Customer Reviews

Prophets for the End of Time

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

 

 

This is one of the freshest novels I've read in ages. It's often laugh-out-loud funny, always charmingly written, with compelling characters and well-thought-out worldbuilding built on a firm foundation of religious teachings! I can't remember when I've had more fun reading a book.

It's not often that a book can combine a page-turning story with the kind of deeper insights usually found in "literary" works. This book about a very different Christian apocalypse does both, and it does it with humor, style, and entertaining pacing.

Who'll hate it? Born Agains who like their religion pure and literal, New Agers who want their guardian angels sweet and cuddly, and Fantasy Fans who need their fantasy universes filled with elves and hobbits. Who'll enjoy it? Readers who both laugh and think. Recommended.

Foret the garish cover (which is hardly visible here anyway, I guess), and forget that it is published by blood-and-guts Baen Books. This is an extaordinarily thoughtful work. If you were intrigued by the ethics in Mary Doria Russell's THE SPARROW, this is for you.

A breezy, funny, wise-cracking style that deftly hides some real social, theological, and cultural zings characterizes this first novel. Clayton Pinkes is an unlikely hero who has been selected to shepherd the Earth toward apocalypse. The plot is overseen by angels who are trying to force God out of hiding. Full of interesting characters and unexpected twists and turns, this novel was impossible to put down. Highly recommended!

Marcos Donnelly marks his entrance into the world of fantasy authorship with the same stylish panache that marked his short fiction career. In _Prophets For The End Of Time_ he combines a solid mastery of the history of theology with a deft understanding of current pop culture to produce a chewy, engaging page-turner. His characters, with the exception of a wooden, robotic bad guy, will become classics in the field.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and wait impatiently for his next.

This is the worst of fantasy writing. I wish it had remained in the fantasy world.