{"id":21038,"date":"2025-08-21T19:51:32","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T23:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/?p=21038"},"modified":"2025-08-21T19:51:32","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T23:51:32","slug":"the-prophet-by-michael-koryta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/?p=21038","title":{"rendered":"‘The Prophet,’ by Michael Koryta"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

There is no God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You walk alone in the darkness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To prove this, to imprint it in the mind so deeply that no alternative can so much as flicker, is the goal. This is power, pure as it comes\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prophet\u2019s goal is simple. When the final scream in the night comes, whoever issues it will be certain of one thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one hears.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Reading fiction is an activity<\/strong> entailing many pleasures; among them is the constant possibility of discovering a truly wonderful book. I had that pleasure \u2013 in a big way \u2013 in reading Michael Koryta\u2019s The Prophet<\/a><\/em>. It\u2019s a book that has a lot to do with football, and it hit me with the impact of a linebacker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1989, brothers Adam and Kent Austin of Chalmers, Ohio were both on a winning high school football team in that football-obsessed part of the country. But Adam made a mistake on the night of their greatest victory, a mistake that destroyed their family. Today, Adam is a bail bondsman, still living in Chalmers, in the old family house. His brother Kent is the local football coach, a much-respected figure. He\u2019s a devout Christian, and regularly leads Bible studies in a nearby prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The brothers almost never speak to one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Adam now makes a second mistake, resulting in a young girl\u2019s death, he is overwhelmed with guilt. He makes a promise to the girl\u2019s mother \u2013 he will find the murderer, and he will not turn him over to the police. He will kill him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adam has no intention of letting this ugly business slop over into his brother\u2019s life \u2013 but it does. It turns out that Kent was part of the plan from the beginning \u2013 innocently and unintentionally, but he and his family will be drawn inexorably into a drama scripted by the killer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a separate plot thread, we follow the progress of Kent\u2019s high school football team, as they surmount one obstacle after another (not least survivor’s grief) to pursue a championship they\u2019ve never won before. This theme provides a sort of harmonic counterpoint to the main plot, revealing character and illuminating the narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been a long time since I\u2019ve read a novel that impressed me as The Prophet<\/em> did. (And I\u2019m not even interested in football). In addition, the book surprised me though describing the struggles of a sincere, decent Christian \u2013 not in an evangelistic way, but honestly and with sympathy. This is something you don\u2019t see often in mainstream literature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I could go on and on. Drop whatever you\u2019re doing and buy The Prophet<\/em>. You\u2019ll thank me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cautions for adult stuff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is no God. You walk alone in the darkness. To prove this, to imprint it in the mind so deeply that no alternative can so much as flicker, is the goal. This is power, pure as it comes\u2026. The prophet\u2019s goal is simple. When the final scream in the night comes, whoever issues it … Continue reading ‘The Prophet,’ by Michael Koryta<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[7,15],"tags":[5614,5665],"class_list":["post-21038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","category-reviews","tag-michael-koryta","tag-the-prophet"],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21038"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21041,"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21038\/revisions\/21041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brandywinebooks.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}