The Review
Age Level: YA
Source: Tour
Series: N/A
Interest: genre, plot
Who among us will cast aside a comfortable existence and risk death to follow a dream?
A world kept peaceful for a thousand years by the magic of the ruling vicars. But a threat lurks from a violent past. Wizards from the darkness have hidden their sorcery in a place called the keep and left a trail of clues that have never been solved.
Nathaniel has grown up longing for more but unwilling to challenge the vicars. Until his friend Thomas is taken for a teaching, the mysterious coming-of-age ritual. Thomas returns but with his dreams ripped away. When Orah is taken next, Nathaniel tries to rescue her and ends up in the prisons of Temple City. There he meets the first keeper of the ancient clues. But when he seeks the keep, what he finds is not magic at all.
If he reveals the truth, the words of the book of light might come to pass:
“If there comes among you a prophet saying ‘Let us return to the darkness,’ you shall stone him, because he has sought to thrust you away from the light.”
3.5/5
There Comes a Prophet took me on an adventure, and more importantly made me think. I was forced to question both society and my beliefs. The book is set in a world where good and evil are not clear cut, and the right thing to do isn’t always the popular option. Life as we know it now is contrasted with a simple society ruled by a theocracy and the flaws of both are presented.
This book is not your typical dystopian, as instead of taking place after a disaster, the book is set a thousand years after a group tries to save the world from the destruction they believe is coming. Parts of it felt more sci fi while others read more like a fantasy creating a really interesting and unique novel.
I really loved the writing. It was simple, but not lacking in description. The novel as a whole felt very polished, with the story neatly flowing from event to event, character to character, though there were some spelling/grammar/formatting issues.
My biggest problem with this book is that there wasn’t is enough world and character building. I would have loved a little more explanation into the history of the Temple and their hierarchy and the limitations placed on society.
The characters are extremely relatable and interesting but I’d have preferred some more information about their lives from the time before the book starts. I was able to connect with Nathaniel the best; the dreamer who wants to do something big with his life. Multiple points of view, including the antagonist’s, are presented along the way creating a better understanding of the bigger picture. As mentioned previously, nothing is clear cut – the enemy isn’t evil and the main characters aren’t always good.
The plot is really great but was lacking in intensity and action, yet that is not to say that the pacing was slow. In fact, it was the opposite; it is not predictable and the riddles presented take some thought to figure out. Another point that caught my attention is the realistic passing of time, which after reading books where many things take place in a short time, was refreshing. The ending felt too much like a happily ever after for my liking and it felt a little far fetched. I would have preferred it to have been left more open at the end.
All things considered, There Comes a Prophet is a highly enjoyable read that stands out from other dystopians.
The urge to write first struck when working on a newsletter at a youth encampment in the woods of northern Maine. It may have been the night when lightning flashed at sunset followed by northern lights rippling after dark. Or maybe it was the newsletter’s editor, a girl with eyes the color of the ocean. But he was inspired to write about the blurry line between reality and the fantastic.
Using two fingers and lots of white-out, he religiously typed five pages a day throughout college and well into his twenties. Then life intervened. He paused to raise two sons and pursue a career, in the process becoming a well-known entrepreneur in the software industry, founding several successful companies. When he found time again to daydream, the urge to write returned. There Comes a Prophet is his first novel in this new stage of life.
David and his wife split their time between Cape Cod, Florida and anywhere else that catches their fancy. He no longer limits himself to five pages a day and is thankful every keystroke for the invention of the word processor.
The Tour
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Glad that you enjoyed it! It sounds like an original dystopian which is refreshing!
It was definitely an interesting read 🙂 Thanks for the tour!