Prophecy of Power

by: Andrew Parker

Published by: Bedside Books

Reviewed by Julie Failla Earhart

(on Amazon, he is listed as Andy J. Parker)

In Andrew Parker’s debut novel, Prophecy of Power, Rabbi Jacob Droutman is having a hard time being Jewish. He has become disillusioned and has set off to learn all he can about other religions. He wants to uncover his reasons for his Jewish beliefs, and if in fact Judaism is the “religion of God.” How and why Jacob becomes dissatisfied is never clear.

However, one bitterly cold night, Jacob is invited to a lecture on the Book of Revelations. The Jewish religion does not believe in Revelations, so Jacob is not well-versed on this part of the Bible. While he is attending the lecture, he is given an envelope from a stranger named Ayn. The envelope contains clippings and files on three students who disappeared in Israel after supposedly locating the Lost Tomb of Hebron, which forecasts whom will be the next superpower to rule the world.

It takes a while, but the reader eventually learns that Jacob’s older brother disappeared without a trace. Ayn is also a sibling of one of the three missing students. This appears to be the connection as to why Jacob was chosen to help learn of the students’ fates. The chance murder of his landlord places Jacob directly in the sights of officers from New York’s finest, who seem to think he is more involved than he states.

Jacob travels to meet the parents of all three young men and eventually finds himself in Israel. There he incurs the wrath of the CIA, the FBI, Hamas, and Mossad as he searches for the men and their find-Lost Tomb of Hebron.

Jacob again finds the Lost Tomb of Heron, much too easily, and learns which country will succeed the Anglo-American power. The outcome is not a surprise as one only has to keep up with the news as to figure it out.

Prophecy of Power has the potential of being a good story. It needs the hand of a good editor. Some of Parker’s sentences made me wince. Also the header on the odd number pages doesn’t match the jacket title.

Armchair Interviews agrees about this religious thriller.

Author’s Web site: http://www.AndrewJParker.co.uk