Customer Reviews

The Prophet Motive

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Note: This review was originally published at Red Adept Reviews on June 23, 2011.

Overall: 5 stars

Plot/Storyline: 5 stars

Having devoured two earlier novels by Eric Christopherson, I knew he could crank out superb suspense thrillers, so I downloaded The Prophet Motive, expecting another good one. The Prophet Motive did not have quite the heart-pounding suspense of Frame-Up or the intense mystery of Crack-Up, but it was very close.

The story involved a cult called "Earthbound," which was one of those "save the earth" groups. The leader, L. Rob Piper, was known to his followers as "The Wizard," due to his apparently supernatural powers. After the suicide death of a former Earthbound member, San Francisco cop John Richetti and police psychologist Marilyn Michaelsen infiltrated the cult to find out what was going on.

The first couple of pages hooked me, as a good crime story should. From there, the suspense ratcheted up as Richetti and Michaelsen gradually learned about the cult and its operations, and built a criminal case against its leader. They were in danger of being found out, but the bigger danger was being brainwashed by the cult's very effective indoctrination and mind control methods.

The story had some fascinating enactments of the mind control techniques that many cults use to recruit members and gain their unconditional loyalty to the cult and its leader. In addition, The Wizard used neural implants to control members' behavior. Some of the neuro-technology sounded like science fiction, but I looked it up, and it's based on fact. Scary stuff, since it can be used for both good and evil purposes.

Characters: 5 stars

John Richetti and Marilyn Michaelsen were good characters. They weren't naturally attracted to each other, but the potential for romance was always there. Richetti and his parents had been members of Jim Jones' Peoples Temple, and the nightmare memories of that experience motivated Richetti to bring down The Wizard before another Jonestown-like mass suicide could occur.

L. Rob Piper, aka The Wizard, was - as many cult leaders are - highly charismatic, with powers that appeared to be supernatural. Richetti and Michaelson knew they would have to resist his Svengali-like attraction, or their undercover mission was doomed to fail. Piper invoked memories of the infamous Jim Jones, but he had developed advanced mind control techniques that Jones could only dream of.

Writing style: 5 stars

The author knows how to write a fast-paced, suspenseful crime drama. Richetti and Michaelson were always on the verge of being exposed as cops, but their steady nerves held, even after it became clear that The Wizard was more than just an environmental zealot, and that he would stop at nothing to preserve his kingdom.

The vivid flashbacks of Richetti's life as a child in the Peoples Temple compound in Guyana were very effective in building a growing sense of horror at where the story could go.

Christopherson's writing was descriptive without being overly verbose, and dialogues were realistic. There were a few scenes that were quite violent.

Editing: 4 3/4 stars

I found only a handful of typos and grammatical errors, and the Kindle formatting was very good.

The Prophet Motive is novel-length with 7,808 Kindle locations, which included excerpts from the author's other novels Frame-Up and Crack-Up.

I'm never one to do spoiler reviews. I liked the character development and insight into their own personal fragility. The plot was good. It was predictable but it was fun. This author (also wrote Crack Up, which I've read) is very in touch with his dark side. It's a fun foray into what could happen without having to undergo it yourself. There were definitely some elements that happened that weren't expected. It's an easy read and if you like psycho-thrillers then get this and read it. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I had hard time keeping myself away from reading this book. Once I started, I couldn't stop. The character development was very well done. I became interested in reading this book for a couple of reasons. One was geographic setting and the author did not disappoint. As a frequent visitor to the San Francisco Bay Area, I was impressed with Christopherson's descriptions of various locations which made the story a pleasant read for myself as I was able to visualize key areas during the plot development. I'm also somewhat curious about cults or religious leaders in general. Since I use kindle on my PC, I checked a few wiki's while reading 'The Prophet Motive'. Without too much spoilers, I did a search on Jonestown as well as some surprises such as the names of real professors and scientists who have researched mind control. Christopherson worked these real facts and figures into his thriller which gives me a bit of cold chill in of itself!

