Prophets
- Downloads：3676
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-13 13:55:14
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：S. Andrew Swann
- ISBN：0756405416
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
It’s been nearly 200 years since the collapse of the Confederacy， the last government to claim humanity’s colonies。 The void has been filed by many different powers， ranging from the Eridani Caliphate to the Roman Catholic Church。 When strange transmissions are received from beyond the fringes of human space， they reveal the existence of human settlements lost since the demise of the Confederacy， colonies that could shift the balance of power should they be claimed by the Caliphate。 Thus begins a race between the most advanced ships in the Caliphate fleet and an expedition of mercenaries and scientists recruited by an AI who has a long history with the Confederacy。 But when they reach the source of the transmission， Xi Virginis， they will uncover a threat far beyond the scope of anyone one human government 。 。 。
Reviews
Yev
，
This book was a really unfortunate situation。 There are a considerable number of enjoyable parts， but the parts I didn't like I REALLY didn't like。 I looked over the next books and confirmed that I wouldn't read them。 This book was a really unfortunate situation。 There are a considerable number of enjoyable parts， but the parts I didn't like I REALLY didn't like。 I looked over the next books and confirmed that I wouldn't read them。 。。。more
Benjamin Kahn
，
Really enjoyed this book。 Stumbled upon a recommendation for it when I was looking up another book that I was reading and I'm really glad that I did。 It's space opera - the characters are interesting， the plot moves at a good clip， and the world-building is all well-done。 I like how Swann builds on religions that currently exist in his vision of the future。 I don't have any real criticisms of this book - it was uniformly good。 Really enjoyed this book。 Stumbled upon a recommendation for it when I was looking up another book that I was reading and I'm really glad that I did。 It's space opera - the characters are interesting， the plot moves at a good clip， and the world-building is all well-done。 I like how Swann builds on religions that currently exist in his vision of the future。 I don't have any real criticisms of this book - it was uniformly good。 。。。more
Joerg Grau
，
Novels set in the world started in the Moreau series are again not disappointing。 Another excellent novel by S。 Andrew Swann， in a fascinating future。 The end seems to be near。。。。This is the first in an excellent series。
Mike
，
It was an interesting read with well developed characters and a well developed world。 It's not mind blowing， but it is an enjoyable read that won't disappoint。 It was an interesting read with well developed characters and a well developed world。 It's not mind blowing， but it is an enjoyable read that won't disappoint。 。。。more
Les
，
This is an excellent book。 This is the first book by this author for me。 I picked it up because of how highly recommended he is。 I can see why after reading this！Plenty of action， good characters and a good plot with some great twists and turns。 There's humans， aliens， advanced AI things and all of the good stuff。 It's got all of the elements that I like in a good space opera。 Like some other reviewers have said， it felt similar reading to Peter F。 Hamilton's Nights Dawn trilogy - only shorter。 This is an excellent book。 This is the first book by this author for me。 I picked it up because of how highly recommended he is。 I can see why after reading this！Plenty of action， good characters and a good plot with some great twists and turns。 There's humans， aliens， advanced AI things and all of the good stuff。 It's got all of the elements that I like in a good space opera。 Like some other reviewers have said， it felt similar reading to Peter F。 Hamilton's Nights Dawn trilogy - only shorter。 Which， I will add， is not a bad thing。 The right length to fit it all in without being too long （my only real complaint with some of PFH's novels）。Anyway， I've launched straight into the second book of the trilogy （Heretics） because I couldn't wait and am looking forward to continuing with this great story。Well worth the time reading。 There was nothing that I didn't like。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Ed [Redacted]
，
Fun space opera with fairly interesting characters and a lot of good ideas。 This book was so-so， pretty slow moving， for the first half then picked up momentum leading toward an ending that really sets this series up nicely。 If this were a stand alone book I would be less enthusiastic， but as the opening book of at least a trilogy， it works well。
Roger Eschbacher
，
