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schnaucl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
4.5
I really enjoyed this book. I really liked the dynamic between Rao and Adam and their dynamic with Hunter.
The idea of something that manifests your nostalgia is an intriguing one, as is the idea of someone who immediately knows if something is true. I can certainly see why intelligence agencies would want to control a person with such an ability. Frankly, I'm surprised they'd ever let him in the field given what a valuable resource he would be.
I did not see it's all a big Libertarian plot to weaponize nostalgia coming as the explanation, although the politics of it, and the reckless disregard for testing it on an unsuspecting populace, certainly tracks.
I feel a little ambivalent about the ending. I suppose given the government connections, they could officially undo Rao's death, although explaining it to his family would be more of a challenge. I also wonder if Rao being a recreation, even a perfect one, will start to cause problems down the line. I would think it would be difficult to not have imposter syndrome.
I think this is a standalone book but I'd definitely read more if they wanted to make it a series.
The idea of something that manifests your nostalgia is an intriguing one, as is the idea of someone who immediately knows if something is true. I can certainly see why intelligence agencies would want to control a person with such an ability. Frankly, I'm surprised they'd ever let him in the field given what a valuable resource he would be.
I feel a little ambivalent about the ending. I suppose given the government connections, they could officially undo Rao's death, although explaining it to his family would be more of a challenge. I also wonder if Rao being a recreation, even a perfect one, will start to cause problems down the line. I would think it would be difficult to not have imposter syndrome.
I think this is a standalone book but I'd definitely read more if they wanted to make it a series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Body horror, Drug abuse, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Vomit, Animal death, War, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Torture, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual content, and Racism
letopotato's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This is a spy-thriller, a sci-fi novel and a love story at the same time. It's incredibly odd, often a little all over the place, yet very entertaining. The dynamic between the chaotic Rao and the seemingly stoic Adam is typical and nothing new, but still kept me interested. The combination of the urge to get to know those two characters and their relationship better and wanting to find out what the hell is going on with those objects being created out of nowhere was absolutely perfect. There was enough time for the characters to breathe, but also enough urgency for the plot to continue. This is the first novel in a while where I didn't dislike the main characters – which is very refreshing. "Prophet" is definitely a recommendation from me!
My only point of criticism is that there are many unanswered questions at the end as to how Prophet actually worked or where it came from. It got a little too confusing, even considering the sci-fi aspect of this novel. In the end, it seemed to me like Prophet could do whatever was 'useful' or interesting in certain points of the story, and that this was more or less decided on a whim. The way Rao was handled at the end of the novel seemed a little disconnected from the abilities of Prophet before.
My only point of criticism is that there are many unanswered questions at the end as to how Prophet actually worked or where it came from. It got a little too confusing, even considering the sci-fi aspect of this novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Medical content, Child abuse, Blood, Murder, Death, and Gun violence
Minor: Sexual content, Torture, and Racism
horchata's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
By about 30% into the audiobook, I found myself looking forward to my commute because I wanted to know what was going to happen next to Adam and Rao; Adam’s childhood was morbidly intriguing to me, and I was eager to discover what was behind Rao’s self-destructive behavioral patterns. I ended up peeking at the beginning of a review to confirm the slow-burn vibes I was picking up on were actually there, and they were! But lordy, I wanted more from the book. I think for me the meat was missing right about the time when things needed to start mattering in the middle. We got to see a bunch of horrorterror manifestations of people getting caught in brain-melting, body-melding nostalgia loops, but the why of it all didn’t ever hit home for me the way I wished. I found myself wanting the authors to commit to the underbelly of whatever they were building; showing more of that chilling, ruthless intelligence and their plans to discard our characters like used tissues, or sinking into the idea of Prophet as some kind of mindless airborne nostalgia prion disease. Because it was kind of a dip of the fingers along the surface rather than a full plunge, I was checked out in the last quarter, and the ending felt (to me) rushed, for what it was. I almost wished we’d had a longer period of doubt, or a more sinister interpretation of Rao’s return, or a longer dwelling on Adam’s grief and how it was his undoing. The untouchable, unflappable stoicism from Rao’s getting completely subsumed by Prophet was a bit of a let down! I was really hoping to see Adam get cracked open by the tragedy a little. I think if you’re going to tease at a romance that apparently remakes reality, you might as well have both people in the relationship visibly go all-in. Also seeing a review here that this was just Arthur/Eames with the serial numbers filed off actually lessens my enjoyment of the book, lmao. It did read a little like it was written by someone who’d graduated from the fanfic mines, but in a sophisticated way rather than an “oh that explains it” way (although it does explain some of it a little I think). Anyway, I did finish it, and I could roll easily along with the premise, and the narrators of the audiobook enhanced my experience quite a bit. I wouldn’t ever re-read the book but I would request it at Yuletide.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Body horror, War, and Torture
maregred's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Moderate: Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Torture
Minor: Homophobia, Car accident, and War
joannalouise's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gore, Medical trauma, and Blood
Moderate: Self harm, War, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Suicidal thoughts
gorejoyous's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What if The X Files and Sherlock Holmes and Annihilation had a perfect, beautiful book baby? I have excellent news that this is no longer just a hypothesis, but fully realized in "Prophet" by Sin Blaché and Helen Macdonald.
I started this book on a late, crowded flight and was instantly immersed. I've never been able to so clearly visualize the world and characters from a novel before, both to my adoration and horror in the case of this story. Blaché and Macdonald are a killer duo in their descriptions of the characters' actions and inner workings, letting you really get under their skin.
It's so weird and gross and lovely and upon finishing it I'm absolutely devastated in the best way possible. Extremely excited to yell about this book to everyone I know and thrilled to add two stellar authors to my "read everything by them" list.
Biggest thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the digital ARC!
I started this book on a late, crowded flight and was instantly immersed. I've never been able to so clearly visualize the world and characters from a novel before, both to my adoration and horror in the case of this story. Blaché and Macdonald are a killer duo in their descriptions of the characters' actions and inner workings, letting you really get under their skin.
It's so weird and gross and lovely and upon finishing it I'm absolutely devastated in the best way possible. Extremely excited to yell about this book to everyone I know and thrilled to add two stellar authors to my "read everything by them" list.
Biggest thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the digital ARC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Addiction, Murder, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Torture
Minor: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, and Suicide attempt
cko's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
4.0
You know how some books feel like they are destined to be a movie? Or perhaps even should have been a movie, instead of a book? I kept craving to see this play out on screen rather than the page.
Some things I liked:
Some things I liked:
- Gay slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance!!!
- Bisexual representation!!!
- The descriptions of how Rao experiences truth as a physical sensation
- The horror aspects and metaphors about nostalgia
- The page-turning pacing in the first and last thirds of the book
Some things I didn't like:
- There were often long sequences of dialogue with no attributions. Not sure if it's because I read an ARC (thank you, S&S!) but I often had to reread the dialogue to figure out who was saying what because the back-and-forth didn't make sense; it often seemed like one person would speak twice in a row.
- There was also a slow part in the middle that dragged on a bit, and later I saw the reasoning for it, but I almost didn't pick the book back up again because of that slowness.
- A few of the characters did not feel real (like Rhodes, but maybe psychopaths just have that quality?)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
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