Customer Reviews

Dust to Dust (Prophecy)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you enjoy Heather Graham, this book may disappoint you. The story is a bit convoluted and the writing a bit uneven.

Graphic artist Scott Bryant and dog trainer Melanie Regan suddenly find themselves with "super" powers one day; Scott finds himself possessed of super strength and Melanie finds she can draw events that haven't happened yet even though she has shown no artistic skills before. They travel to Rome to seek a mysterious oracle.

In Rome, Scott and Melanie realize they will have to fight to save humanity from the apocalypse.

The book does move very slowly in parts. It seems to take a long time to get the point. While this is the first book in a series, I think the author could have moved things along faster in the beginning. If you hang in there though, the story does pick up and will hold your interest.

This is the first book in a series of four entitled The Prophecy. Each book will focus on one of the elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Hopefully the other books in the series will pick up the pace.

This is a story that immediately interested me as the action unfolded and the battle of good against evil began.

Scott Bryant is a normal guy who is out with a couple of buddies when an elederly couple is attacked by a gang. Scott and his friends decide to save the couple. In the heat of battle, the elderly man who was being beaten notices Scott and tells him that he, Scott is Capricorn. With that pronouncement, Scott felt a power come over him and he led the attack against the gang.

The reader witnesses Scott's trying to deal with his new strength. That night, he dreams of the Oracle and saw another, like himself, heading toward this Oracle. This Oracle was a saving place and there was a meaning that Scott couldn't yet, understand. There were also many skeletons that seemed to be evil and coming to life.

Melanie is also beginning to have talents and power she didn't know she had. She decides to take action against a gang robbing on a store owner and assaulting his young clerk. Suddenly Scott is by her side and they overcome the robbers and save the clerk.

Heather Graham has a talent for making things seem possible and there is something about the bravery of these characters that is refreshing and draws the readers to them. In today's world where many people don't want to become involved when trouble occurs, these characters make a choice to help others.

We are also aware of sinister forces that are forecast.

Told in a manner that reminded me of Stephen King's "The Stand," Scott and Melanie follow a spiritual summons to Rome to Sister Maria Elizabeth. This is reminiscent of the ancient but wise Mother Abigail who is the leader of the good survivors in "The Stand."

The elderly Sister Maria Elizabeth is a beacon to others and informs Scott and Milanie that when the others arrive, the battle for earth will begin.

Heather Graham's work is highly entertaining. Although the real action is slow to unfold, the characters are interesting and fully developed. The plot of "Dust to Dust" is clever and well developed.

This was so unreal as to be like a video game come to life as the hero and heroine battle against skeletons, vampires, and other undead, plus a demon out to destroy the earth. Based on the principle of earth, air, fire and water, which has been done to death at this point, the hero Scott is strength of the earth and does battle in the catacombs of Rome to save the planet and win the love of the lady dog trainer Melanie. The writing is simple, the plan for the series making the book comples with a whole bunch of walk on parts to set up for other books, and also revisit her old ones, which she gives us a loooong list of at the front of the book. What makes this novel even more tedious is the switch from first person narrative to 3rd person and back again, and how Scott's thoughts are so repetitive. The romance and love scenes fail to shine. This is an entertaining book if you like TV shows like Heroes or video game but it's a bit too childish for my tastes.

As a big Heather Graham fan, I sat down to read this book the instant the postman delivered this. I've read almost all of her books so far & I've only read one that I thought was terrible. It seems that this one is vying for that position, but is only marginally better than "Picture Me Dead".

The story surrounds Scott Bryant, a guy who helps an elderly couple & gains super strength & speed. Immediately after this the story jumps to Melanie, an animal trainer who suddenly gains the powers to draw pictures of future catastophes- and she's never before had the ability to draw. After a horrible earthquake, Scott & Melanie seem to keep running into each other until ultimately Scott discovers that he's one of several people destined to save the earth from armageddon & evil beings bent on the destruction of mankind.

