It was good, not five stars good, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be based on the one and two star reviews. My biggest beef is that I didn't feel like it all tied in together well enough. Either big parts were missing or some should have been taken out all together maybe. Not sure but this isn't his best.

I probably haven't read John Saul in over 30 years and after finishing this I see why!! His gore makes Stephen King sound like Mother Goose!! The only saving grace of this book was that it led me to reading more about the Spanish Inquistion.

If you like Ghost Stories or things about darker side of religion such as Satan's realm, you will like this book. It is a quick read and I found it entertaining enough to cut through the boredom of long layovers and airline flights. Of course you may have nightmares after reading it.

Another example of John Saul's talent as one of THE BEST horror writers.