Prophecy - Paul Mark Tag

[goodreads]

Title: Prophecy Author: Paul Mark Tag Genre: Suspense Rating: 8/10 # pages: 329 Date read: November, 2007

Review: Prophecy is yet another book that proves without the shadow of a doubt that just because a book is self-published, it doesn't mean that it's not well worth reading.

In 1889 Augusta Smith leaves a letter in a sealed bottle in the church safe just before the entire city is devastated in a great flood when a nearby dam bursts. 120 years later the area is dug up and the bottle found, proving Augusta to have had psychic powers as she predicted the flood, World War II, 9/11 as well as several other events.

Thus starts the breathtaking story of how scientists – some good, some bad – strive to unearth the so-called “prophecy gene” – a sequence of DNA that shows the host to have actual psychic powers. Once it's determined whether or not this gene actually exists, the next step is to replicate it and introduce it into new hosts. Naturally this can be used both for good and for evil, so it is a race between good and evil to see who can figure out the validity of the claim first.

In Paul Mark Tag's second book, Silverstein and Kipling are once again involved in a life-threatening crisis. Why has their scientist friend been kidnapped, why do the same people suddenly want to get hold of Linda Kipling, who is the mysterious senator involved and what does any of this have to do with the Cairo-based terrorist group?

Paul Tag has you neatly captivated from the very first page and efficiently manages to explain the whys and wherefores of DNA research without neither being too heavy-handed about it nor leaving the reader in the blank. By having Kipling ask the questions the reader would have wanted to, he lets Silverstein explain the theory as a natural part of the story.

Prophecy is an interesting and fast-paced novel that deserves recognition and will be enjoyed by all lovers of the mystery/eco-thriller genre. (Written for Armchair Interviews)

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Comments

Prophecy is eco-thriller, mystery, suspense

[ethanmeadow.livejournal.com]

Your excitement about Paul Mark Tag's (http://paulmarktag.com/) latest book "Prophecy" (http://paulmarktag.com/blog/?page_id=52) doesn't stand stand on its own. Your comment, "just because a book is self-published, it doesn't mean that it's not well worth reading" is right on. Paul Mark Tag's (http://paulmarktag.com/about_the_author.html) writing is intriguing and suspenseful. However I wanted to mention that I don't know if labeling his books as suspense is entirely accurate. I've been finding more and more that Paul Mark Tag and others like Zodiac's Neal Stephenson are really writing in a newer genre apply named "Eco-Thriller". The inclusion as weather and other natural scientific events are somewhat a popular subject right now. Anyway, great post and keep up the great blog.

Re: Prophecy is eco-thriller, mystery, suspense

[bogormen.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your input. I try to keep my genres as simple as possible, and therefore often over-simplify them. I know labelling it as suspense isn't 100% accurate, but it's close enough that together with the review, people get a fairly good idea of the book.

This review was written for Armchair Interviews (http://www.armchairinterviews.com) and should be available there sometime tomorrow.

Thanks.