The Power and the Prophet:

Pelmen the Powershaper #3

by Robert Don Hughes

The beast is beginning its descent.

Pelmen the Powershaper is over his head in trouble.

Trouble is nothing new to him, but this time it may prove too much.

His beloved Serphimera has left him without a word of farewell. His old rival, the sorceress Mar-Yilot, has vowed once more to kill him and his friend Dorlyth mod Karis.

Ngandib-Mar, seat of the Power Pelmen obeyed, is on the brink of a bitter internal war, and Chaomonous again threatens to invade. Even the formerly peaceful tugoliths have begun their march into Ngandib-Mar to wreak slaughter and destruction on its people.

Now young Rosha mod Dorlyth must battle his way into the High Fortress to confront the evil sorcerer Flayh, who controlled it.

It seems that some dark Nemesis is dogging Pelmen’s footsteps, and there is nothing he can do about it.

There is only one thing he can do.

He must face this trouble head on.

The Power and the Prophet is the nail-biting final instalment of Robert Don Hughes’ epic fantasy series, Pelmen the Powershaper .



“One of the greatest books I have ever read” Goodreads reviewer

“Great plot, great setting, great fictional kingdoms, well developed characters, and a thoroughly enjoyable read!” Amazon reviewer

Dr. Robert Don Hughes (born 1949), is an American educator and writer, author of both mainstream fantasy and science fiction and evangelical non-fiction. Born within a mile of the beach in California, he now teaches missions, evangelism, world religions and apologetics at Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in Pineville, Kentucky. He spent two terms as a missionary in Africa, first in Zambia and then Nigeria. He regularly assists churches as interim pastor or revival leader. He’s better known on the Internet as the author of such fantasy and science fiction novels as The Prophet of Lamath and The Eternity Gene.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Ebooks

339 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1987

About the author

Dr. Robert Don Hughes (born 1949), is an American educator and writer, author of both mainstream fantasy and science fiction and evangelical non-fiction. Born within a mile of the beach in California, he now teaches missions, evangelism, world religions and apologetics at Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in Pineville, Kentucky. He spent two terms as a missionary in Africa, first in Zambia and then Nigeria. He regularly assists churches as interim pastor or revival leader. He’s better known on the Internet as the author of such fantasy and science fiction novels as The Prophet of Lamath and The Eternity Gene.

Reviews

[Len Evans Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well that finishes this trilogy, this last book is actually better than I remembered. It is the perfect tying up of all the many threads of this amazing trilogy. The ending of this book is satisfying on so many levels, yet at the same time bittersweet for I would have more of these awesome characters that the author created. Sadly though the author wrote a dualogy, it is set in the time of the dragon's creation well before any of these beloved ones were alive. So, this is all there is. My hat off to Robert Don Hughes for such an incredible creation, that was pure joy to read again!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bob Hughes is a GREAT story-teller. I've known Bob for years and am not sure why it took me this long to pick up his fantasy trilogy, but these books were well worth the effort to find (they've been out of print for a number of years). I suppose the most remarkable point in this third book is Bob's picture of redemption. While Bob is a devoted Christian, he is not heavy handed. This book is fiction and not theology after all. But, he doesn't let us leave the story without a reminder that our redemption has been paid with blood.

[SpentCello · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like the other two in the series, so there wasn't really much chance of me liking this one. I have very similar issues, the most prominent being that the 'Power' acting as a substitution for God is not very effective and doesn't open up any sort of interesting theological discussion at all. The characters are still faulty and I didn't like a single one of them, and the world is generic. The tugolith subplot was particularly uninspired - I almost gave into my temptation to jump forward past their trek with Pezi, which, in hindsight, would have made no difference to the story or anyone in it.

There's something here for high-fantasy lovers, but not much. Pelmen just doesn't do it for me.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of a slog to get through this one.

The shaper battles were vaguely unsatisfying. Characters actions were unrealistic, with them relying on plot armour to win the day.

The ending was a bit deep - I took it at face value the first time I read it, which was a mistake. But the last two pages are not enough to elevate the book.

[Frank & Julie Graziano · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read I kind of wish it did not end

The writing was excellent it had a few little clerical errors but for book this side you far did a great job

[Marco Hoogh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slightly darker than the first two books, but delivering a comedic blow here and there. Thank you Mr. Hughes for this series.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of action and fun. Strong female characters. Always surprises around the corner. A bit of a predictable ending.

[Christopher Sutch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel works fine, and is generally all right; this is very faint praise because I felt that this final volume in the only trilogy Hughes has actually finished failed to live up to the promise of the second volume in the series. That novel (_The Wizard in Waiting_) was very good and rarely tipped its narrative hand, unlike several events in this book. Hughes was still a rather young and inexperienced writer when this book was published and, quite possibly, he overextended his ambition for the series a touch here. Myths often have unsatisfying endings, and Hughes, in this trilogy, presents a _generalized_ Christian myth in an epic fantasy setting. I'll be interested to see how the two books of his unfinished prequel trilogy compare to his first foray into the fantasy genre.

[Charles McGonigal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ended up liking it. The author's Baptist ministry became much clearer as the Power came to dominate the story ever more - saw a lot of Lord of the Rings references, themes, even plot points. The characters were fairly stock - I can only think of a few who changed at all in 1000 pages. I don't know that I'd recommend this series to most people but I enjoyed it.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable quirky read

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good ending to the trilogy. good writing and plot make this a nice read. Very recommended

[Venture Press · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is published by Venture Press.