Prophet was a bit of a wild ride. Overall it was an enjoyable read, although it went slightly off the rails in the last hundred pages in terms of world building.

Sunil Rao is more than just a human like detector, he has the ability to objectively determine the truth about everything in the world other than soldier Adam Rubenstein. Adam, who previously worked with Rao in Kabul, is paired up with him again as the two investigate a death on base that coincides with the appearance of an entire classic American diner.

Rao and Adam's relationship is dazzling. It continues to blossom over the course of the book and their rapport and dynamic is magnetic. Definitely the highlight of the book.

The mystery around prophet is really interesting and a catchy premise. MacDonald and Blanche spend the first two thirds of the book developing the mystery and world of prophet which just morphs and throws a bunch of that world building out the window as the book concludes.

Lots of really solid elements but a bit of a muddled ending.

Prophet is an interesting speculative fiction book, it reads like sci-fi noir, dark and a little unnerving. That said, this almost became a DNF as it was a bit of a chore to get through near the end. I completely enjoyed the angst and relationship between the main characters Rao and Adam. Rao’s self-destructive behavior and Adam’s savior complex make them a good pair and the X Files like investigation that becomes the main plot is entertaining.

BUT, [Low Grade - Spoiler Alert] the beginning of the book has this back and forth about one of the characters past (I don’t think you are supposed to know who till about midway in the book), the pay off is mediocre and not really worth all the prologue in my opinion. A call back to that history wasn’t really even used at the end of the book, which would have been a good story telling device. The other thing I disliked was when the story is finally getting to the crescendo the author throws in a weird world domination sub plot to justify why some of these rich and powerful guys are involved. Completely unnecessary, felt forced, and honestly I got pulled out of the book when they dropped in that random cliché.

I don’t know that I would tell my friends to run out and read this book, but if you are a fan of dark sci-fi with a partners to lovers romance you might enjoy it.

Please note, I received an ARC copy of this book for review from NetGalley, but that never influences my honest reviews of books or authors.

Unfortunately, I DNFd this at about 30% in (page 143).

I thought the premise was super interesting, but the pace is far too slow to keep my attention. The chapters that jump back to "before" interrupt the flow of the story, and I am wondering if they could have maybe been condensed/combined and placed earlier on to establish the relationship between Rao and Adam and the complexity of having to work together again. I won't be giving a rating as I did not finish the entire book, but I am still thankful to NetGalley and the authors for the opportunity to receive an advanced copy.

I can’t say enough about how much I loved this genre bending book. You could call it a military sci-fi thriller romance, and how many stories can you say that about? I absolutely adored both Rap and Adam, and following them as they unraveled a new substance called Prophet was as enthralling as experiencing them growing hesitantly closer to each other. I loved the concept of a substance that takes something someone loves and making it irresistible to the point of ruining them. There’s a lot to ponder about Prophet, nostalgia and longing.

The ending was so perfect, which is hard to do sometimes, and I have my fingers crossed that this duo writes together again!

This book is a ride, and my first really-great read of 2023. Atmospherically, it reminded me a lot of Michael Crichton's novels (Sphere and The Andromeda Strain come particularly to mind). I requested an early copy through NetGalley because Stephen King tweeted something about it that deeply intrigued me. Now I can't find the tweet for reference, but needless to say: it was a strong recommendation.

I'm always delighted (and surprised) when NetGalley agrees to give me books, and I was in the mood for something weird, so I started this one right away. The first pages were not encouraging. The writing style felt choppy and abrasive. The scene-setting was disorienting. I pressed on, though, and it did not take long before I'd gotten used to the style and was hooked in the story.

We begin at a diner that has appeared, suddenly and fully-formed, in the middle of a field. On the surface the diner is perfect, but the closer you look, the more you realize something here is Not Right. Rao, our protagonist - an angry, unkempt, substance-abusing, fight-picking military "asset" recently sprung from prison - is known as a human lie-detector. He always knows if someone is lying - but more than that - he always knows whether any given statement is true, no matter who says it. He can also look at objects and tell if they're Not Right.

The Sudden Appearance of Things That Shouldn't Be is one of my favorite fictional devices. I crave the explanation of how they became possible, like the revelation of a magic trick. I want to be fooled, and then I want to know how you did it so I can be awed. This book both does and does not deliver on that front. To begin with, the book is less science fiction than speculative fiction. Someone thought to themself, "what if those beautiful things from our past that we look back on with longing were actually dangerous? Not just unhealthy to dwell upon, but actively sought to harm us?" What could be more scary than your most beloved childhood memory turned against you? (And booooy, do they go there. They go there so hard I felt like bowing at the authors' feet after the denouement.)

