The Harbinger: The Ancient Mystery That Holds the Secret of America's Future by Jonathan CahnMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I listened to the Audible version, narrated by the author.
The facts in this book are incredible and nearly unbelievable (but look them up, and you'll see). I highly recommend it. I think it mainly suffers in the way it was turned into a narrative.
First, I think it should have been written entirely in the first person, as it gets a little confusing (especially the audio version) when it jumps from the past (first person account) to the present (third person). As it was written, Nouriel is telling the story first person in the past, but becomes "he" in the present, which conflicts with the prophet being called "he" all the time as well. I think the three main speakers should be: Nouriel, always narrating in the first person, The Prophet in the past, often referred to as he or him, and Ana in the present referred as she/her from Nouriel's perspective. Might not be such an annoyance when actually reading the book, but when listening to the audio it was frustrating.
Second, speaking of the audiobook, the narration is good, because Cahn is passionate about his story and message, but I think it suffers because he doesn't usually create voices for the characters i.e. everyone sounds the same. So when Nouriel and The Prophet are discussing back and forth, interrupting or repeating each other and then Ana chimes in from the present, it's difficult to follow exactly who's talking unless it's tied to a "he said/I said/she said."
Third, on that repetition piece, sometimes it seems like Cahn just likes to hear his own story. I don't believe this is the case, I think he just wants to cover all angles and make sure the message comes across clearly by repeating key details. In the first half of the book, while revealing the harbingers, it worked well, but the repetition of the same things over and over started to get on my nerves later in the book.
My final critique is on solving the mysteries and Ana's character. First, the reputation established for Ana at the start of the book was powerful, and Nouriel's plea never would have convinced her to listen past five minutes. Second, I wish she had a larger part, for example, Nouriel could have visited her after receiving each seal, and she could have helped him solve the mysteries, but I guess that would have made it more story between Nouriel and Ana and less narrated dialogue between Nouriel and The Prophet. Finally, the solving of the mysteries of each seal was hit or miss. It seemed like a couple Nouriel didn't even solve or come close, he just ended up in the right place to meet The Prophet, while others had zero mystery and he figured out immediately. For example The Prophet showed up at the library to give Nouriel a hint on one of the seals, but then he ended up just explaining the whole thing anyway. Again, this would have turned more into a story about solving the mysteries, distracting from the message presented as a dialogue between Nouriel and The Prophet.
Not to say that the book was bad, but in the end, I think Cahn didn't want to write a list of facts, so he tried write a suspenseful novel about discovering true facts in mysteries, but failed to deliver some story elements because he didn't want the suspense and mystery to distract from the facts he wanted to get across. Again, seems like he's in love with the message and won't leave it for adding story bits, which is understandable.
A side note that has almost nothing to do with this book review, but it was just something in my mind that gave it an extra kick.
Toward the end when The Prophet voiced the call to "return" it reminded me of the song "Subject To Change" by Project 86, from their album …And The Rest Will Follow. "Subject to Change" has a section of the chorus that chants "return, return, return" and now reading the lyrics again, the song could easily stand beside Cahn's message (despite the album's release in 2005). It speaks of a character hiding in useless distractions and devices to escape from themselves and then calls them to "Return to yourself". The bridge toward the end could even be calling out the public's momentary turn to God following 9/11, stating "Remember when you nearly plunged into embrace? But instead you've chosen to keep it all at bay. (lyrics here: https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3...)
Overall, I was fascinated by what was presented in this book, just a little disappointed with some of the formatting and some areas of the story I felt were weak. But since this isn't about the story, it can be forgiven.
So 4 Stars for the story and audio narration, but 5 Stars for the message.
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