Review: The Ophelia Prophecy by Sharon Lynn Fisher
Title: The Ophelia Prophecy
Author: Sharon Lynn Fisher
Publication Date: April 1, 2014
Genre: Science Fiction
Overview: Asha is one of the few remaining humans on Earth. She was born in an isolated colony called Sanctuary, a lone outpost in the desert where humans can live safe and free from the transgenic organisms that have taken over Earth, a human and mantis hybrid breed known as the Manti. When she wakes up without her memories next to a Manti, she is captured and taken to the Manti capitol. There, she learns that the world is not how she thought it was.
World-Building: The Ophelia Prophecy is set in the future after genetic engineering has been embraced by humanity and led to humanity’s downfall. Artificial Intelligence exists, but only for the Manti, the dominant race. Humanity has been relegated to one lone colony. The world isn’t terribly complicated. Despite what would seem to be total incompatibility (Mammals genetically altered to have mandibles, extra appendages, or wings), the world otherwise is relatively unobjectionable.
Perhaps the only things that were truly off-putting about this world were the lack of any apparent bugginess in the main male (the romantic lead), the way that information for humanity was limited to a single source (apparently no independent computers or information sources were preserved?), and the naivety of the human residents of Sanctuary.
Character Development: The characters were very flat. Their personalities didn’t really grow as much as Fisher would announce that a character had reached a new point of enlightenment and was now different without actually showing the growth. This wore me a little thin. None of the character’s motivations seemed to really actually motivate the characters and their actions were often disconnected from how they were supposed to be motivated or typically act. In particular, Asha’s constant escape attempts and then her self-proclaimed trust in her captor.
Plot: The plot was fast-paced, but not very memorable. Things were constantly happening. The ways that the subplots were drawn had some high points (mostly the underlying political tensions in the Manti capitol).
Rating: 2.5-3.0
Book Depository Link: http://www.bookdepository.com/Ophelia-Prophecy-Sharon-Lynn-Fisher/9780765374189
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