Set in the same universe as the "Hostile Takeover Trilogy" （200 years later）， and in my opinion， even better written than the earlier books。 Suspenseful， good hard sci fi， mixes in religion which always interests me。 Looking forward to the second book in the trilogy。 Set in the same universe as the "Hostile Takeover Trilogy" （200 years later）， and in my opinion， even better written than the earlier books。 Suspenseful， good hard sci fi， mixes in religion which always interests me。 Looking forward to the second book in the trilogy。 。。。more
Calen
，
Following the Hostile Takeover trilogy after the fall of the confedarcy; politics， religious wars， heretical technologies and foundation-esque social engineering running amuck。 Will this trilogy live up to the first？ No idea。
D。M。 Dutcher
，
Brisk Space Opera surprisingly linked to his Moreau books。 Deep in the future an egg-shaped artifact is traveling in space。 Meanwhile， a human fused with a Race A。I。 is investigating the anamoly it's causing。 He has his own plans about it， and recruits a varied crew of mercs， including a Catholic spy， an apostate cyborg-tiger cast out of his world， a descendant of half human-half Moreau creations called Franks， and others。 This book is a quick set-up to the main conflict。 It reads fast， but not Brisk Space Opera surprisingly linked to his Moreau books。 Deep in the future an egg-shaped artifact is traveling in space。 Meanwhile， a human fused with a Race A。I。 is investigating the anamoly it's causing。 He has his own plans about it， and recruits a varied crew of mercs， including a Catholic spy， an apostate cyborg-tiger cast out of his world， a descendant of half human-half Moreau creations called Franks， and others。 This book is a quick set-up to the main conflict。 It reads fast， but not much gets covered due to its brevity。 The far-future version of the Moreau universe is interesting， and surprisingly religious: Catholic and Islamic states are at an uneasy peace。 Religion apart from "fundamentalists are evil" is rare in space opera， and Swann treats it well。 I liked it， and plan to read the other two in the series soon。 。。。more
Daniel （Attack of the Books！） Burton
，
S。 Andrew Swann had me hooked before the last page of the prologue to Prophets。 Mallory is a priest and former marine living a quiet life teaching at a university。 Nicolai is outcast royalty， alone and disgraced on the anarchic world of Bakunin。 Flynn is a societal reject because of his choice not to accept his culture’s norms。 Tetsami is the ancestor that lives in Flynn’s mind。 Parvi is the pilot and mercenary who is increasingly the pawn of events beyond her control。 And all of them are about S。 Andrew Swann had me hooked before the last page of the prologue to Prophets。 Mallory is a priest and former marine living a quiet life teaching at a university。 Nicolai is outcast royalty， alone and disgraced on the anarchic world of Bakunin。 Flynn is a societal reject because of his choice not to accept his culture’s norms。 Tetsami is the ancestor that lives in Flynn’s mind。 Parvi is the pilot and mercenary who is increasingly the pawn of events beyond her control。 And all of them are about to find themselves at the mercy of a power greater than stars。Prophets takes place in the twenty-fifth century， a time when man has reached the stars， made contact with alien civilizations， and already survived both an interstellar war with some of those civilizations and civil war with itself。 The Confederacy， the one government that held humanity’s far flung planets together， has collapsed and divided into factions， some along secular lines， some aligned with the Vatican， and some a part of the Islamic Caliphate。A balance exists between the worlds of the Caliphate and all others。 But when shadowy forces start moving on the fringes of civilized space， speaking of lost human colonies and astral anomalies， everyone must race to be the first to arrive， to lay hold of what might tip the balance of power in their direction。Swann spins a tale that is cinematic in vision and has echoes of Dan Simmons’ Hyperion series。 He fills the story—equally mystery， cloak and dagger， political intrigue， and science-fiction—with characters that are mercenaries， scientists， priests， A。I。s， aliens， spies， saboteurs， and mutants。 And there are also， of course， lots of space ships with faster-than-light travel drives （what would space opera be without that？）。 Almost none of the characters are clearly hero or villain， and each is a well drawn composite of traits that are likeable and flawed。 Their interactions are unpredictable and gripping， each pulled by the plot in ways neither they， nor the reader， expects。 By writing his characters credibly， and not balking at their pain or suffering， Swann creates a story that is both enjoyable and that the reader cares about。Unlike many scifi and fantasy authors today， Swann is willing to tell the story in under five hundred pages。 The length keeps the story alive， stopping on characters just long enough to paint a portrait of their history and relationship to the plot， then moving along again。 Chapters cut to the chase， inserting the reader as far into the action as possible， then leaving them right at the point of greatest impact。 The result is a page-turner that demands to be finished。I have a bad habit of parachuting into authors worlds mid-series， and while Prophets is definitely the first in the Apotheosis series， it is the third series that Swann has written in the so-called “Moreau” universe。 The first two—the Moreau series and the Hostile Takeover Trilogy—occur hundreds of years earlier than the events in Prophets。 I had decided， upon picking up Prophets， that if I liked it I would go back and read the Moreau and Hostile Takeover。 The good news is that I enjoyed it immensely， and as soon as I finish the Heretics and Messiah， the next two books in the series （which are both waiting on my bed stand）， I’ll go hunting for the previous series。 。。。more
