Customer Reviews

The Prophecy (Payne & Jones Series)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Pittsburgh multi-millionaire Jonathon Payne is a man of many talents. He is CEO of Payne Industries, a generous benefactor to deserving charities and a highly decorated former Special Forces officer. One snowy night, while Payne addresses a wealthy black-tie-and-formal-dress crowd at a charity event on the University of Pittsburgh campus, he catches the eye of a woman standing in the shadows near the back of the room. She is noticeably underdressed and seemingly out of place. Payne's instincts and years of military training warn him something is not quite right. At the conclusion of his speech, he seeks out the woman, who wanders off before he can talk to her.

Also attending the charity event is David Jones, Payne's best friend who grudgingly dresses up for the occasion. Jones is a scholar and an avid reader with a life-long thirst for history and knowledge. He is also a former Special Forces officer who served with Payne in an elite military group known as the MANIACs (Marines, Army, Navy, Intelligence, Air Force, and Coast Guard).

After Payne tells Jones about the mysterious woman, the men team up to find her and ask why she is at the event. Their hunt leads them outside the University's Cathedral of Learning into a blizzard. They track her across the snow-packed campus streets and then lead her to shelter in a campus chapel. She tells them an unlikely tale about why she has traveled from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh during a snowstorm and shows them a copy of a letter written in an ancient language. However, she is gunned down on a snowy sidewalk before they can verify her story.

With the woman's murder, Payne and Jones are drawn into a mysterious adventure that connects centuries-old predictions of Michel de Nostredame, the world-renowned prophet widely known as Nostradamus, with modern-day murder, suspense and deception.

THE PROPHECY is a creative thriller about an ancient coded message supposedly written by Nostradamus. Chris Kuzneski's latest novel includes murder, mystery and intrigue, along with a touch of romance. The suspense builds as the mystery unfolds, racing from Pennsylvania to Switzerland and Belgium, although the quick pace and reading enjoyment are slowed down by the overuse of "simply" and "simply put." The banter between Payne and Jones, while at times seeming to be forced, adds humor to the drama. THE PROPHECY is sure to keep fans of Kuzneski speed reading until the final page, and the cliffhanger ending promises more adventure, mystery and suspense to come.

--- Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt

Great book, it's a race to the end, and the reviews are much appreciated. They are dead on, but what is with the very last line in the book?
Isn't that the title of the book and what the book is to reveal? Did I miss something? Do I need to read the entire book again. I am trying to find a discussion group to see if I missed something entirely. I felt pretty ripped off by the last line of this book.

After reading the Lost Throne from Chris Kuzneski and being blown away, I was really looking forward to his next release!!!

I picked up The Prophecy in a local Tescos a few days after it was released in the UK, and from the first page to the last I was feeling all the same emotions I felt from The Lost Throne, and that's exactly what I was hoping for!

The best thing about all of Chris Kuzneski books are the main characters, Payne and Jones are a Right laugh but still know how to be serious enough to KICK A LOT OF ASS!! While reading this book its not hard to vision almost every scene as everything smoothly flows together which makes for a fantastic read, from walking in the streets to opening a door to a lavish Swiss bank! Chris really puts in the detail you need to know for your mind to make you feel as you are actually with the characters all through out the story!!

Chris Kuzneski books are just as thrilling as playing Call of Duty: Black Ops on the Xbox 360 or watching TV shows like the Unit and 24 only difference is your mind WILL make the experience even better because you are the director and producer of all these detailed scenes he so cleverly writes!!

This is a MUST READ!! And I can't wait for one of his books to be turned into a Major Motion Picture film!

First let me say that the main characters, Jonathan Payne and David Jones, are excellent creations. They are funny, likable, and represent the "good guys" in the battles against evil. This book has an interesting storyline but just when they track down the evil mastermind, the story raps up in about 10 pages! I was very disappointed in the ending. Chris's previous book, "The Lost Throne", was much better. It had a great story and a clear ending. I hear that his next book, "The Secret Crown", has a very good ending. I'm looking forward to that book coming out next year.

I rarely rate books and when I do it's for a positive review, however, this has to be one of the worse books I've ever tried to read. The first half of the book is mostly banter between characters (most of the characters, not just a few), and well I don't mind a little of it, it just seems to go on and on, it ends up monotonous and extremely boring - you end up skimming most of the book. Nothing really interesting happens until past the half way point, but by then you're so frustrated you develop a headache and end up losing interest. I enjoyed his book "The Plantation" and was looking forward to this one, boy was I disappointed. If banter between characters, making jokes (even ones in poor taste), and so-so action are your interest, go for it...otherwise skip it.

I've read Kuzneski's other books and LOVED them -- the adventure, the history, the mystery, so I was excited to read this latest from him. What a disappointment! I almost feel like someone else wrote this book. The first 200 or so pages could have been well edited down to 70 pages or so and would have been more like his prior books - fast paced, exciting, detailed, and fun. Instead it was a snoozefest until somewhere around page 300. Then it felt like authors were switched and Kuzneski was writing. The rest of the story was told in the exciting and interesting fashion that I am used to from the prior books. All said, though, I was pretty disappointed that it was SUCH a slow moving book until nearly finished. As for "finished"...that's not exactly a cliff hanger, Mr. Kuzneski, it's more like a cheap tactic to attempt to keep reader interest. Again, disappointing as far as story telling goes. I was up for a great story and instead I got boring-boring-boring-exciting-adventure-with-some-very-simple-mystery-and-full-stop when it could have used another chapter to actually continue what was beginning to be some decent storytelling. <sigh> Not sure I'll continue to read his work after this one. I feel manipulated by a writer more interested in selling books than being a great storyteller.

read this in two days. great author. i have read all his books. funny, action and just plain a good book. once you read this you will go back and read the rest.

I enjoyed this book and read it in a week.
The plot was interesting and the characters were
people you would like to know.

A little shorter than past books, same Payne & Jones characters, but very little additional depth development of the characters. It crossed my mind that Kuzneski sort of "phoned in" this installment to make his deadline. Good story line, but just seemed short and seemed to end fast even thought he told the story and wrapped things up cleanly at the end. I read all prior books, so I was comfortable with continuation, but there was a lot of assumptions about what the reader knew about the characters coming in.

This story was another breath of fresh air after slogging through The Whisperers by John Connolly. I had a similar experience with two other books recently. I read The Lost Throne and liked it pretty well and this one didn't disappoint. His writing style is very similar to mine and I appreciate that. He writes short chapters, keeps things humorous and simple and tells a rousing tale.

This time it's about Nostradamus. His two heroes Payne and Jones get drawn into a chase to find a letter from the seer that may predict an event or a great treasure. Of course, mayhem ensues. What is different from The Lost Throne is that the focus is definitely on Payne and Jones and not so much on other characters as was the case in The Lost Throne. I was able to put all my energy into them and it made for a better story.

The pace was brisk with plenty of action and not too much bogging down in details. I like that. Things happened. I know this type of story isn't for everyone but for me, it kept me glued to my seat and that is why I read in the first place.

He does have his quirks. Some of his humor is a bit over the top and he likes to head hop a lot but those things can be forgiven. Overall, he still tells a good story. Does he blaspheme Nostradamus? Who cares? He makes no judgment about whether the man was right or wrong. He just takes some facts and myths about the man and runs with them and created a good story. It's up to the reader to figure out what to believe.

If you want a fast-paced read, I highly recommend this one.