The story's biggest flaw is that it takes so long for things to get started & several parts of the story just weren't fleshed out enough. We learn straight away that Melanie is a part of a group called 'The Alliance', which confused me at first. I was given no information about this group or what made it's members special, so at first I flipped through the first few pages wondering if I missed something. We're given more information later on of course, but it would have been nice if there had been a bit more information given earlier in the book. The group's purpose is tied into another part later on in the book, so I get the impression that it's supposed to be a bit of a surprise. (Sadly though, my reaction was more of a "oh, that's why" reaction rather than the surprise it's supposed to be.) What would have been the harm in building up the purpose of the group earlier in the novel?

I just wasn't really liking this as much as I've liked her previous books. I'll give the next book in the series a try, but offhand I think that I might have to give this series a pass. This book was just sorta blah for me. It was just so freaking slow plotwise that I couldn't really like the characters or empathise with them like I'd normally do with her books.

This was strange novel. There is sort of an acid-trippy, superhero hallucinogenic quality to the action. Bad guys pop out of nowhere. Demons torment the protags, and the hero is bland and generic. The romance is unsatifying and lacks depth.

I'm not partial to re-union books, and this is the first Graham book I've read in a while. So I had no clue that the half dozen secondary characters are since I read none of their books. If you have, maybe you will care who these people are and about their secrets. For me, I was bored and wanted more focus on the main characters, such as how Scott got super powers and what Melanie's deal was. Be forewarned that you will have to suffer through cameos from other boring characters and future protagonists before once again re-focusing on the love story. I don't know why authors feel you want to read about so many "happily marrieds" or characters from previous novels. I find this practice tiresome unless they do something different- such as have marital trouble. I get that they are happy and still around, but if they don't do anything other than imitate bobble-heads leave 'em out.

As 'end times' fiction goes, this is a bit weak. While the demons are creepy, the skeletons were almost comical and silly. The prophecy's 'anything goes' sterile political correctness made it lack punch. You've got nuns. You've got demons and end times stuff, and yet the author dances around the religion issue. The tepid approach and the 'anything goes' philosophy of the protagonists made the approach weak rather than inclusive.

Lastly, I am not sure how I feel about Scott. On one hand I applaud his beta-ness... But on the other I think in the efforts to make the guy a 'normal joe' he was a bit boring. His descriptions as 'looking like a cavalier and king Charles' was kind of weird. does the author realize how unhot Charles looks? I would have ramped up his hotness and skipped the comparison to a famous unhot dude. Every time I think of Scott I get this image of this guy in a bad wig with red lips. Distinctly not hot.

I did like several things though. I liked how Melanie and her friends excluded Scott, and how Scott had to struggle to figure out their secrets. This was well done and unusual in books. Usually the male lead has all the answers. I also liked how Mel's secret was revealed. I also liked that Mel was who she was, and not the male character. The role reversal was welcome.

I can't really recommend this. It's too cartoonish and odd.... But there was something that hooked me in the middle for a while. 1 star.

I really wanted to like this book. I liked the cover and while I have not read any Heather Graham books before, I have heard from a lot of my reading buddies that she is talented. So when "Dust to Dust" was available, I grabbed it like I do a good cup of Starbucks Coffee. Unfortunately, while Starbucks keeps me coming back, I struggled and didn't want to return to reading this. There was a great deal of potential....looming gloom and doom, with a little love thrown in for good measure, a clear sense of good and evil, right and wrong, but......there was a lingering feeling of discontent as well. Simply stated, Scott Bryant has some supernatural strength and some powers that he uses for good. He meets the very alluring Melanie Reagan, a dog lover, who seems to have equally beneficial powers. And wouldn't you know it, it appears that the end of the world is near. Could this be the apocalypse. There are all kinds of signs and these two, with some handy friends hope to find the answers to some very strange questions. But the more I tried to get to the end of the book, the more I realized that I just couldn't do it because this book was difficult for me to read. So while trying to decide what to rate it, I even went to see "2012" to see if it would inspire me. Ummmm....it didn't. So with that being said, I give this book a 2 because there was a lot of potential, but I wouldn't say that I ever became invested in the story.

