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A review by iamdwg
Het heiligdom by Ted Dekker
4.0
I’m no stranger to Ted Dekker’s work. I’ve read so many of his books, beginning with House, his collaboration with Frank Paretti. I also know the man is a pseudo-Christian writer. What I mean by that is, Christian, but more metaphorical and tasteful than in-your-face. I’ve read at least 15 of his books, but it’s probably closer to 17. He has a way with words and can create a world that any form of audience can love and get engrossed in. His books are also considered inspirational fiction, and I agree. It’s just that the rest of the books are usually so well written, and have really serious themes…it’s hard to explain – just pick up one of his books.
The Sanctuary, of course, is the sequel to his book The Priest’s Graveyard, following what has come of our dark religious avenger. To recap you all on the previous story, Danny is a priest that went Dexter and basically murdered sinners. He ran into a woman he grew to love, Renee, and in the end she ended up commiting a crime that Danny takes the blame for – which resulted in him being sent to prison for 50 years – which brings us to the plot of The Sanctuary.
Basically, Danny is transferred to a cross-shaped, revolutionary prison that focuses on rehabilitation, the right way. So many convicts return to prison because they are released as even hardened criminals than before. This prison, or sanctuary vows to change that the right way, but the problem is the warden is power-hungry and thinks he’s god, smiting those who disobey his orders. Meanwhile, Renee fights to find a way to break him out, as she is being controlled by a man that vows to kill Danny.
The first thing I want to mention is about the rehabilitation. I know where Dekker got that. Being a criminal justice major, I had plenty of tests on the same subject. A good percentage of convicts that are released from prison end up going back soon after. That is an absolute 100% fact, and I’m glad they went into that for the story, and it was interesting to see Dekker’s take on all of that. Now Dekker writes a lot of paranormal and fantasy work as well, but they all tend to be based around thriller and suspense. This one, like its predecessor, was all based on reality – although it is obviously very religious themed.
I’ve read plenty of his book where it’s hard to even see the religious tones of the book, I also know he writes in-your-face religious stuff too, but not as often. This is somewhere in between. Our main character is a priest, and the prison is shaped like a cross, and there’s a lot of talk about God and whether God is loving or punishing – so it’s fair to say that religion is pretty important in this story, but the way that it is presented is pretty satisfactory. Like I said, Dekker just knows how to write a book; tell a story.
Overall, we have a pretty decent book, but you’re forced to compare it to the first book, and it just isn’t as good. There’s so many amazing themes in there about love, sacrifice, honor, promises, etc. etc., but theme-heavy books don’t automatically mean perfection. I liked it fine, I thought it’s an easy read with plenty of great characters, but in the end it just didn’t measure up to the first book or many of his others.
Cool story, though.
The Sanctuary, of course, is the sequel to his book The Priest’s Graveyard, following what has come of our dark religious avenger. To recap you all on the previous story, Danny is a priest that went Dexter and basically murdered sinners. He ran into a woman he grew to love, Renee, and in the end she ended up commiting a crime that Danny takes the blame for – which resulted in him being sent to prison for 50 years – which brings us to the plot of The Sanctuary.
Basically, Danny is transferred to a cross-shaped, revolutionary prison that focuses on rehabilitation, the right way. So many convicts return to prison because they are released as even hardened criminals than before. This prison, or sanctuary vows to change that the right way, but the problem is the warden is power-hungry and thinks he’s god, smiting those who disobey his orders. Meanwhile, Renee fights to find a way to break him out, as she is being controlled by a man that vows to kill Danny.
The first thing I want to mention is about the rehabilitation. I know where Dekker got that. Being a criminal justice major, I had plenty of tests on the same subject. A good percentage of convicts that are released from prison end up going back soon after. That is an absolute 100% fact, and I’m glad they went into that for the story, and it was interesting to see Dekker’s take on all of that. Now Dekker writes a lot of paranormal and fantasy work as well, but they all tend to be based around thriller and suspense. This one, like its predecessor, was all based on reality – although it is obviously very religious themed.
I’ve read plenty of his book where it’s hard to even see the religious tones of the book, I also know he writes in-your-face religious stuff too, but not as often. This is somewhere in between. Our main character is a priest, and the prison is shaped like a cross, and there’s a lot of talk about God and whether God is loving or punishing – so it’s fair to say that religion is pretty important in this story, but the way that it is presented is pretty satisfactory. Like I said, Dekker just knows how to write a book; tell a story.
Overall, we have a pretty decent book, but you’re forced to compare it to the first book, and it just isn’t as good. There’s so many amazing themes in there about love, sacrifice, honor, promises, etc. etc., but theme-heavy books don’t automatically mean perfection. I liked it fine, I thought it’s an easy read with plenty of great characters, but in the end it just didn’t measure up to the first book or many of his others.
Cool story, though.