Kati
，
A sprawling space opera with some amazingly vivid imagery。 But also heavy on exposure and with downright unlikable characters blinded by their various dogmatic faiths。 When it was not the Catholic Church， it was Islam or some cooked up religion。 I really， very much dislike people driven by their religion's dogmas instead of common sense。 That's why the only person I liked and rooted for， was Flynn。 One character couldn't save the whole ensemble， though。To sum it up， there are some really great i A sprawling space opera with some amazingly vivid imagery。 But also heavy on exposure and with downright unlikable characters blinded by their various dogmatic faiths。 When it was not the Catholic Church， it was Islam or some cooked up religion。 I really， very much dislike people driven by their religion's dogmas instead of common sense。 That's why the only person I liked and rooted for， was Flynn。 One character couldn't save the whole ensemble， though。To sum it up， there are some really great ideas in this book， some very exciting stuff。 Unfortunately， I need more to be smitten with a book: I need characters that I love to follow。 And this book offered them sparsely。 。。。more
Susan
，
A good read though not as memorable as the original Moreau series
Brian Henderson
，
While I typically really enjoy anything Steve Swiniarski writes under any of his various pen-names， I found myself struggling through this book。 It leapt between disparate groups of characters with little rhyme or reason and the religious aspects of it left me entirely cold。 Maybe it's time that this particular "series" （or multi-series） ended and he moved on with something entirely different。 At the moment， I can't be sure I'll bother picking up the next book， considering the bad taste this one While I typically really enjoy anything Steve Swiniarski writes under any of his various pen-names， I found myself struggling through this book。 It leapt between disparate groups of characters with little rhyme or reason and the religious aspects of it left me entirely cold。 Maybe it's time that this particular "series" （or multi-series） ended and he moved on with something entirely different。 At the moment， I can't be sure I'll bother picking up the next book， considering the bad taste this one left in my mouth。 。。。more
Tamahome
，
I read it on the strength of the beginning of the 2nd novel， Heretics。 I was restless in the first half， but then it picked up。 It's got some fun characters， an AI， a tiger-man， a man with another personality inside， a 'Protean'， a priest/soldier， etc。 He's already built up the world in 2 trilogies before this， Moreau & Hostile Takeover。 I read it on the strength of the beginning of the 2nd novel， Heretics。 I was restless in the first half， but then it picked up。 It's got some fun characters， an AI， a tiger-man， a man with another personality inside， a 'Protean'， a priest/soldier， etc。 He's already built up the world in 2 trilogies before this， Moreau & Hostile Takeover。 。。。more
new_user
，
Should I assume the Muslims are the evil-doers in this one？ ¬。¬
Cathy
，
More of a 2。5 really。 There wasn't enough character or plot development to make it stand on it's own instead of being a clear continuation of the previous series。 In fact， I picked it up before I realized it was related to the Hostile Takeover series and couldn't make heads or tails of the political and historical setting。 After going back and reading the other series， this made sense， but it wasn't as good。 There was something about the last series that kept me eager to turn the page， a strengt More of a 2。5 really。 There wasn't enough character or plot development to make it stand on it's own instead of being a clear continuation of the previous series。 In fact， I picked it up before I realized it was related to the Hostile Takeover series and couldn't make heads or tails of the political and historical setting。 After going back and reading the other series， this made sense， but it wasn't as good。 There was something about the last series that kept me eager to turn the page， a strength of character and progress in action that just kept me interested。 This didn't have the same pace or excitement。 It's too theortical， there's too much set up of the premise without enough action， the characters are undeveloped， and the big surprise isn't （a surprise）。 