The authors' intent is clearly more to play with that what-if than to try and explain how the what-if came to be. They offer an explanation of sorts: secret government research project involving a substance called Prophet that has, of course, gotten out of hand. What IS Prophet, and where did it come from are questions they don't spend a lot of time with. I generally get restless when not given more explanations (however weak), but I didn't mind giving the authors a pass here since the "why" was so clearly not the point of this tale.

The course of the action in the novel is also a little unconventional. We spend a large portion of the middle with Rao and his sidekick (the taciturn, muscly, no-nonsense Adam) inside a research facility where the characters keep agreeing to undergo government testing. This is not my experience with action novels - usually the heroes are running away from the government, not getting along with them. This feels like it would have the potential to be boring, but the results of the tests keep being so weird and plot-altering that it all passes in a blur.

What I didn't expect from this book was the emotional punch it packed. The horror elements were impressive (deeply unsettling rather than actively frightening, to my mind) but wouldn't have carried this novel all the way to five stars for me without the relationship that made everything else so much more meaningful. And anything I might have been left wanting in the veins of "why?" and "how?" was made up for by the remarkable way all the threads of the story tied together at the finale.

I wanted to love this one, but I never fully got there. It tries to do a lot, packed with details and subtext, and comes off as trying to hard.

Thank you to NetGalley, Grove Press, and the authors of Prophet for allowing me to read an ARC of this story. This book challenged me. As an English teacher, I do a lot of analytical reading with my students, so I tend to not read complex stories like this one during the school year, but I’m glad that I did. I’m excited to purchase this for some of the readers in my life once it’s published.

It is…very difficult to explain how deep into my head this got. There are books that make you behave as though you’re in a trance (ha! like in the book??) because you just want to do literally nothing but find out how it all plays out. This was like that for me.

The writing is wonderful. Perfection, truly. Conveyed emotion so clearly that I felt like someone was twisting my ribs. Vivid description, exquisite atmosphere.

The world building was mildly confusing; I was confused when this was all taking place and exactly how much the public generally was aware of but that is entirely irrelevant because the characters entirely made up for anything that was lacking within the plot.

Rao is a delight, a character everyone will love. Gifted, rebellious, witty and very, very sad deep down, an archetype that is impossible to hate, really. Adam is more subtle and similarly impossible to hate. I promise you that you will still be surprised by what you learn about him.

The romance is masterfully, delicately crafted: you believe it, you feel the pain and longing the characters feel. I highly enjoyed the symmetry of their relationship, the complexity of circumstance and emotion. It was just… wonderful.

Plot wise, I’d say that you could split this book into parts. The first 2/3rds are one thing and the last 1/3rd is another; the blend of genres is simultaneously jarring and novel, undeniably contributing to the addictiveness of this book. To be very honest, the last 1/3rd was a little confusing and my suspension of disbelief wavered a bit, but I enjoyed the ending and that’s all that matters to me.

Overall, a must read, I am somewhat obsessed. You have to put it on your tbr, it is legally required now.

I received an arc of this book from netgalley (I still don't know the necessity of me writing this oh well)

This is a very strange book with some very strange characters. I love to call my favourite traumatised characters a delight. Neither Adam or Rao are what I would consider a delight, but at times I was still delighted by them (does that make sense?). They are both deeply fucked-up people who such at communicating, and every time they interact I felt like I was missing half of what was going on. Sometimes I liked it, sometimes I honestly just did not understand why certain moments supposedly had the depth they did. They were still pretty compelling though.

I really liked the idea behind this book. The substance, Prophet, is extremely cool. I liked learning about what Prophet was doing and I appreciated the mystery-type aspects of Rao and Adam figuring it out. However, some parts of it unfortunately fell flat. The conclusion did not seem, to me, to be properly fleshed out. It left me confused and wanting more because I did not understand how the characters and the plot got to where they did. I felt desperately in need of an epilogue and also some infodumping. I felt extremely grabbed by the beginning of this book and then as it trailed on it started to peter out. The plot seemed to lose momentum, and in the end a lot of threads were left loose that I think could have been sorted out. I wanted to know more about what happened to Rhodes, about Miller's recovery, about what Adam and Rao are going to do with their lives. And I never got it.

Lastly, there was occasionally some weird grammar stuff going on, although obviously some of that could change since I read an arc. Just like, missing commas (in my mind), maybe some verb tense fuckery, and the occasional sentence that was written in the wonkiest way possible. All of this could also be a stylistic choice? This book is certainly weird enough for it.

