Review: Echo Prophecy by Lindsey Farleigh

I’m going to say something very, very odd. Okay, here it goes: I liked Echo Prophecy. (This is not the bizarre part). I thought it was an interesting and creative blend of the Kane Chronicles, The Matrix, and the Twilight series. (Yeah, that’s the weirdness.)

First things first: I love Egyptian mythology. Heck, I have a black cat named Bast and several pieces of (totally cheap and awesomely fake) Egyptian art. I’m also a huge, unrepentant, nerdy fan of The Matrix. When the first Matrix movie occupied the theaters, so did I. Twelve times. I even, although don’t tell anyone I said so, kinda liked the Twilight series, especially the last two. Oddly enough, all of these loves collide in this book, in which the main character, Alexandra Larson, archaeologist and Egyptologist, stumbles across a race of beings on whom the ancient Egyptian divine mythologies were based. More, Lex learns she is not only one of them, but, like Neo, is The One. I’m a shameless fan of “The One” trope. How cool is it when a normal, even boring person, finds out she’s, oh, you know, the savior of the human race or something? Booyah! Finally and bizarrely, the gender dynamics between Echo Prophecy's two main characters reminded me a lot of the relationship between Bella and Edward in Twilight: arrogant and gorgeous man whom everyone wants falls madly, hopelessly, protectively in love with the shero, who cries a lot over him until they resolve their differences and have steamy sex.

Farleigh’s universe is creative and interesting. It’s also educational; I learned quite a bit more about those awesomely anthropomorphic Egyptian gods. She populates it with likable and unlikable people and a few who, as in real life, are both. (Heaven knows I like me some blurring of the traditional boundaries.)

Farleigh’s greatest strength, in my opinion, is her clever use of dialogue. She’s fantastic at portraying realistic patterns of speech. I like characters’ misunderstandings, slips of the tongue, and anxious stutterings; it’s a giant slice of relatable reality. My favorite character is Kat, the eighteen-year-old daughter of a shop owner. From her obsession with cute boys and her boob size to her eye rolling and use of popular slang, Kat is the quintessential straight teenager. She adds much-needed levity to balance the parts that feature violence, kidnapping, torture, and physiologically required sex. Gulp. Dominic, another character who becomes extremely important to Lex, also stole my heart. Despite the creep factor (you’ll know what I mean when you read it), had it become a love triangle among Lex, Marcus, and Dom, I would definitely have signed up for Team Dominic.

I admit it: I stayed up super late to finish this book. That’s just how it is. The creative universe and the cool race of superpeople sucks you in, but the skilled dialogue and the sweet and loving relationships between people (I love the relationship between Lex and her beloved mother!) in this novel keep you riveted.

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Echo Prophecy (Echo Trilogy, #1)

by Lindsey Fairleigh

Excerpt:

PROLOGUE

“Meswett, know yourself and you shall know the gods.

Meswett, trust yourself and you shall trust the gods.

So it ends, from start to finish,

as found in writing.”

—taken from the Prophecy of Nuin, Old Kingdom, c. 2180 BCE

I thought I knew people. I didn’t.

I thought I could trust my family and my friends. I couldn’t.

I thought I at least had some idea of who I am. Wrong.

But here’s the real kicker: I never thought I’d be in the heart of an ancient temple, driven by desperation and hatred, ready to kill my own father.

Screaming, I launch myself at him. My rage and sorrow are so great that I no longer have room for any other emotions. Coherent thought is foreign to me. I have one purpose—to destroy him.

He doesn’t see me coming. He can’t see me coming. I’m moving too quickly, bending time to my will. It’s impossible, but that doesn’t make it any less real.

“How—?”

My father doesn’t have time to finish the question. I’ve already torn the gun from his grasp and pressed the muzzle against the side of his head.

I flex my index finger.

Click.

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Lindsey Fairleigh lives her life with one foot in a book--as long as that book transports her to a magical world or bends the rules of science. Her novels, from post-apocalyptic to time travel and historical fantasy, always offer up a hearty dose of unreality, along with plenty of adventure and romance. When she's not working on her next novel, Lindsey spends her time reading and trying out new recipes in the kitchen. She lives in the Napa Valley with her loving husband and confused cats.

Links:

Website: http://www.lindseyfairleigh.com/

Blog: http://lindseyfairleigh.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LindsFairleigh

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lindsey-Fairleigh/220345161400603

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18038336-echo-prophecy

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Purchase links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EIV14HK

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/echo-prophecy-lindsey-fairleigh/1116424458?ean=2940148708094

KOBO: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/echo-prophecy

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/346983