Book Review: The Prophecy by Chris Kuzneski (Jonathan Payne & David Jones #5)

I think our world is shaped by prophecies.

Let me explain, I am not saying I am a believer of prophecies. In fact, personally I very skeptical of prophecies. What I meant to say was, since the dawn of time, prophecy and religion always went hand in hand with each other. Considering how religion has undeniably shaped the course of human history (for both good and bad), it also means prophecy played a crucial role, because it acted as a driving force behind religion. 

Take for example, Abrahamic religions, which include three major religions in the world with billions of followers, are in fact, belief systems based on apocalyptic prophecies. Admittedly, without these apocalyptic prophecies, these major religions would loose much force in their theological thrusts, and influence over their followers.

However, religion isn't the only major player in the arena of prophecy-making. One of the most enigmatic prophets of all time, is a Frenchman called Nostradamus. Apparently, Nostradamus was supposed to have prophecized a few things accurately, such as the Adolf Hitler, 911, so on and so forth.

I do not possess much occult knowledge, so I am not qualified to discern the legitimacy of Nostradamus prophecy. Nevertheless, since its publication, Nostradamus prophecy have spell-bounded people with webs of enchantment. The name Nostradamus, has become very well known in the common culture. In fact, the story of this mystical prophet is so intriguing, it attracted New York Times Bestselling author, Chris Kuzneski, to write a conspiracy thriller based on Nostradamus prophecy. This book is called The Prophecy, and it is the fifth installment in Kuzneski's thrilling series, about the adventures of retired US special-force operative, Jonathan Payne and David Jones.

Does any of this interest you? If so, feel free to read on because today, I would like to provide a review for this book.

Synopsis:

Legend says, before Nostradamus died, he made a secret book where he wrote down all of his prophecies in the plain language. Today, the whereabouts of this book remains hidden. That is, until a fateful night when a young woman paid a special visit to Jonathan Payne and David Jones.

From here, Payne and Jones witnessed a series of events strongly indicating the fulfillment of Nostradamus prophecies. This also means they found themselves entangled in a life threatening situation: They have to secure Nostradamus' lost book, lest it fall into the wrong hands...

What I think about this book:

The Prophecy is an addictive read and a fast-paced thriller. The two main characters in the book, Jonathan Payne and David Jones, make a charming duo as protagonists. The dialogues are humorous, flashing out the personalities of Payne and Jones. However, the characterization for the villain in this book is weak and unimpressive, and the author did not portray the villain's motive convincingly.

This book is tightly structured with an entertaining story. The author successfully layered piles of mysteries and puzzles into the plot, and the story remained suspenseful for the most of the time. Unfortunately, I found this book ended hastily in an anti-climax. But this does not mean The Prophecy is a bad book. For the first 400 pages in this book, the story was shrouded in suspense and tension. This is one of those thriller novels that is very hard to put down once you opened it.

Like most thrillers in the genre, The Prophecy is an action packed story, the book is filled with scenes of gun fights and explosions. I am happy to report these action scenes are realistic and not over the top, and they added flares to the story.

After I read this book, my interest in Nostradamus rose, leading me to watch a documentary from Discovery Channel about Nostradamus, where I learned a few things about the life of this famous French seer. Meanwhile, I like this book. While The Prophecy may not be the best conspiracy thriller I've ever read, but this book tells a fun and interesting story. It is one heck of a ride! I would recommend this book to fans of conspiracy thrillers, or lovers of mystery/crime novels.