Zein: The Prophecy

by Graham J. Wood

On Earth, an inexplicable change is occurring in young Tyson Mountford as an ancient power awakens within his body.

In the skies above him, an alien race live in four vast quadrants. With their colony masked from the humans below by advanced technology, they are attacked from within by an evil that not just threatens their existence but that of humanity.

Kabel Blackstone, from the most powerful alien Zein clan may be their last hope. Can he unravel the enigma of the Prophecy that one will come who will defeat this evil and bring peace to Zein and Earth?

With his destiny tied to that of Tyson, Kabel seeks help on Earth from a small band of unlikely companions. They are pursued relentlessly by a malevolent force, driven by greed for control of the precious zinithium ore.

Now the strangers from two separate worlds must put aside their differences, control their newly acquired magics and fight back to save their families, their planets and their lives.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy

334 pages, Paperback

First published January 13, 2014

About the author

Graham Wood was born in Manchester in 1967, third youngest child to Allen and Joan Wood. In his early years he struggled forming words and then developed a speech impediment that led him to read more than usual: when reading a book his speech problems disappeared. By ten years old he had amassed over 500 books he had read. Now over his initially speech problems he excelled at Ashton-On-Mersey School in Sale and joined Barclays Bank PLC aged 16. He spent 24 successful years there, rising from a cashier to globetrotting outsourcing contract negotiator. He joined Halifax Bank of Scotland in 2007 and then Lloyds Bank in 2009. It was in 2009 that he finally left the banking industry to become a freelance Procurement Consultant, working predominately with a specialised procurement consultancy, Efficio, in London. Over this time he has negotiated over £2.7bn contracts around the world.
Through all this time he wanted to be an author, however a busy work life always stood in his way. At home life was also demanding, after marrying Rachel in 1993, he had his son, Joe in 1994 and his daughter, Rebecca in 1998.
It was his relationship with his daughter that eventually inspired him to write his debut novel, Zein The Prophecy, when in 2012 during a biology class, Becky's friend struggled to find her pulse in her left hand side. A trip to the doctors turned, within six months, into open heart surgery. Further investigations proved that Becky's vascular system is extremely different to others, with multiple capillary blood vessels growing in her body, including the brain to ensure that blood continued to flow round her body, against medical convention.
It was during Becky's convalescence in the intensive care unit in Alder Hey, Liverpool and later in the children's ward that a troubled and emotional father began to sketch out Zein the Prophecy to take his mind of the chaos and also create a book that his daughter would want to read.
The story stems from his many business flights, when he noticed outside, how different a world it is up there above the clouds. He sat down in January 2013 and within 4 months had completed his first novel which then went through the normal editing process. Zein The Prophecy is Book 1 of the first of three trilogies, all self-contained stories in their own right but with the common theme of there link to Zein.

Reviews

[Celia Conrad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met the author,Graham Wood, at the London Author Fair at the end of February and he very kindly gave me a signed paperback copy of his book.

Now, I'm not a fan of the science fiction genre but this book is very well-written and the story is so good that I found that I wanted to keep reading. Personally, I think the book is a mix of science fiction, fantasy and adventure so it will have a good deal of appeal to many readers. Graham has a great writing style and knows how to spin a good yarn.

I don't want to set out the plot. For that you will need to read the book. Do I recommend the book? Yes, wholeheartedly. It's well-paced, action-packed and has that feel good factor to it with good overcoming evil. The book has a wonderful twist and a fabulous finish. Definitely one to put on your reading list!

[G.G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. To review the book was not mandatory.

When I first started to read Zein: The Prophecy (and for the first quarter maybe), I had mixed feelings about the book.

It starts with a secondary story that happened a long time before the book. Since it was mixed with the actual story, I felt it was slowing it down. I know it's a thing with many science-fiction so I will try not to hold it against Mr. Wood. While it's not my cup-of-tea, I know some people like it.

Even though this part was important to the book, there was so much to be said, so much back-story that, quite frankly, I would have preferred reading it as a prequel to Zein instead. The book would then feel lighter and the author's talent would shine better because let's face it, the author knows how to tell a story. The book is filled with action and fights, alien weapons, and magic. The women, even the earthlings, are not weaklings and they participate in equally proportions with their male counterparts.

Now for the story:
The hardest part for me was to 'survive' the back-story. After that, the book became quite engulfing and I wanted to know what would happen next.

Characters:
I can't tell exactly what's missing there. The characters in general were likeable. I liked Kabel and the camaderie between the human friends Tyson, Bailey, Amelia, and Gemma. What might have bugged me is that although Tyson and Kabel were clearly the main characters, it felt as if there was a conflict in the author's mind as to decide which one was actually the protagonist, resulting in both being strong characters, yet none really stood out.

Without being exactly hardcore, I would still recommend this book mostly to the readers who tend to love their SciFi for the technical side. For those who like theirs more subtle, approach with caution. Since I am more of the latter than the former, my rating might be bias. I'm giving this book a 3.5 mostly because of the back story that almost lost me. If not for it, this could easily be a 4 and maybe even a 5.

[LibraryGirl2008 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zylar of the Zein race plans to destroy all who oppose him in his quest to occupy the earth. His purpose in doing so is to wipe out humanity and strip the planet of its zinithium, a rare element currently unknown to mankind, but highly prized by the Zein.

Zylar is not without opposition, however. A prophecy speaks of two brothers that will defeat him: Kabel Blackstone, the nephew hidden from Zylar at birth, and Tyson Mountford, Kabel’s human half-brother. Together, these three characters lock in a deadly struggle that will determine the fate of the earth.

I have to admit that while I love science fiction, this YA novel wasn’t quite my cup of tea. Although the action is non-stop, the novel favors plot development at the expense of character development, and I found it hard, at times, to feel gripped by the characters’ plight. Due to suggestive content and violence, Zein: The Prophecy is recommended for older teens, Ages 16-Up.

[Andy Robson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up while browsing as the synopsis sounded really good,and i was right.A fun scifi adventure with a dash of fantasy.Very likeable characters(which is important to me or i get bored fast) and a very evil,albeit,stereotypical bad guy/evil uncle,although he is kinda badass,going down the magical dark side.
The Zein living alongside humans,although masked from sight was a nice touch,and adding Manchester and Old Trafford into the mix made consequences in the story feel more wicked.

The prologue was what caught me,very nicely written.A nice amount of death and blood and well imagined battles make for a great read at a very decent pace.
The odd gripe...not enough Changeling,and he just took off!! plus Tyson didn't seem to be too overwhelmed with finding out about the existence of aliens or he has power.He seemed to take it all on the chin.Just a minor gripe.

I'm giving it 4 stars for what it is,a fantastic first effort. If this is Wood finding his feet,then i hope book 2 has him off and running.

[Alexa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book. The plot began and ended nicely, but the middle of it bored me, and the only characters I liked were Bailey and the Changeling. Those two were cool, though. Funny and sarcastic, yet caring in their own ways.
If you'd like to hear more of my thoughts on this book, you can find the full review on Verbosity Book Reviews

[Alytha]

I have shelved this book for now, probably forever, unless I get very very bored.

If I had to say one good thing about it...it has a very pretty cover.

But the writing...seriously...does the world need another rip-off of Eragon?

This book needed a decent editor. Unfortunately it didn't get one.