All in all, I enjoyed my time reading this book but I felt that some parts of it were lacking. It starts off really strong and then just kind of slowly fades away. This book has a lot of that confusing-mysterious-the-reader-doesn't-know-what's-happening stuff going on (either that or my reading comprehension has disappeared) and while sometimes that is a lot of fun, there was too much of it here and I just felt left out.

I do think I would recommend this book, but it is not one that I would recommend to just anyone, because I doubt it is most people's cup of tea.

Prophet is a book probably defined by what it is not. It’s not a book that will give you solid answers as to what the eponymous Prophet actually is or does. Much like a lot of human experience it offers you a series of possibilities as to what it could be. If you go into this expecting hard and fast answers, you may find yourself disappointed. Instead, it’s a book that looks at nostalgia and human desire, through a science fiction lens.

The story centres on Rao and Adam, two agents who are employed to uncover just what this mysterious substance/drug, Prophet, is and what danger, if any, it possesses. They journey across the globe in search of it, trying, like the reader, to nail down what it is and does. In doing so, they have to confront their pasts, presents and what they might hope to be their futures.

Rao and Adam are a deeply compelling central relationship, a twist of codependency and guilt and seemingly unrequited love. The yearning for one another is clear on the page and there are so many moments in it where you just have to look away and take a deep breath before you can get back to reading. Even as they’re attempting to unravel what’s going on with Prophet, they have to unravel what’s going on between them too. As the book progresses, the two objectives become inextricably linked.

Prophet is a book with a lot to chew on, one that you might devour quickly the first time round, but then you have to go back to it, to mull it over, to dip in and out of a reread, trying to make sure you got every little bit you could possibly from it. Pretty much a perfect read, then.

This kind of novel doesn't come around very often! It has something for everyone- only such talented authors can write a story which encapsulates so many genres: LGBTQ, sci-fi, romance, comedy, action... the list goes on!

This book! What to say.
Overall I loved it. A unique story that was hard to put down.

If you like; troubled pasts, complicated relationships, and covert-op capitalists trying to ruin everything I think you would enjoy this!

I just reviewed Prophet by Helen Macdonald; Sin Blaché. #Prophet #NetGalley

I posted this on GoodReads first under the name Eva (witha cat profile pic) so i'm just copying and pasting here.
And I want to add something to show to the publisher:
1. please do NOT change the cover of the book. It was litterally the first thing that caught my eyes. It's a stunning cover that, I believe, it represents the core mystery (NO SPOILERS).
2. I am not a native English speaker, so please bear with my English.
3. Can you please tell the author that I'm deeply glad that they can write such brilliant book? I'm a big fan now.



So please excuse my language, guys. BUT-

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST IM GOING TO NEED A SERIES OF THIS BOOK.

Characters? 200/10. Interesting, charming, funny, and entertaining.

Plot? 200/10. It’s giving Annihilation vibe and I’m all for that. The ending? Beautiful. I do NOT care if the author gives me a properly scien-fucking-tific explanation because the logic makes sense in the book. The story is thrilling, full of mysteries and gigle-making banters between characters. It’s a long ass book but it reads smoothly like hot knife cutting through butter.

Writing? 3000/10. The words describing feelings are absolutely touching and heartbreaking. The whole book plays like a Christopher Nolan’s movie in my head. It webs my head in and I couldn’t look away.

All in all? YouShouldReadIt/10. I usually do not recommend books with this passionate emotion, because I’m aware I could have very quirky tastes in books. However, this is not a overly sophisticated, blandly wordy, or cheesy romance YA book. This is a full-on SCI-FI, MYSTERY book with a bonus of MLM story. It’s a solid story that stands on its own even if you take out the romance part.

OK, enough of me babbling. What is this book about?

You have this perfect-in-every-aspect lieutenant Adam, who’s a lowkey-closeted Jew, and his primary asset that he has to babysit Sunil Rao. See, I’m madly in love with the character Rao. He’s unstable, flirty and having a habit of calling lieutenant Adam “love”. So sweet, but have I mentioned that he’s unstable? Yeah, that. So it’s obvious this is a sort of fire and ice types of duo dynamic but that’s where my favorite parts come - the bantering.
What exactly the story is about? And all you need to know is there’s a substance called Prophet and it has psychological effects on people where it creates an object that has emotional links to the person it has contracted. Not a big deal, right? Well, the thing is, people are dying right and left because of this mysterious substance called Prophet. Is it aliens? Ancient substance? Gods? What the hell is Prophet?

I won’t spoil.

PEOPLE, read it! I can’t say enough.

At last, I want to say, I think this might be my favorite book of 2023 and I know it’s still early, but what the heck, this book deserves all my love.

