Review by Lana Shea -- The End-Time Foretellers

Lana Shea · Post by **Lana Shea** » 04 Jul 2019, 12:27

[Following is a volunteer review of "The End-Time Foretellers" by Ran Weber.]

2 out of 4 stars

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The End-Time Foretellers: An International Espionage Techothriller by Ran Weber is a fast-paced spy thriller. Yoav Sharf is an Israeli, ex-military, computer genius recruited for a dangerous mission. The stakes are high, and his failure will result in a massive world war; including the complete destruction of his country. Yoav faces the threats of cyber terrorism, betrayal, and his own tortured past.

The United States has given Israel a computer defense system to help protect them from the imminent threat of Iran. The computer system is impenetrable, except for an intricate set of codes the United States retained to gain access to the system if they consider necessary. Once word gets out, a frantic free-for-all begins with different interest groups trying to obtain the codes. One such group is The End-Time Foretellers; a cyber terrorist organization set on the destruction of Israel. Yoav is blackmailed into accepting the mission. His task is to discover who the End-Time Foretellers are and get the codes before the other interest groups.

My favorite aspect of the book is how well the story is told. The author introduces key information slowly and thoroughly. The story is plot-driven and intense with steady revelations that keep the reader interested. Additionally, the author carefully ties everything together with an ending that leaves the reader feeling very satisfied.

Yoav is a complex character. He suffers from depression and seems to just be moving through the motions of life with no real joy. Yoav is constantly running from his past until he meets Binyamin, who forces him to face his demons. Binyamin takes an immediate interest in Yoav, and initially serves as a spirit guide.

Judaism is a critical element to the story. It was very interesting learning different aspects of the religion and culture. The End-Time Foretellers are religiously motivated and attempting to start a war prophesied in the Hebrew Bible. Although Yoav struggles with his is own beliefs, he comes to many realizations that have a huge impact on his actions.

The author, Ran Weber, is very knowledgeable in computer science. There are many technical terms presented in the story. It is impressive how Weber is able to introduce the cyber aspect in a way that someone like me (who seems to repel technology) can understand. I was intrigued with how everything worked.

The story did, however, become a little awkward and confusing at times. The awkwardness mainly came in the dialogue and the character interactions. At times it felt forced. The confusion mainly steamed from the point of view changes. A few of the point of views were unnecessary, as they did not really add to the story.

There are several grammatical errors, especially at the beginning of the story. Most of the errors were punctuation and mainly found in the dialogue. There were also incorrect world placements. While this did not actually take away from my enjoyment of the story, it was very distracting.

Overall, I give The End-Time Foretellers: An International Espionage Techothriller 2 out of 4 stars. The grammatical errors were unfortunate as the story itself was very well-written. I would definitely recommend this story to those who enjoy action novels and spy thrillers.

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The End-Time Foretellers
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Erin Painter Baker · Post by **Erin Painter Baker** » 05 Jul 2019, 12:09

I really like it when an author can weave in information about a culture I do not know well and help me understand it better in a book. I tend to read more character driven books than plot driven ones, but this sounds like it might be a pretty good combination of the two.

Lana Shea · Post by **Lana Shea** » 08 Jul 2019, 10:51

esp1975 wrote: ↑05 Jul 2019, 12:09 I really like it when an author can weave in information about a culture I do not know well and help me understand it better in a book. I tend to read more character driven books than plot driven ones, but this sounds like it might be a pretty good combination of the two.

Definitely a lot of action in this one. Thank you for reading!

rhendic · Post by **rhendic** » 11 Aug 2019, 20:57

I love books that teach you things during the reading process. It's like a two for one, entertainment and gained knowledge. Too bad this book was missing out on a few key things to make it great. This review was thorough and skillfully written.