I have made four runs at this book, but have still not been able to make it more than about half way. I liked the premise, the author is well known and even that cover art is rather cool, but unfortunately, this book just didn't do it for me. I rarely set aside a book unfinished, but this is one of the few.

The book has a lot of potential. It is a clearly a "heroes against the end of the world" piece. It tries to incorporate mysticism, pseudo-religious references (although no real symbolism) and good spooky stuff. I like all of this, but, unfortunately, I didn't like the book.

I have spent a lot of time trying to figure this out. Here's what I know: the story is plot driven and the plot carries the characters along. Although this is not my favorite type of writing, it is sometimes fun. The problem is that the events that are carrying the characters along seem contrived and the character's reactions to them artificial. In other words, although I don't feel like I know these people very well, I can't imagine anyone reacting they way they do.

When the characters interact, the interaction itself doesn't ring true, it seems, somehow stilted. Character dialogue is limited, and the author relies on a lot of explanation to describe things that might have been done better in dialogue. I keep trying to avoid saying its not well written because- who am I to say such a thing?

If someone is a real fan of the author, they may like the style of writing, and I certainly wouldn't discourage them from a fun weekend of escapism. For me, however, this book was a chore and in the end, I decided it was a chore I did not want to complete.

Up front, I recommend taking this review with a grain of salt.

Dust to Dust follows the mysterious Alliance as they attempt to ward off the end of the world, as foretold by Mayan prophecy, as thats the doomsday du jour. And some supernatural abilities and astrology driven powers to taste.

I'm not entirely sure why I didn't enjoy this book more. It has decent characters, a good plot setup despite feeling like the fortieth book hashing this plot idea, but there was something crucial lacking. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be part of a larger world, but it initially felt like I'd missed the first few chapters of the book. Also, there was something very rushed and glossed over, especially at the outset, when an earthquake rocks california and the event happens over the course of a page and a half. And while these aren't show stoppers, there was something just off putting in this title that made it a chore to continue.

I really enjoy Heather Graham's writing style and usually feel like I step right into another realm when I open one of her books. Not here. This book is kind of a mess. I know there was a beginning, a middle and an end, but there are so many dream sequences in between that the whole thing is just mush. This book was very confusing from the start. The main characters are pretty two-dimensional, too. They can hardly support the convoluted plot, which requires them to save the world. There is a group of people, "the Alliance," with magical abilities who seem exempt from real life - few job demands, meeting up in dreams, unexplainably best friends. There are so many dream sequences, too, that it's easy to get really lost - and really bored. I really like this author (e.g. see her Flynn Brothers trilogy Deadly Harvest (The Flynn Brothers Trilogy), but I would not recommend this book.

I wish we were given the option of giving half stars because this is a 3.5 star book for me. I love end of the world books and looked forward to reading this one. At first I was loving it but after a while it seemed to lose its fizz for me. That's why it's so hard to rate it. That's not to say it isn't a good beginning because it is.

Scott and his friends encounter an elderly couple being attacked and jump to their defense. When Scott sees the man knocked to the ground, he goes to him to try to comfort him, not knowing it will be a life changing moment for him. The elderly man calls him Capricorn and tells him he is one of the earth elements who will stop the Apocalypse. He further instructs him to find the others who are in this with him. A strange light leaves the man's eyes and enters into Scott's. It felt like an electrical shock to Scott and he is suddenly in possession of a great strength. He is able to help his friends end the fight and almost single handedly defeats the attackers. We are then introduced to Melanie and her friends who are a part of a group of people who call themselves the Alliance. Her life collides with Scott's and they realize they are both earth elements and need to find the third one as well as find the Oracle. Just as Scott is given the power of strength, Melanie suddenly finds herself to be a great artist who draws detailed pictures of events that are going to happen. She isn't even aware that she is drawing most of the time but learns to pay attention to what the pictures depict.

This book has demons, good vampires, bad vampires, and supernatural happenings that you don't often associate with the end of the world. Since I love all the monsters of horror, this was my cuppa tea. I'm sure as the series progresses we will learn more about all of the characters and Alliance and what is coming.