The Kidnapping

Soul Catcher begins after David Marshall, the thirteen-year-old son of newly appointed United States Undersecretary of State Howard Marshall, has already been kidnapped. This fact is revealed through public statements, news stories, and notes from the kidnapper, Charles Hobuhet, a university student who is now referring to himself as Katsuk. Hobuhet-Katsuk says that he has taken David as a sacrifice for all of the Native-American innocents who have been murdered by whites. After this choppy beginning, the story then jumps back to the events preceding the kidnapping, including David's preparation for his trip to the Six Rivers Camp and Hobuhet-Katsuk's possession by Soul Catcher. Interspersed with these descriptions, more news stories and statements comment on the kidnapping, a technique that Herbert uses throughout the novel.

A Midnight Journey into the Forest

When Katsuk kidnaps David, he does it by tricking him into thinking that David is...