Thanks for NetGallet giving me a chance to read. You bet your ass I’m going get a hardcopy of this book.

Very good. Pretty solid story overall. The ending wasn't strong but OK. This is worth a read, and I may check out their future work.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. Additional congratulations to Sin Blaché and Helen Macdonald for writing this!

Prophet is part character study, part procedural, part science fiction, and part subtle romance rolled into a compelling literary work. It follows Rao (former M16 turned prisoner) and Adam (US Intelligence) as they navigate their complicated feelings for one another and work to save the world.

Prophet is more character-driven than plot-driven, and that’s not a bad thing. There definitely is a plot that the authors use to keep a palpable sense of tension and urgency, but the story’s strong point is character, especially toward the beginning of the work. Everyone, even the side characters, feels so fleshed out and realistic. The audience cares what happens to each of them.

The dialogue? Adam and Rao speak like real human beings instead of an overly perfect script. They feel distinct from one another, and even straight faced Adam’s personality shines through. Their interactions? Adam and Rao possess so much interpersonal tension, yet both are completely oblivious to this fact. They show themselves to be thoughtful, dismissive, intelligent, stupid; they are so well-written!

Blaché and Macdonald use the fantastical aspect of this piece—prophet—to comment on the importance of memory and emotion and how these things can become weaponized. They tackle portrayals of greedy governments that feel a little too close to home. These strong themes work well with the characters.

The one part I felt less than satisfied on was the ending. The audience witnesses a large build up in their understanding of what Prophet is and what it means and the connection between the main leads to Prophet is… yet I don’t feel that all of this is resolved, even though the pacing is extremely well done. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed Prophet.

Thank you, Grove Atlantic, Grove Press, for allowing me to read Prophet early!

WOW! Brilliant. Rarely I encounter a novel of such level. Bravo Blaché and Macdonald.

Wow. Prophet by Helen Macdonald and Sin Blaché was unlike anything I'd read before, and after finishing it (in a single marathon session I seriously could not put it down), I had to sit with it for a bit to try and articulate my thoughts. Much like its namesake, the novel Prophet is captivating, drawing you in to the compelling story of two ex-military members called in to investigate an American diner that has appeared seemingly out of thin air in the UK countryside. Their detective work leads them to discover a mysterious substance, called 'prophet'. In time, they learn that after coming into physical contact with human skin, 'prophet' weaponizes peoples' happiest/fondest memories into bewitching and increasingly disturbing materializations. Part sci-fi and part love story, Prophet reads like a Black Mirror episode on steroids spanning many themes, including corporate/government corruption, nostalgia, and love and loyalty above all else. As a reader, I felt the pacing was a bit off, with a sudden and exponential evolution of Prophet and it's capacities in the last third of the book that felt rushed, but I still enjoyed this read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic/Grove Press for an advanced copy of Prophet in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. On the surface, Prophet is a propulsive tale of corporate greed. When a Black Mirror-esque bioweapon threatens humanity, the U.S. government is implicated in its creation and spread, and now two unlikely heroes must use their unique abilities (and put past resentments aside) to save the day. But Prophet satisfies the "page turner" brief and then goes even further -- and that's where its magic is. Beneath the SciFi/Mystery plotline is a book with something urgent to say: a timely exploration of societal and individual longing -- for the truth, for what is real, for what is important. Imagine if The X Files dispensed with all the alien goo and leaned HARD into what made X Files great... that's Prophet.

A mystery and conspiracy. Two men with a history and a relationship that on the surface is “buddy cop,” but deeper is something more nuanced… and almost codependent?

Adam and Rao are sent to figure out why memories are being manifested into reality. Who, or what, is Prophet? In their search for answers, with Rao’s unique talents and Adam’s ability to understand Rao perhaps better than anyone else, the two men find out more than they bargained for in how weaponized nostalgia might be used. And in how the importance of memory can be in defining who we are.

This story is sci-if, a bit of philosophical meandering, and a journey of figuring out how the truth of things ends up being important in our lives.

*I received an ARC from NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for review. All opinions are my own.

This was a really fun and wild read. I appreciated the character diversity, the romance plot, and the sci-fi elements. It was well-paced and intriguing enough for me to binge in two evenings.

Also, the cover is gorgeous.

It read like a fever dream (in a good way) and really made me ponder my perception of reality. Don't let my light-hearted review fool you, there are some darker elements so do check the TWs. Overall this was an incredibly imaginative and original book.

I cannot wait to read more from these authors. TYSM for allowing me to be an ARC reader for this book.

Ps- I do weekly book giveaways on my tiktok (@HauntedHouseBooks) and I will give away a copy of this in August around release time to help promote it.