Also， I didn't really enjoy the use of the Catholic and Muslim religions as the foundation for the two human parties that are the center of this political struggle。 I liked the economic element of the last series more than this religious structure。 Although it really is more about politics than religion。 But there are intriguing elements。 It's fun to have Tetsami involved， although I don't really see how a woman who was so fundamentally opposed to the Protean egg in the last series ended up with her mind in this planet's Hall of Minds。 I'm curious to see if we find out how the Hall of Minds came about at all， on a planet started with immigrants from so many varied communes， corporations， and even planets， who would have considered that kind of thing frightening and tabboo。 The Hall of Minds is an interesting concept， along with the idea that after so many combinations that uniquiness is lost on the crowd。 I'm hoping to see more depth from the characters in the next book， there are a few who are intriguing but still quite vague （Mallory， Nikolai， Kugara）。 And I'm curious to see how the situation with the egg plays out。 。。。more
Mike
，
Prophets marks the first book in a new series from S。 Andrew Swann set in the same universe as two of his previous series （Hostile Takeover and Moreau）。 Set several centuries in the future Prophets begins 200 years after the fall of the human Confederacy （an organizations of human planets and colonies） and where the Roman Catholic Church represents a powerful political force in the expansion of human influence in the galaxy。 A rising power， the islamic Eridani Caliphate， is quickly gaining groun Prophets marks the first book in a new series from S。 Andrew Swann set in the same universe as two of his previous series （Hostile Takeover and Moreau）。 Set several centuries in the future Prophets begins 200 years after the fall of the human Confederacy （an organizations of human planets and colonies） and where the Roman Catholic Church represents a powerful political force in the expansion of human influence in the galaxy。 A rising power， the islamic Eridani Caliphate， is quickly gaining ground on the Church while a third party， represented by the enigmatic Mr。 Antonio， manipulates both governments and individuals towards a yet unknown goal。 Prophets is a novel that covers all the standard space opera bases and covers them well。 Unique and fascinating alien races， genetically engineered humans， sentient AI， political machinations， fascinating human cultures， and mystery are all present and accounted far。 This might of made for a fairly generic story but Swann manages to weave a startling complexity and depth into each of those aspects and ties everything together with spiritual and religious themes that are overt but never obnoxious。Full review here。 。。。more
Tony
，
This is the first book in the 3rd trilogy set in Swann's Moreau/Race universe。 The first trilogy （collected in the Moreau Omnibus） is a favorite read of mine。 Part detective story， part cyberpunk。 The second series， Hostile Takeover， is more straight up science fiction。 I have never been disappointed in Swann's writing。 While it does not push any envelopes or break any new ground， they are entertaining。 This is the first book in the 3rd trilogy set in Swann's Moreau/Race universe。 The first trilogy （collected in the Moreau Omnibus） is a favorite read of mine。 Part detective story， part cyberpunk。 The second series， Hostile Takeover， is more straight up science fiction。 I have never been disappointed in Swann's writing。 While it does not push any envelopes or break any new ground， they are entertaining。 。。。more
Liviu
，
I have been a fan of the Moreau/Confederacy series since way back in the early 90's， read all 8 books so far （4 Moreau， 3 Takeover + Prophets）， almost all on publication， and I have enjoyed all of them with some small niggles- the last Rajahstan book is a bit redundant， though it's good to see the "old" guy back， and the Takeover ending was too open for the whole host of mysteries introduced。However this one picks up on Bakunin - the subject of the previous trilogy - and links with the original I have been a fan of the Moreau/Confederacy series since way back in the early 90's， read all 8 books so far （4 Moreau， 3 Takeover + Prophets）， almost all on publication， and I have enjoyed all of them with some small niggles- the last Rajahstan book is a bit redundant， though it's good to see the "old" guy back， and the Takeover ending was too open for the whole host of mysteries introduced。However this one picks up on Bakunin - the subject of the previous trilogy - and links with the original series in the character of Nikolai Rajahstan， scion of the Moreau royalty in disgrace。As usual， action galore， sense of wonder and a great series beginning。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Prophets
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Prophets&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Prophets&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0