Post by ajfrench on Mar 25, 2011 7:10:57 GMT
Hi all. Pray isn't currently available on Amazon, and it won't be until after its official release at WHC, but I'm posting my review of John's book here in hopes of generating some buzz. Later it will be posted at Amazon, as well. Anyway, enjoy!
When I read author John Prescott’s first collection of short stories Before Sunrise a year or so ago, I knew right away he was a writer of emerging talent. I imagined him slowly working his way up the short story chain to the pros, and then finally releasing his first novel. Instead he jumped way ahead of my prediction, releasing as his sophomore attempt not only his first novel, but a trilogy of them.
And we can all be glad he did.
I was fortunate enough to read Pray, Book 1 of The Revelation Chronicles, in the form of a beautiful oversized soft-cover release by Dark Continents Publishing. Aside from the handsome presentation served up by DC, the text itself is large and deliciously readable, and there are little to no typos in the book (something that plagues many of the small press books on the market). And at four hundred and seventy-five words, that’s really saying something.
The Revelation Chronicles is a pseudo-religious horror story dealing with the fulfillment of the Biblical prophecy of The Book of Revelation, and the post-apocalyptic aftermath that the survivors inhabit.
Sound like it’s been done before? Sure, it has. But Prescott really has something good going here. The novel reads like a breeze, it’s utterly absorbing, and it’s quite possible to devour it in a couple of days. And that’s with a point of view switch almost every other chapter, totaling something like eight or nine POV characters—not an easy thing to do.
The action starts off right away, as you might expect, with the sounding of the trumpet. Then there’s the natural disasters and a world war (in Pray, US, Canada, and Mexico have joined forces to make up the NAU), and even some creepy werewolves thrown in. This probably sounds like stuff that’s been done before as well, but there’s something about the way Prescott weaves it together that makes it come off as fresh.
The story follows the path of several main characters to a small town in Colorado called Shaleford, where all the “good guys” finally rally together to weather the coming Apocalypse. All this is very entertaining, and it’s deftly written with the ease of a Dean Koontz thriller, keeping those pages turning. My only gripe with the “good guys” story arc is that sometimes you might think you’re reading Stephen King’s The Stand. But hey, who else are writers gonna learn this stuff from?
Now on to the “bad guys,” easily the high point of the book. Prescott casts Samouel Gallo, an international movie star, in the role of Anti-Christ. Gallo is heartless and charismatic, and once he gains control of the NAU and starts putting together his world government, those pages will be flying by. There’s also Mascanii, Gallo’s Italian crony from the papacy, who I thought was particularly well-drawn; you can almost feel him slinking about the place and hissing whenever he speaks. Add those werewolves, the legendary Nephilim half-angels, visions of Archangel Michael, and you’ve got a holy-rollin good time.
Which brings me to the religious theme of the book. With stuff out there like the Left Behind series, it’s easy to assume that some folks might be turned off by Prescott’s blatant use of Biblical mythology, especially among the horror crowds. However, although there are many passionately written scenes involving the survivors’ acceptance of Christ into their hearts and finding God, Prescott manages to do it without sounding preachy. Pray really does read like a dark fantasy novel, only with Christian symbols.
John Prescott has outdone himself here, and aside from some noticeable similarities with Stephen King’s works and a little transparency with respect to some of the characters, Pray is a real winner. It will have you turning pages right up to the dark and shocking end. And then it will leave you anticipating the next book in the series. John Prescott’s talent is growing exponentially, and he’s sure to become a big name in horror. I urge you to jump on the bandwagon now.
When I read author John Prescott’s first collection of short stories Before Sunrise a year or so ago, I knew right away he was a writer of emerging talent. I imagined him slowly working his way up the short story chain to the pros, and then finally releasing his first novel. Instead he jumped way ahead of my prediction, releasing as his sophomore attempt not only his first novel, but a trilogy of them.
And we can all be glad he did.
I was fortunate enough to read Pray, Book 1 of The Revelation Chronicles, in the form of a beautiful oversized soft-cover release by Dark Continents Publishing. Aside from the handsome presentation served up by DC, the text itself is large and deliciously readable, and there are little to no typos in the book (something that plagues many of the small press books on the market). And at four hundred and seventy-five words, that’s really saying something.
The Revelation Chronicles is a pseudo-religious horror story dealing with the fulfillment of the Biblical prophecy of The Book of Revelation, and the post-apocalyptic aftermath that the survivors inhabit.
Sound like it’s been done before? Sure, it has. But Prescott really has something good going here. The novel reads like a breeze, it’s utterly absorbing, and it’s quite possible to devour it in a couple of days. And that’s with a point of view switch almost every other chapter, totaling something like eight or nine POV characters—not an easy thing to do.
The action starts off right away, as you might expect, with the sounding of the trumpet. Then there’s the natural disasters and a world war (in Pray, US, Canada, and Mexico have joined forces to make up the NAU), and even some creepy werewolves thrown in. This probably sounds like stuff that’s been done before as well, but there’s something about the way Prescott weaves it together that makes it come off as fresh.
The story follows the path of several main characters to a small town in Colorado called Shaleford, where all the “good guys” finally rally together to weather the coming Apocalypse. All this is very entertaining, and it’s deftly written with the ease of a Dean Koontz thriller, keeping those pages turning. My only gripe with the “good guys” story arc is that sometimes you might think you’re reading Stephen King’s The Stand. But hey, who else are writers gonna learn this stuff from?
Now on to the “bad guys,” easily the high point of the book. Prescott casts Samouel Gallo, an international movie star, in the role of Anti-Christ. Gallo is heartless and charismatic, and once he gains control of the NAU and starts putting together his world government, those pages will be flying by. There’s also Mascanii, Gallo’s Italian crony from the papacy, who I thought was particularly well-drawn; you can almost feel him slinking about the place and hissing whenever he speaks. Add those werewolves, the legendary Nephilim half-angels, visions of Archangel Michael, and you’ve got a holy-rollin good time.
Which brings me to the religious theme of the book. With stuff out there like the Left Behind series, it’s easy to assume that some folks might be turned off by Prescott’s blatant use of Biblical mythology, especially among the horror crowds. However, although there are many passionately written scenes involving the survivors’ acceptance of Christ into their hearts and finding God, Prescott manages to do it without sounding preachy. Pray really does read like a dark fantasy novel, only with Christian symbols.
John Prescott has outdone himself here, and aside from some noticeable similarities with Stephen King’s works and a little transparency with respect to some of the characters, Pray is a real winner. It will have you turning pages right up to the dark and shocking end. And then it will leave you anticipating the next book in the series. John Prescott’s talent is growing exponentially, and he’s sure to become a big name in horror. I urge you to jump on the bandwagon now.