Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
I loved it! I found myself reading it on my phone while walking down the street even. The banter was great, the writing was great, the pacing was ok. A weird little book for people who like spy novels, want sci fi with great characters, but not full on in space with aliens.
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Physical abuse, War
dark
tense
fast-paced
I can't believe the Helen MacDonald who co-authored this book is the same Helen MacDonald that wrote H is for Hawk! Prophet is a fast-paced sci-fi/horror thriller which is hard to put down. The premise is pretty original - a substance has been discovered than when inhaled/ingested (etc) by a human makes them nostalgic, but the impact on humans changes over time until a human infected with this substance starts making actual objects from their past. Needless to say, death and mayhem result, and the book builds to an exciting climax.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Missed potential, but all in all a satisfactory read.
The book is advertised as a genre-bending SciFi read, which I can confirm.
The plot follows two protagonists, who try to uncover the mystery behind randomly appearing "nostalgic" objects, that hold great significance and risk for certain people and mankind itself.
To tell more about this could be considered a spoiler.
The plotline and characters feel well-written but also very familiar, as we've seen the themes and tropes in other stories, such as the movie "Lucy", "Transcendence", X-files and also elements of Twin Peaks and MIB.
What I really enjoyed were the sprinkles of "new-weird" - metaphorical and very picturesque storytelling, which reminded me of a watered-down version of van der Meers works.
Also, the two protagonists seem to be the only constant in a constantly changing surrounding. A stylistic device to let the reader sympathize with the protagonists as the only known constant - a feeling similar to the sympathization with the couple in natural born killers.
A warning for readers who like to be very logical about plotlines and who like tied up loose ends. Certain mechanics of the story are prone to a lot of plot holes and deus-ex-machina moments, also not everything will be explained by the end of the book.
All in all it's a solid page-turner. I'd give it a 3,5!
The book is advertised as a genre-bending SciFi read, which I can confirm.
The plot follows two protagonists, who try to uncover the mystery behind randomly appearing "nostalgic" objects, that hold great significance and risk for certain people and mankind itself.
To tell more about this could be considered a spoiler.
The plotline and characters feel well-written but also very familiar, as we've seen the themes and tropes in other stories, such as the movie "Lucy", "Transcendence", X-files and also elements of Twin Peaks and MIB.
What I really enjoyed were the sprinkles of "new-weird" - metaphorical and very picturesque storytelling, which reminded me of a watered-down version of van der Meers works.
Also, the two protagonists seem to be the only constant in a constantly changing surrounding. A stylistic device to let the reader sympathize with the protagonists as the only known constant - a feeling similar to the sympathization with the couple in natural born killers.
A warning for readers who like to be very logical about plotlines and who like tied up loose ends. Certain mechanics of the story are prone to a lot of plot holes and deus-ex-machina moments, also not everything will be explained by the end of the book.
All in all it's a solid page-turner. I'd give it a 3,5!
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m honestly not sure what to think of this book. It was a unique concept for sure, strong start, a middle that dwindled and an ending that went almost full cosmic horror and then completely devastated me in the best way. Pacing felt a bit off, sections of story I was wondering what the relevance was and am still not entirely sure, and some of the sci-fi elements just got confusing, and even after two or three re-reads of sections of text still left me none the wiser as to what was going on.
Where this book excels is the characters, specifically the leads Rao and Adam. Rao was entertaining on every single page, so layered and so much fun. Even within this setting he felt like a real person, and the slow development between him and Adam seemed to even put the poor pacing of the sci-fi elements.
Would I recommend this? Probably not to casual readers, but if you don’t mind stuff that’s a bit weird and cerebral you may get your kicks from this.
Where this book excels is the characters, specifically the leads Rao and Adam. Rao was entertaining on every single page, so layered and so much fun. Even within this setting he felt like a real person, and the slow development between him and Adam seemed to even put the poor pacing of the sci-fi elements.
Would I recommend this? Probably not to casual readers, but if you don’t mind stuff that’s a bit weird and cerebral you may get your kicks from this.
Was confused at the beginning, then intrigues, but or drags sooo much, and I kinda am not really curious what will happen next tbh.