I’m beginning this review with a little personal note, but I’ll tie it in quickly. First of all, I love the 1999 film “The Mummy.” (If you watched this movie when you were younger and were completely terrified, do yourself a favor and watch it again, thinking of it as an “Indiana Jones” spoof. It’s hilarious and one of my favorites). Robert Masello’s book, “The Einstein Prophecy,” has a very similar tone, but without so much comic relief. Similarly, “The Einstein Prophecy,” stages in the WWII era, as scholars and treasure searchers deal with ancient Egyptian artifacts and curses. Except, the unstoppable mummy is replaced with unstoppable demons from Christian history. Lots of people die in creepy ways, and the scholars try to save the world (because they unleashed an evil power upon it). However, there isn’t nearly as much humor to pull it through, so it also slightly compares to “The DaVinci Code.”
As it’s a fictional history, I wasn’t sure which details of Einstein’s life at Princeton University were fact or fiction (other than the obvious encounters with demons). I’ll take that as a good mark of story-telling, but I worry that others who have studied his life will be more criticizing.
One such questionable part is the genius doesn’t seem to get a break in this book. Mr. Masello writes about how everyone knew him, and everyone fawned over him (autographs, pictures, interviews, math homework advice…). There were some other moments of 21st Century perspectives, including the two sex scenes and few innuendos. Thankfully, the swearing was limited, and the book overall portrayed a typical PG13 rating (according to today’s standards).
The ending of this fictional historic novel provokes some thought, which I enjoy, but it also provokes questions about the plot, which causes problems, because not everything adds up when you think about it deeper.
Anyway, I’m still sorting my thoughts out, but this one balances around a low ***3 stars***. Maybe, like a 2.8, if I could do that.
C. Rae D'Arc 