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A review by steveatwaywords
The Oracle Year by Charles Soule
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
There's a lot that's just "thriller-level" fun along with Soule's too-long story of a man given the power of prophecy. Turns out, everyone wants a political piece of that action (no surprise) and, no surprise, the prophecies wreak their own kind of action on the endless chase scenes which follow.
Soule spends no real time on crafting anything but a page-turning story (true to his superhero action-comic background), and his lauded satire here is fairly predictable--no prophecy needed: what? a televangelist is more corrupt than pious? What? a US President is more self-serving to his own re-election than to the good of the country? Do go on! So, outside of a few clever scenes and strategizing about preserving celebrity anonymity in a digital world, the book seems designed (please please please, says its author) to be optioned for a television mini-series.
Now, it's clear I'm not a big fan of the read, but this is largely because it sprawls across hundreds of pages of similar action sequences and slower unwrapping of new revelations. The story is fun, absolutely. And it would have been real fun and even provocative at about 120 pages rather than 400. Yup, fairly culturally and gender-stereotyped, heroically under-dogged, and reservedly satirical, fun.
Soule spends no real time on crafting anything but a page-turning story (true to his superhero action-comic background), and his lauded satire here is fairly predictable--no prophecy needed: what? a televangelist is more corrupt than pious? What? a US President is more self-serving to his own re-election than to the good of the country? Do go on! So, outside of a few clever scenes and strategizing about preserving celebrity anonymity in a digital world, the book seems designed (please please please, says its author) to be optioned for a television mini-series.
Now, it's clear I'm not a big fan of the read, but this is largely because it sprawls across hundreds of pages of similar action sequences and slower unwrapping of new revelations. The story is fun, absolutely. And it would have been real fun and even provocative at about 120 pages rather than 400. Yup, fairly culturally and gender-stereotyped, heroically under-dogged, and reservedly satirical, fun.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Religious bigotry, Violence, Racism, Gun violence, Death, and War