What do readers think of Prophecy by S.J. Parris? Write your own review.

Once again Parris delights with her character Bruno.The book is a historical whodunit filled with details and well drawn characters. I felt transported back to the era of Elizabeth I.

This is a solid historical mystery, but for me it wasn’t what I would call an historical thriller as the cover claimed. I enjoyed the history of the book which sent me more than once to look up facts online. While I liked the narrator and felt that I connected with him, I found myself having trouble keeping the other characters straight in my mind because there were so many of them, they just didn’t come alive to me. It was as if the mystery was hidden because there were too many story lines rather than clever plotting. There were some story lines I would have wanted expanded a little more. I think fewer, richer characters would have made the story a fuller, more satisfying read.

Prophecy by S.J. Parris---Sixteenth century defrocked monk, Giordano Bruno has escaped the Inquisition and is in exile in England. Working for Sir Francis Walsingham, the spymaster of Queen Elizabeth. Many Catholics feel they have authority to remove her from the throne because her father, Henry VIII, excommunicated from the Catholic Church and created himself as the head of the Church of England. Walsingham is assigned to create a network willing to assassinate the Queen to bring Catholicism and the Pope as religious head of England’s Church. Intertwined with this religious battle, there is also the battle of sciences and astrology, condemned by the Pope but studied by numerous scholars who possess writings which many believe will bring evil down to earth. Bruno, known as the “heretic monk” is a scholar and studies in the household of de Castelnau, a Catholic with French connections. Bruno meets people and plots aplenty to keep him---and the reader---guessing as to who is to be trusted and who might be a traitor.

This is a complex novel with many references to subjects and writings as well as supernatural abilities such as “scrying” to predict the future or death, for the Queen of England in particular. With all the characters and Bruno’s various comments to himself as well as telling his story in the first person, it’s sometimes difficult to tell if he’s suspicious of someone of of everyone. Overall a good read, but not easy to keep track of the characters in this ambitious mystery series.

Unless you're a devout fan of S.J. Parris and have read the Heresy, the prequel to Prophecy, I wouldn't recommend this book. It was very slow and dark and it never grabbed me. Its being marketed as a historical thriller so I expected it to be a page turner like The Historian, but it was very hard to get through and unfortunately I didn't very much enjoy this read.

This book is definitely for those who love history in their books! It took a little while for me to get into the story, but then I enjoyed it very much. I will be looking for a copy of the writer's other book, Heresy. The writing is very descriptive and detailed and it's easy to let yourself start thinking like Bruno, from who's point of view the story is told. I would recommend this to my friends that like to pair historical detail with their mysteries.

Prophesy fits the bill as a historical thriller set in Elizabethan England. The main character Giordano Bruno is an undercover agent and humanist trying to discover how true the rumors are that Mary Queen of Scott and her followers are plotting to overthrow Elizabeth I. Bruno is following leads by intercepting letters to Mary Queen of Scots, deciphering the code in the letter and then sending to Mary after carefully resealing. Bruno, an Italian expatriate, has a relationship with John Dee an astrologer of Elizabeth’s court. Astrological signs and symbols are the focus for Bruno who now has the job to discover who has murdered two young women of the Court with astrological signs carved on their dead bodies. Questions arise as we follow Bruno as he searches for the murderer. Is the suspect in the Queen’s Court, within her Catholic rivals, the French, the Spanish or among Bruno’s own group of undercover spies? In addition to the murder mystery, the author has done an outstanding job drawing the reader into the time period. You clearly see, smell and hear the London of the 16th Century. You feel the intrigue and fear as the author takes you deep into the conspiracies of the court.
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction or mysteries. I am now planning to read Heresy the author’s first book to learn more about Giordano Bruno.

Astrology, black magic, the occult - all play a part in this novel by the author of HERESY. Fans of Historical Fiction should put this book at the top of their lists. Parris writes knowledgeably about her subject and captures the English Medieval times just as we might envision it.

Prophecy is OK, not great. Many interesting details about Elizabeth I's reign in 1583 London; it's a fairly true to life story. It felt like it wanted to be a page-turner, but got bogged down with its' own history. Described as an Historical Thriller, but it is less than thrilling.