PROPHET OF BONES: A REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
PROPHET OF BONES
BY TED KOSMATKA

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Paul Carlson, a brilliant young scientist, is summoned from his laboratory job to the remote Indonesian island of Flores to collect DNA samples from the ancient bones of a strange, new species of tool user unearthed by an archaeological dig. The questions the find raises seem to cast doubt on the very foundations of modern science, which has proven the world to be only 5,800 years old, but before Paul can fully grapple with the implications of his find, the dig is violently shut down by paramilitaries.

Paul flees with two of his friends, yet within days one has vanished and the other is murdered in an attack that costs Paul an eye, and very nearly his life. Back in America, Paul tries to resume the comfortable life he left behind, but he can't cast the questions raised by the dig from his mind. Paul begins to piece together a puzzle which seems to threaten the very fabric of society, but world's governments and Martial Johnston, the eccentric billionaire who financed Paul's dig, will stop at nothing to silence him.

AN EXCERPT FROM PROPHET OF BONES:

The Prophet set his nine-millimeter on the kitchen counter.

He leaned forward, bleeding hard into the sink, the only sound a rhythmic tap of blood on stainless steel. The blood struck in little dime-sized drops, bright red, gathering into a pool on the metallic surface. He hit the knob with the back of his hand and cold water swirled down the drain.

Behind him, feet crunched on spent shell casings as two men entered the room.

“My disciples,” the Prophet said. He did not turn. “I knew you'd find me here.”

But his disciples, for their part, remained silent. They pulled chairs out from the table and sat. They cocked their weapons. First one, then the other, making a point of it.

Somewhere in the house a TV blared daytime talk, or something like it—intermittent applause, and a deep male voice saying, She a damn lie, that baby don't look nothing like me, and the crowd hooting and hollering its approval.

The Prophet splashed cold water on his face, trying to clear the blood from his eyes. Head wounds bled like a bitch. They always looked worse than they were. Well, not always, he thought. He remembered the guard at the lab and clenched his eyes shut, willing the image away. Sometimes head wounds were exactly as bad as they looked.

Visit the publisher's website HERE to finish reading this excerpt!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ted Kosmatka is the author of one previous novel, The Games. His short fiction has been nominated for both the Nebula Award and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and appeared in numerous Year's Best collections. 

To read more about this fascinating and talented author, visit his website "Bio" HERE. 

PRAISE FOR PROPHET OF BONES:

"Everyone needs to read this book, Seriously. Everyone."—Hugh Howey

"A masterwork of intrigue and menace. I couldn't put Prophet of Bones down until I reached the climax…An eye-opening and page-turning read without parallel."—Clive Cussler

"Ted Kosmatka is both an excellent writer and a hell of a storyteller…Prophet of Bones is truly hard to put down. This is what a novel is about"—Nelson DeMille

"Written with confidence, in a sure hand, the tension leaps from the page. All of the right elements combine—danger, treachery, and action. Buckle up, hunker down, and get ready for an all-nighter."—Steve Berry

"A near-perfect blending of traditional thriller and alternate-reality scientific and theological fantasy… has best-seller written all over it."—Booklist, Starred Review

"An expansion of one of Kosmatka’s most compelling stories…offers a good deal of fast moving fun."—Locus Magazine

"Gripping, dark, and well written…Kosmatka paints in broad strokes yet still nails the details…this is a compelling juggernaut of a read."—Library Journal

"An exciting alternate-universe thriller… readers will gulp this on down."—PW

"Prophet of Bones is what happens when you start with a foundation of Harry-Turtledove-style alternate-history science fiction, throw in some Dan-Brown-ian theology-tinged conspiracy theory, add a dash of Jurassic-Park-era Michael-Crichton-esque bio-thriller and top it all off with some Elmore-Leonard-y dark humor. The result is some truly unique – and uniquely awesome—classification-defying, boundary-pushing fiction, and I, for one, couldn’t be more thrilled."—criminalelement.com

"Meshes realistic science with fast paced thrills…It will keep you guessing, straight till the end – and you’ll love every minute of it."—gamesfiends.com

 

MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW:

PROPHET OF BONES by Ted Kosmatka is not a genre I would normally pick up to read but when I was asked if I wanted to, and read the premise, something caught my eye and am I glad that it did! I think it is hard to put PROPHET OF BONES into just a science fiction category as I have seen some people do. I found it also to be a mystery, a thriller, a character study, and undeniably, a really interesting, hold-your-attention, story.

As you see in the summary, PROPHET OF BONES’ main character is a scientist named Paul Carlson. He is sent to an island in Indonesia to help an archaeologist with some DNA from the bones being found. It appears that what is found is big news because they believe they have found a new species. However, before they can finish, they are chased off as the dig is closed down and the real discovery takes off. Paul winds up being the only one of his group of three to get away after almost being killed himself. As Paul tries to get his life back in order, he finds the revelations and questions from the project too much for him to forget. The powers that be, however, want him to forget, or else they will see to it that he is forgotten!

I felt like I had fallen into perhaps a Dan Brown novel or something from the amazing Michael Crichton. I admit that I had to take my time with some of the historic references and scientific terms, but it didn’t seem to really slow the action. Kosmatka has written such a strong character in Paul Carlson that whether you like him or not, or question the whole idea behind this thriller, you won’t want to stop reading. PROPHET OF BONES is so well written that even if this isn’t your typical genre, you will find yourself carried away and turning pages to find out what happens and how (and if) the puzzle is all explained!

 
GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO CHRISTINE AND THE GOOD FOLKS

AT HENRY HOLT COMPANY, I HAVE ONE COPY

OF PROPHET OF BONES, A REALLY
THRILLING BOOK, TO GIVE AWAY

 
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
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COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

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GIVEAWAY ENDS AT

6 PM, EST, APRIL 24

GOOD LUCK!