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Title: Vatican: A Novel by Malachi Martin ISBN: 0-06-015478-0 Publisher: Harpercollins Pub. Date: 01 January, 1986 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (7 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Inside look at Rome
Comment: Malachi Martin often gets a bad rap from some Catholics who feel that his conspiratorial novels are in some way disrespectful to the Church, however I found this book incredibly informative and I actually felt that it made my faith even stronger. It's hard to know where the 'fiction' ends and reality begins, but this book is incredibly interesting and I'd recommend it. The little details about life in Rome and the way things work in the Vatican are fascinating. To continue a previous reviewer's work, I'll post a comparison of a few more real-life counterparts that relate to Martin's 'fictional' characters:
Fictional name = Real name:
Cardinal Rollinger = Cardinal Ratzinger
Archbishop LaSuisse = Abp. Lefebvre
Msgr. Sugnini = Msgr. Bugnini
Cardinal Levesque = Cardinal Lercaro
Rating: 4
Summary: More of a commentary than a novel
Comment: The late Dr. Malachi Martin has written, in "Vatican", a lengthy, well-sustained "novel" about the intrigues of the Holy See from 1945 until the mid 1980's. However, in many respects, this is not a work of fiction, legal disclaimers notwithstanding. These are real characters, given false names, but functioning much as they actually did in real life. Around this, is a cleverly woven plot of conspiricy, heresy and murder which is fictional (or at least conjectural in the mind of the author!)
It is clear where Martin's sympathies lay -- and they were not with the modern Church. However, as the book was written in the mid 80's, and Martin very obviously expected Pope John Paul II to die in that time frame, (and considering that Martin himself is now dead), it is impossible to conjecture whether or not he had a real person in mind for his novel's ending.
As a public service, here is a brief comparison between Martin's "fictional" characters, and their real-life counterparts:
Papa Eugenio Profumi -- Pope Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli)
Papa Angelica -- Pope John XXIII (Roncalli)
Papa DaBrescia -- Pope Paul VI (Montini)
Papa Serena -- Pope John Paul I (Albino Luciani)
Papa Bogdan Valeska -- Pope John Paul II
Paolo Lercano -- Michele Sindona
Roberto Gonella -- Roberto Calvi
Cardinal Buff of Westminster -- Cardinal Hume of Westminster
Metropolitan Nikodim -- Metropolitan Nikodim
Brother Reginald of Zaite -- Brother Roger of Tazie
Benjamin National Bank -- Franklin National Bank
"Problem Two" aka P2 -- Italian Masonic Lodge P2
And the list goes on. . .
All the "fictional" popes in the novel lived exactly as long as their counterparts in real life, died at just the right times (although Martin is colorful about who tried to kill whom when), and did many of the same things. Many of the "fictional" criminals did what their counterparts in real life were accused of doing, etc.
So yes, this is a good novel by itself -- but remember that Martin had an agenda in writing it -- and the agenda was not at all hidden.
Rating: 4
Summary: Vatican
Comment: This is one of those books that you either get very bored with or which you are totally captivated by. Being a book of over approximately a thousand pages, there may be those that say Malachai Martin has gone into too much detail in many areas, however I feel that with that detail comes a very full reading experience. Mr Martin has written a book that - like no other - captures the intricacies of Vatican politics at the highest levels in a way that is fully interesting. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a full, interesting and informative read. Is a shame that this book is out of print!
DV
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Title: Windswept House: A Vatican Novel by Malachi Martin ISBN: 0385492316 Publisher: Main Street Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 1998 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Final Conclave by Malachi Martin ISBN: 0671824848 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1978 List Price(USD): $2.50 |
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Title: JESUITS by Malachi Martin ISBN: 067165716X Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 February, 1988 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Contemporary Americans by Malachi Martin ISBN: 006065337X Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco Pub. Date: October, 1992 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Three Popes and the Cardinal by Malachi Martin ISBN: 0374276757 Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Pub. Date: 1972 List Price(USD): $7.95 |
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