Customer Reviews

Prophecy

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I started reading horror novels, I was guided to the common famous authors such as King, Dean, Barker, and Herbert. But I never dumbed the reality that there were also great authors who never got the chance to deserve what they should deserve. I believe Peter James is one of them. I only bought his novel Prophecy by coincidence. It was half-priced and I only took it because of that reason and never imagined I would be hooked from the first pages. At the same time, I was reading King's The shining, and couldn't put anyone of them down. I can say The Prophecy gave me a long time of thinking about its plot. It was uneque and the sequences of the events were perfectly tied together. It's about what you're going to do when you discover that your friends are dying one after one so starngely. What you're going to do when you discover it's your time. How you will face that fate.

I believe the author could successfully build a strong plot and a strong character in Franie, the heroine. He also succeeded in making the plot so convincing. Just forget about King, Dean and Barker for a little while and give this author a chance to amaze you with his writing skills.

Great build-up for Frannie, her boyfriend and his son - lots of really creepy, interesting coincidences, deaths, history, etc...I don't want to give anything away, but for a long time I was very creeped out by the boy Edward...an Omen type character. But, the ending fell really flat for me. All this build-up about the family history and a particular "bad guy" and I was expecting this particular character to make more of a showing so we could truly feel how creepy and bad he was. BUT...after 1 or 2 pages, it all ended. And it ended in a weird way. I'll seek out more of his novels because I really enjoyed the overall premise and the writing.

This is the first Peter James book that I've read, but it won't be the last. The writing itself was gripping. Though at times I felt the description of the characters went on a bit too long, I felt like I got all that I needed to see and understand them.

The plot for Prophecy at its core is simple, but woven in a way that is quite compelling. The prologue puts us far into the past, the epilogue well into the future. Between these two points is a story riddled with the most occasional of coincidences that when strung together give the appearance that nothing happens by chance.

The main character, Frannie, stumbles upon a man and his son. Even more random is how they are brought back together days later. Their love for each other is anything but happenstance and you feel them, throughout the pages, falling deeply then bracing from the abrupt and catastrophic coincidences that plague them. James has you wondering, "How is this going to end?" as characters come and go in a drastic slew of unexplained accidents. Only as we near the end does the reader realize that these occurrences are not only explained but in fact they are fulfilling a, "Prophecy."

Overall I am more than glad I bought this book. As I said before, it will not be the last James novel I read. As another reviewer mentioned, the ending was a bit quick. I got the feeling that an extra 5000 words would have helped the climax a lot. But by the time you get to the fizzle ending you're so vested you just NEED to know if the characters you've followed all these pages are going to be alright.

In a nutshell I would say this book is absolutely worth the read.

This was my introduction to Peter James novels. I thoroughly enjoyed this page turner and finished the book within 2 days...which is a first for me. I simply could not put it down.

An intriguing and gripping plot which begins in the past but is set in the present day (early '90's). The descriptions were spot on, making it easy to imagine both the settings and characters. Although set in London, we also venture into the tranquility of the English countryside, sleepy and idyllic which combined with the plot, makes the underlying horror somehow worse. Frannie the main character is likeable and realistic and I literally just didn't want to put the book down until I'd found out the ending...which didn't disappoint!