Official Review: "Prophecy" by Justin Mackenzie

[Scott]

[The following official review of the book "Prophecy" was written by Fran.]

‘Prophecy’ appears to be a thriller which opens on the Iraqi/Syrian border with a team of US & Israeli marines on an information gathering mission tasked with identifying the route terrorists are using to smuggle supplies and reinforcements & to identify what supplies are being brought through. Among the members of the team is Chaplain Judd Kohen, included because of his language expertise and knowledge of Middle Eastern religions and cultures. Also part of the team is First Lieutenant, the auspiciously named, Immanuel Salvatore known to his team mates as Manny and described as that ‘rare breed, a born leader’, trusted and admired by his teammates but apparently ill at ease with his popularity.

Disaster quickly strikes and the mission comes under attack from hostile forces, suffers significant losses, is taken prisoner & fall into the power of terrorist leader Muhammad Abdullah Hussein, a sadistic and cruel torturer (how surprising!). Rather conveniently they manage to escape and return to the US. Manny & Judd subsequently begin to work as volunteers at a VA hospital assisting and counselling veterans and their families. Hugely dedicated and successful at this work both are highly praised and admired but obsessively modest about their achievements.
Meanwhile, Christina Richardson a journalist trying to get to interview Manny about his Iraqi adventures recruits Judd to help overcome Manny’s reluctance to be interviewed. Judd, of course, immediately falls in love with Christina who has her own issues coming to terms with the death of her beloved father in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Manny’s ‘too good to be true’ reputation coupled with his stubborn vagueness about his past leads Christina to set in motion an investigation into his past & for some reason his parentage (now where did I come across that before?).

Following on from a series of, to put it mildly, highly implausible events Manny ends up as President of the US, top man at the UN and all round leader of the entire world while at the same time both Christina and Judd become convinced that he is the Anti Christ foretold in the Book of Revelations, the only evidence for which hinges on a fairly liberal and convenient interpretation of a handful of vague, obscure prophecies.

All in all Prophecy is a shallow and unsatisfactory read. The characters are superficial and we are expected to believe in them based on the word of the author rather than any evidence, I’m reminded of the old editorial adage ‘don’t tell me, show me’! I really did not find any of them plausible & honestly didn’t altogether care what happened to them. There are some downright silly incidences in the book .... for example, is it likely a journalist would have tea with the US President and his parents and then be allowed walk out of the White House with three teacups in her bag so she can go tracing DNA?

Prophecy is also littered with hyperbole, ‘Like weapons forged a thousand years ago, their bond had been strengthened and fortified by the blistering fires and beating hammers of combat’ and in relation to one of the terrorists, ‘It was as if I was looking directly into his soul’ and ‘Coincidences are God’s way of remaining anonymous’. Well really? Also there is way too much repetition, I don’t know how many times the phrase ‘memories washed over’ or variations of it are used but way too many for my enjoyment. The ending is so obvious and predictable it’s bordering on slapstick.

In conclusion, Prophecy is a lightweight, predictable read but I will give it a 2 rating on the basis that it would serve to pass the time during a flight delay without taxing the brain too heavily but I definitely would not pay baggage charges to bring it on holiday.

[The above review was written by Fran. She gives the book a rating of 2 out of 4. Please use this topic to comment on the review and discuss the book "Prophecy" by Justin Mackenzie. You can buy "Prophecy" using the following links: paperback via Amazon, Kindle edition via Amazon, Paperback via Barnes and Noble.]

[feyindie60]

Wow! I just read the book based on your review. I won't buy this book because it can be boiled down this easily. But that's what reading is all about. Thanks for the review, I'll save my money.