I'm an occasional reader, barely read more than a handful of novels per year, but I wouldn't hesitate to read another from this author.

I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for this review.

This book delves into the world of cults and the people involved with them. When an undercover agent goes missing in such a cult, his partner, psychologist Marilyn Michaelsen tries to find out the truth.

The characters are well developed and although, some of the story is predictable, it still a page turner as we find out the truth behind "Earthbound" and it's leader. This book certainly grabs your attention.

I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my review.

I enjoyed the great majority of this book. The characters were well developed, but the technical aspects of the story were less enjoyable, especially at the end when Richetti came up with his "plan" to save the girl and bring the bad guys to justice. That "plan" was laughable due to the many fatal holes which Richetti failed to consider. With all that said, after finishing the book I felt like I had learned a bit more than I already knew about the psychological inner workings of a cult.

Having read the author's thriller Crack-Up, I was excited to check out this other book. It's a very different kind of thriller than Crack-Up, but excellent nonetheless.

The plot revolves around eco-terrorism, but this book is about the characters. What motivates them, what has them making both good choices and bad choices to drive the plot. The two main protagonists seem very different, but turn out to be more similar by the end that you'd imagine.

The writing is good and the pace is just right as well, especially once the real action gets started. If you want a compelling thriller from a clearly talented new author, look no further.

I start out assuming 3 stars for a book--that's the average rating for an average book. I look for engaging characters, natural dialog, well-paced and intriguing plot, enough background and setting but not too much boring detail.

"The Prophet Motive" fulfilled all those criteria quite well, better than average. It had the ring of authenticity when it concerned cults and cult leaders; no so much for other factors, such as the way police and FBI make decisions.

Dialog and description were clunky at times and I remember one vignette that stopped me in my tracks. Bad Guy mounted on horseback. Good Guy (I'm trying hard not to make it a spoiler here) on foot. Bad Guy intends to capture or injure Good Guy. Good Guy walks up to the horse, uncinches the saddle so that Bad Guy falls off, vaults onto horse and rides off bareback. Oh, really? Pleeze...and no earlier discussion of Good Guy had given any hint of that person's equestrian experience. Hmmm....

Inspector's reinstatement was miraculously fast, practically overnight. I don't think so. Estranged wife introduced, child has a problem in school, never heard from again. "...as nervous as a hummingbird cleaning hippo teeth" and "He felt as giddy as the morning sun outside his breakfast nook," similes worthy of a high school writing assignment.

So it's a 4 rating, instead of a 5. But don't let the occasional clunkers deter you; this is a book that will keep you up all night. I'm recommending it highly.

An enjoyable read which lets you into the mind of a psychopathic cult leader who is using the cult to obtain power and wealth.

The characters were likeable and believable. Although you really wanted to grab some of the cult members and shake them and yell snap out of it.

It was a good story with a fast paced plot line. Enough surprises to keep you turning the pages.

I would recommend this book.

Not only is this book WAY out there, it's factual. While it is hard to wrap your mind around the insanity in this book, the fact of the matter is, a majority (if not all of it) is try and factually possible. The writer does an absolute fabulous job at bringing the cult mentality, the criminal aspect of the cult and the struggles of law enforcement to invade the cults to life. The criminal enterprise of this cult is staggering and while I don't doubt for a minute that it's doable, it's so farfetched yet so easy to see how someone would go through such lengths to protect an empire they have built. This book is a must read from not only a "police procedural" point of view, but just a general wake up call to the struggles of life within a cult and how gullible humanity really is.

This was the first book I've read by this author, and I look forward to more. I really enjoyed the twists in the book and it gave me an inside look into a cult. When I wasn't reading this book, I was thinking about it, and when I could get back to it. It did end a bit sooner than I would have liked and left me me with a few unanswered questions (can't go more in depth, as it would spoil the story for those who haven't read it). Note - there is some language, as well as some graphic scenes, but a cult is on the side of evil, so this is to be expected.

The included first chapter of the author's book "Crack Up" piqued my interest, so I'll probably end up getting that book as well.