The Nostradamus Prophecy - Theresa Breslin
The Nostradamus Prophecy - Theresa Breslin
The Nostradamus Prophecy is similar in many ways to Theresa Breslin's 2006 novel The Medici Seal - both books feature a coming-of-age tale where the protagonist makes the journey to adulthood during the course of a physical journey, both books and set in times of great change and upheaval and of course they both contain a selection of rich, powerful, aristocratic bad guys. Another similarity is the skill with which both books are written; settings are vibrant and alive, full of bustle and life or dark and eerie sending chills down your back as you read, characters are well described and complex enough to be totally believable (usually) - heroes have weakness and villains have understandable motivations - and the books move at a breakneck but believable pace which pulls the reader through from cover to cover. There are definitely differences though; Mélisande - heroine of The Nostradamus Prophecy - is a more sympathetic main character so is easier to root for as she crosses France, hears the prophecies of Nostradamus, witnesses murder, becomes aware of the growing tensions between the Catholic and Huguenot courts and eventually finds love. However, while Mélisande is for the most part an excellent character the many different scenes and settings she finds herself in mean that her character keeps having to change to keep up and a few of these changes feel a little forced and unrealistic. This sometimes happens to the book's settings and tone as well - the pace that Theresa Breslin keeps up means that the settings are constantly changing and it feels as though sometimes the action can't keep up, resulting in shifts in tone that don't always feel right. This is only a minor problem though; most of the book hangs together well and the setting is undoubtedly fascinating. The rest of the characters are superbly written, managing to avoid the problems that make Mélisande's character feel slightly unrealistic at times and while some of them feel like stereotypes (the evil, scheming queen and her deceitful spy, the weak and foolish king and the strong, silent and sexy leopard-keeper Melchior) none of them ever slip into caricature. The realistic characters, the fascinating setting and the thrilling plot will keep readers in suspense until the very end where the story is satisfyingly rounded off with a lovely ending.
Amy
Post new comment