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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
samanyana's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Addiction, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Death
teenytabris's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Body horror, Self harm, Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, and Gore
rhinthell's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
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
rinku's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.0
The most enjoyable thing about Prophet was its romance, and that’s probably not a good sign for a sci-fi book. The sci-fi elements introduced here were interesting, but the execution was just not that great.
The problem with the plot is that it was just a bit too confusing and that the pacing was off. The story centres around objects appearing out of nothing which is caused by a remedy called Prophet. It’s somehow connected to nostalgia and the main characters – Adam, a soldier, and Rao, an ordinary guy that can see the truth and is somehow connected to Prophet – have to figure what it is about and who’s behind it.
The beginning of the story was weird and intriguing what I enjoyed first but soon I was just confused because not everything is explained properly or even makes sense. The investigation sounded interesting, but they barely investigate anything, and I was not sure what the goal of their mission was. Additionally, the middle section was so slow because barely anything happens, and the characters only stay at one place. All in all, I think that the story had more potential that was sadly not utilized enough.
What I liked though was that the atmosphere throughout the novel is constantly kinda creepy. The body horror elements were interesting as well that especially played a role towards the ending. The final section of the book was quite unsettling, and it would’ve been great if the horror elements were more in the focus in the rest of the story as well. What I found a bit unnecessary about the ending though was Rao’s fake death .
Like I’ve said, what I enjoyed the most about Prophet was the dynamic between the two main characters Rao and Adam. I liked them both and for once, I was not annoyed by the banter but actually found it funny from time to time. We sadly have not many interesting characters besides them. Especially the female characters felt a bit flat, and it was annoying how one of them was always called a psycho. Rao and Adam sometimes felt a bit cliché too with one of them having a dark secret and the other one fulfilling the cliché of the promiscuous bisexual person.
I’m not sure if I would recommend Prophet or not. The book was just a bit too long with too many things that weren’t explained enough. I probably wouldn’t have finished it if it wasn’t for Adam and Rao. Maybe a book series about shorter sci-fi cases that they have to solve would be more fitting for them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Alcohol, Body horror, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, War, Animal death, Violence, and Addiction
Minor: Drug use, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Confinement, and Homophobia
paracosim's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.25
I was interested in this book the instant I saw the cover, and I’m very pleased to say that the contents lived up to the intrigue. If you like the game Disco Elysium, this is the book for you. It’s surreal, feels a bit dreamy in some areas, but the characters are well-grounded and will reel you back in when you begin to feel like the plot is getting a little too weird. (I reached out to the authors on Twitter and as it turns out, Sin Blaché has played and loves Disco Elysium LOL.)
I listened to the audiobook, and the narrators were fantastic. It actually took me a few chapters to realize the narrators were different people switching from POVs, because the voices they used for the characters sounded so similar. So it wasn’t jarring in the least. The plot was great, but there were a few parts that seemed a bit too convenient (or that made me want to shake the character’s shoulders to demand what the hell they were thinking). Overall, this was an extremely solid read and I think I’ll be buying a physical copy.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of the audiobook to review.
I listened to the audiobook, and the narrators were fantastic. It actually took me a few chapters to realize the narrators were different people switching from POVs, because the voices they used for the characters sounded so similar. So it wasn’t jarring in the least. The plot was great, but there were a few parts that seemed a bit too convenient (or that made me want to shake the character’s shoulders to demand what the hell they were thinking). Overall, this was an extremely solid read and I think I’ll be buying a physical copy.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of the audiobook to review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Mental illness
Moderate: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Homophobia and Animal death
swalk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A futuristic sci-fi thriller. Rao is an ex-MI6 agent, pulled out of prison to help with a special investigation. An American diner has appeared out of nowhere in a UK field, it is not the first item like this. No one knows where they came from or how they came to be here, but all have turned up near a US army base. Rao is tasked with helping solve the mystery and is placed under the observation of his ex army colleague Adam.
Rao is somehow able to tell the difference between what is true and what is not true. He doesn’t know how he knows, but this skillset makes him invaluable to all government agencies. Working together Rao and Adam must get to the heart of what is causing these strange items to appear and how.
*SPOILERS*
They soon discover there is private testing going on of drug called prophet, which causes the subject to think a nostalgic item of matter into being.
I felt like this was a really interesting premise, but a little disjointed in places. This could be because it’s quite a complex idea based in ‘physics’ and the characters themselves aren’t quite sure what’s going on, so it gets very confusing when the drugs become involved. I felt like a little more explanation between them being tailed and going to the lab could have happened, or at least some further explanation at the lab. It felt like it was assumed the reader knew certain things which we didn’t. I did appreciate the touches on string theory and things of that ilk though.
I thought the complex relationship between Rao and Adam was really well written and enjoyed the jump in timelines with both characters backstories, also that it was easy to assume that one characters backstory was in fact the others which added a nice twist. It gave the characters a lot more depth.
Most of the action happened in the last 15% of the book which was excellent, but I would have like a little more of the ‘weird stuff’ throughout. This book really has so much potential to be amazing. I felt like there was a flavour of Adrian Tchaikovsky in there at times, who I love.
Great narration, but unfortunately there were a lot of strange and obvious edits to the audio, which broke the flow of the book and made it hard to become immersed. It was clear that the recordings were with different equipment and/or different rooms and did not run together smoothly (It seems to resolve itself after the first 30%?) This has resulted in me deducting 1 *star from my rating as it impacted my enjoyment. I would suggest reviewing the first third of the recordings for inconsistencies.
Rao is somehow able to tell the difference between what is true and what is not true. He doesn’t know how he knows, but this skillset makes him invaluable to all government agencies. Working together Rao and Adam must get to the heart of what is causing these strange items to appear and how.
*SPOILERS*
They soon discover there is private testing going on of drug called prophet, which causes the subject to think a nostalgic item of matter into being.
I felt like this was a really interesting premise, but a little disjointed in places. This could be because it’s quite a complex idea based in ‘physics’ and the characters themselves aren’t quite sure what’s going on, so it gets very confusing when the drugs become involved. I felt like a little more explanation between them being tailed and going to the lab could have happened, or at least some further explanation at the lab. It felt like it was assumed the reader knew certain things which we didn’t. I did appreciate the touches on string theory and things of that ilk though.
I thought the complex relationship between Rao and Adam was really well written and enjoyed the jump in timelines with both characters backstories, also that it was easy to assume that one characters backstory was in fact the others which added a nice twist. It gave the characters a lot more depth.
Most of the action happened in the last 15% of the book which was excellent, but I would have like a little more of the ‘weird stuff’ throughout. This book really has so much potential to be amazing. I felt like there was a flavour of Adrian Tchaikovsky in there at times, who I love.
Great narration, but unfortunately there were a lot of strange and obvious edits to the audio, which broke the flow of the book and made it hard to become immersed. It was clear that the recordings were with different equipment and/or different rooms and did not run together smoothly (It seems to resolve itself after the first 30%?) This has resulted in me deducting 1 *star from my rating as it impacted my enjoyment. I would suggest reviewing the first third of the recordings for inconsistencies.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Body horror
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
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