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Book Review of Cathedral

Cathedral
Cathedral
Author: Nelson DeMille
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
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A small faction of the IRA takes over St. Patrick's cathedral in NYC on St. Patrick's Day and threatens to blow it up along with the Cardinal and three other hostages. About halfway through the book, the major characters are finally fully limned. The action takes place over about 12 hours. After the first few chapters setting up the characters and scenario, the buildup to the last five or ten minutes when the final confrontation takes place is detailed and suspenseful. Those final 5-10 of the storyline, however, are total chaos, not just plotwise but narrativewise -- understandable in this kind of situation but something that cannot be forgiven by the reader. I had the choice of slowing down my reading pace so I could keep track of what was happening or maintaining the rhythm at the risk of losing detail. I'd say it's an above-average thriller, with DeMille still waiting to fulfill his potential.