This is a spy-thriller, a sci-fi novel and a love story at the same time. It's incredibly odd, often a little all over the place, yet very entertaining. The dynamic between the chaotic Rao and the seemingly stoic Adam is typical and nothing new, but still kept me interested. The combination of the urge to get to know those two characters and their relationship better and wanting to find out what the hell is going on with those objects being created out of nowhere was absolutely perfect. There was enough time for the characters to breathe, but also enough urgency for the plot to continue. This is the first novel in a while where I didn't dislike the main characters – which is very refreshing. "Prophet" is definitely a recommendation from me!
My only point of criticism is that there are many unanswered questions at the end as to how Prophet actually worked or where it came from. It got a little too confusing, even considering the sci-fi aspect of this novel.

In the end, it seemed to me like Prophet could do whatever was 'useful' or interesting in certain points of the story, and that this was more or less decided on a whim. The way Rao was handled at the end of the novel seemed a little disconnected from the abilities of Prophet before.

By about 30% into the audiobook, I found myself looking forward to my commute because I wanted to know what was going to happen next to Adam and Rao; Adam’s childhood was morbidly intriguing to me, and I was eager to discover what was behind Rao’s self-destructive behavioral patterns. I ended up peeking at the beginning of a review to confirm the slow-burn vibes I was picking up on were actually there, and they were! But lordy, I wanted more from the book. I think for me the meat was missing right about the time when things needed to start mattering in the middle. We got to see a bunch of horrorterror manifestations of people getting caught in brain-melting, body-melding nostalgia loops, but the why of it all didn’t ever hit home for me the way I wished. I found myself wanting the authors to commit to the underbelly of whatever they were building; showing more of that chilling, ruthless intelligence and their plans to discard our characters like used tissues, or sinking into the idea of Prophet as some kind of mindless airborne nostalgia prion disease. Because it was kind of a dip of the fingers along the surface rather than a full plunge, I was checked out in the last quarter, and the ending felt (to me) rushed, for what it was.

I almost wished we’d had a longer period of doubt, or a more sinister interpretation of Rao’s return, or a longer dwelling on Adam’s grief and how it was his undoing. The untouchable, unflappable stoicism from Rao’s getting completely subsumed by Prophet was a bit of a let down! I was really hoping to see Adam get cracked open by the tragedy a little. I think if you’re going to tease at a romance that apparently remakes reality, you might as well have both people in the relationship visibly go all-in. Also seeing a review here that this was just Arthur/Eames with the serial numbers filed off actually lessens my enjoyment of the book, lmao. It did read a little like it was written by someone who’d graduated from the fanfic mines, but in a sophisticated way rather than an “oh that explains it” way (although it does explain some of it a little I think).

Anyway, I did finish it, and I could roll easily along with the premise, and the narrators of the audiobook enhanced my experience quite a bit. I wouldn’t ever re-read the book but I would request it at Yuletide.

What if The X Files and Sherlock Holmes and Annihilation had a perfect, beautiful book baby? I have excellent news that this is no longer just a hypothesis, but fully realized in "Prophet" by Sin Blaché and Helen Macdonald.

I started this book on a late, crowded flight and was instantly immersed. I've never been able to so clearly visualize the world and characters from a novel before, both to my adoration and horror in the case of this story. Blaché and Macdonald are a killer duo in their descriptions of the characters' actions and inner workings, letting you really get under their skin.

It's so weird and gross and lovely and upon finishing it I'm absolutely devastated in the best way possible. Extremely excited to yell about this book to everyone I know and thrilled to add two stellar authors to my "read everything by them" list.

Biggest thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the digital ARC!

You know how some books feel like they are destined to be a movie? Or perhaps even should have been a movie, instead of a book? I kept craving to see this play out on screen rather than the page.

Some things I liked:

Some things I didn't like: