The Last of the Descendants
by Charles R. Prandy

Reviewed by: Cherri Millard

Author Charles R. Prandy creates a solid science fiction tale with: Wesley Howard, a freshman seminary student who is the last descendant of a complex order and prophecy. The story truly begins when Wesley finds a note that was slipped underneath his front door that read: "They're watching you . . . " With no one else to share this new discovery with, Wesley phones his father—Martin, a college professor—who has held back a secret from his son for years. Arriving at his son's home, he only half explains the reason for the note being left at his door. Wesley now knows that the note and his father are connected, but is still unsure of how or why. Wesley is told that this sudden confusion will be explained in the morning. Only the next morning, his father doesn't explain, and he never gets the chance.

In the morning his father is led out of his home on a stretcher. This death is untimely as Wesley is still confused about the connection between the note and his father and is left to sort through this matter with only the help of his father's friend, Pastor Franklin.

Meanwhile, Michael and Amir—the evil pair of this book who are the chosen to rid the world of all descendants—are in hot pursuit of Wesley.

Throughout this book, all Wesley ever does is: get chased, ask questions, and run. Every time he can learn new information, he never does. The author used this as a suspenseful tool, that didn't work. The formatted pattern of suspense was easy to spot. Each time Wesley was about to and/or able to gain insight about his situation, the author would end it and cut to another scene in which you were given the history of the prophecy which was borne in the Dominican Republic. In short the story flowed as follows: new information cut to D.R., new information, cut to D.R. or Wesley is about to learn something, Michael and Amir throw him off track, flashback to Dominican Republic, over and over again, until the end of the book. With that said, the story is near the end, and Wesley still doesn't know who he is. Ultimately, Wesley would end up being an underdeveloped character who doesn't deal with anything. Wesley is 25 years of age, but it feels as if he's 15, due to his mannerisms, voice, and dialogue, which are all juvenile. Through page 106, Wesley did nothing but wander around and he only uses his gift/powers once.

What did you dislike about this book?
I couldn't help but to keep thinking that Wesley could all have been killed at any given moment throughout the book. With all the resources Amir and Michael had, I was left to wonder why they didn't go in for the kill sooner. It was almost like a superhero movie where the bad guys only attack certain people, places, and things. I know this was a sci-fi read, but it was like an unrealistic fantasy.

The back cover synopsis should have held details involving the story instead of the suspenseful excerpted text from the book, that could have been placed on an inside flap (if hardcover) or upon one of the opening pages of the book. In general I did not like the cover.

I also did not enjoy the formatted pattern of suspense. I wish the author would have been more creative with delivering the suspense, versus just leaving you hanging every time something valuable to the story was about to happen.

There were also a few annoying typos that should have been caught within the editing phase, as well as a ton of scene breaks which weren't "scene breaks" but instead just continuations of previous passages.

How can the author improve this book?
There could have been additional inserts where Wesley used his gifts/powers, as they matured. The author could have cut down on the lengthy narrative, which mostly consisted of unnecessary explanation that in the end only slowed the read down.

I say, if this is a sci-fi action tale, have Wesley learn who he is, and start some commotion and real action. Otherwise this was a slow read. There really wasn't anybody to root for or side with.

I would suggest that the publisher and/or author consider a new cover design; preferably something that will draw readers/buyers to the book. The current cover is honestly unattractive.

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