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Prophets for the End of Time

Jul 12, 1999

I don't know about you, but my last article, The Fear of God, left me with a heavy taste of religion and in need of a light dessert. To satisfy that need, I reached for Prophets for the End of Time. This recipe for humor is whipped up by Marcos Donnelly, an author with a recipe for a sarcastic bite at the Catholic religion and the slightly out of fashion business of Total Quality, seasoned with just enough slapstick to leave the reader snickering.

The story: A countdown to Apocalypse that calls for a big re-organization of the Heavenly Hosts. It's up to the angels to see to the training of two human prophets who will speak for all mankind in the trial at the end of the world. Clayton Pinkes, led to a career as a charismatic religious leader, is driven by a bizarre fear that God doesn't believe in him. Despite the disparagement of his managing angel, and his undocumented haunting by strange visions, he's the perfect tool for the Thummim.

The Urim is wielded by Henri Elobert, the other prophet. Henri is an engineered genius raised by scientists to become a sociopath so terrifying that even the Prince of Angels shivers at the outcome of Henri's depredations. Of course his knowledge and his psychosis have brought him to the perfect career for his personality. Henri Elobert is a consultant. These two might not be mankind's choice for prophets, but the Urim and the Thummim made the selection and now it's up to Clayton and Henri to save the world from the Apocalypse.

Fast paced and full of smiles and giggles, The Prophets for the End of Time was an excellent read, perfect entertainment for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

About the Book
Prophets for the End of Time copyright 1998 by Marcos Donnelly
ISBN 0-671-57775-1
a Baen Publishing Enterprises book, Riverdale, NY.

Sites of Interest

Read the prologue and chapters one through six of Prophets for the End of Time Sample
write to the author marcos@sff.net

Check out my booklist for a list of books I have recently read and plan to review.

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8. Aug 16, 1999 8:30 AM
My guess is that if your next review is Tolkien, you might get away from explicit God-and-religion themes, but you will still be in a profoundly moral universe. I like that. In fact, when I c ...

-- posted by Dan_Ellsworth

7. Aug 15, 1999 4:24 PM
Well, color me feathered... or... um. How nice to be "rescued" by two gentlemen! Dan, my only "vocal" subscriber (possibly my only subscriber) and Marcos, the author (no not of the discussion of the b ...

-- posted by Karen_James

6. Aug 6, 1999 8:51 AM
By the reviews given, I didn't see any "must-reads" for me, except the C.S. Lewis "classics", which I'd already read. But the reviewer's frequent complaint of "predictable" might serve as a good warn ...

-- posted by Dan_Ellsworth

5. Aug 6, 1999 8:16 AM
Dear Both:

For non-sarcastic speculative fiction on the end times, I'd suggest taking a look at listings on

http://kumo.swcp.com/graphics/bookstores/christian.html

They have several categorie ...

-- posted by MarcosD

4. Jul 31, 1999 8:35 PM
I didn't want any misunderstandings to persist, so I tried to finish clearing them up. I think jetrac might be longing for something truly rare - good, and decisively Christian, ...

-- posted by Dan_Ellsworth

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