content: Perez-Reverte disappointed me in the nautical chart book. It was artsy--too many references to books and movies, as if his characters couldn't emerge out of their actions. That's not the case here. His priests are real. That's a lot tougher than creating real cops in this world. And so's his Vatican. Dibden's CABAL works the same vein, but the comparison is all in Perez-Reverte's favor. He's closer here to DEATH COMES FOR THE ARCHBISHOP than to CABAL. Cather gets the 5th star; that's the only reason THE SEVILLE COMMUNION doesn't.