Anti-abortion propaganda barely disguised as a novel. If you read the first two chapters and think wow that's a bit heavy-handed but maybe it gets better... it doesn't. The bits about news and media were interesting but the extreme bias was to the point of vileness, and the Christian evangelism is over the top. Not worth reading.

I have literally read this and 'This Present Darkness' and 'Piercing the Darkness' probably 20 times each. These are my go to when I can't focus on any other book. These all inspire me to talk to God and really 'listen' to God. These have gotten me through some rough patches.

Prophet was a LONG story. And as you would suspect, it is heavily laden with religion and God. I don't personally have anything against books like this, but if I'd had an inkling I probably wouldn't have picked it up to read in the first place.

That being said, the book is a slow burn. It starts out slow, but after about 300 pages it really picks up speed, and I found myself devouring the last 200 pages to really see what happened and find out how it all ended. The only reason this book isn't getting 5 stars is because of a few things, one being the length.

This book nears 600 pages in length. I'm no novice to reading longer books, but the length on this one was almost unnecessary. The tale follows John Barrett a NewsSix anchor man. And as a result, the book repeats on the parts where the news is being aired. I know Peretti intended to make the reader feel like they were actually watching the news. But what I felt was that I was wasting my time reading 6 paragraphs of the same shit over and over.

I also sorta felt like the end of this was rushed. The entire story took PAGES to build up. And suddenly in 200 pages everything is tied up neat and tidy with a bow. However, there are a lot of things left unanswered.

There was some weird stuff, supernatural things that I believe God is fully capable of, but which he does not seem to enact in this period of time, that I could have done without. Other than that it was very interesting and aside from the technology aspects was incredibly timely despite being originally published in 1992.

This is a long read, but what a GREAT book. Hard to imagine this was written 27 years ago.....it's as up to date on issues as it was then. I highly recommend this book.

Probably only 3.5 stars for these reasons: The repetitive parts (describing the news opening scene twice if not thrice in the book, as well as repeated phrase for the photo shoots with the news anchors); the "sermon" monologue 1/3-1/2 way through the book; things/relationships coming together too easily at points; too abrupt an ending.

Peretti's weak point in this book and other of his fiction for adults (Monster in particular stands out in my memory) is that he monologues about science or Scripture in a way that is really off-putting, even for someone who agrees with [many of] his Christian beliefs. For anyone who doesn't agree with him, I can imagine they wouldn't find Christianity compelling from those contrived speeches in Peretti's books.

Now, for the good... I enjoyed the story (even if it was unbelievable at times, much more so than This Present Darkness and its follow-up) and it helped me through some long hours at work. The plot of a hidden truth about someone in power, of how processed the "news" is, of how people are willing to turn a blind eye to problems with their pet causes when those causes hurt people, etc. was realistic enough. Most people (maybe all of us) have double standards somewhere; sometimes we're aware of them, sometimes we aren't.

I liked Carl (the MC's son) and how much he wanted to make things work with his dad, how much he wanted there to be something more to life, even if on the surface he seemed edgy. His relationship with his dad came together a little easily, but there was too much other stuff happening with the plot to delve into things like possibly feeling abandoned by his dad until he was in his twenties, etc.

The reader for the audiobook did a good job of narrating differently for each character. I wish the audiobook had been sectioned off into chapters, rather than random lines within a chapter as so-called starting points.

I enjoyed the read, and was refreshing see how a modern day prophet was depicted and the possible challenges that goes with it especially in how speaking the truth in the modern day is needed but a great challenge.

Peretti's books are hard to get into...really slow in the beginning. Although, his books always finish with an amazing ending. Same goes for Prophet.

Prophet was an interesting read. Very theological. Throughout the entire book you follow the story of a TV anchorman, a reporter, a rebel son, and families and friends dealing with death(s). All the time you are asked the question: "What is Truth?" and if a person finds Truth, do they tell the world and not care what people think...or bury it? Deals with some other interesting issues: abortion and consumerism - just to name two. Probably best for grades 11+

I really enjoyed this book; it has the usual Peretti mystery and suspense, but while giving just enough information to stay glued to the book.
It's plot has a convicting message, that everyone needs to hear, about choosing to be bold about God and obey his commands, or hiding our faith and trying to blend in with everyone else, not letting our faith in God "get in the way" of our life.
It has a very moving story that deals with abortion, and what goes on behind the scenes really.

Also, it offers a fascinating look inside the news industry.

This book was so ahead of its time. It deals with such heavy cultural topics with a Christian lens. It shows both what can be but also the failures that we all make. I encourage you to read this with an open mind and see what happens.

I struggled some to get through this book as well as writing this review. It wasn’t that the story wasn’t good, it just happens to be based on a couple subjects that I find incredibly frustrating in real life - crooked politicians and the politicalization of the news media. These issues have become so prominent, polarizing, and destructive that I found it really difficult to choose to spend my free time reading a book with this focus. Ironically, this was written in 1992 - long before the internet and social media changed how we receive news, but the issues and problems are the same.

The book is well written regarding the points it is making, but it definitely feels dated because of the lack of technology. Phone cameras and smart phones would have changed how the mysteries presented in this book were able to be solved.

I definitely didn’t enjoy this reading experience, but that is just a personal preference and not meant to be a negative recommendation.

Broadcast journalism with the news anchorman the main character. A governor totally absorbed with promoting his image during an election year. An estranged son. An accident that turns out to be murder. Two botched abortions. Hush money. A hit man.Great investigative journalism. A great read as you see who has integrity and who only has ambition.