This Apocalyptic fantasy places the teenaged protagonist, Daphne, in a down and out small Wyoming town. Upon her arrival from Detroit, from where she flees to escape abusive and horrific experiences, mysterious trumpets that only she can hear welcome her.  In the months that she lives with her aunt, uncle and pregnant cousin, a variety of strange occurrences all point to an epic change: either of a brave new world in the making or the end of the one as it exists there in Carbon County.  Of special significance is Daphne discovering oil on her uncle’s land.

Signs of the impending rapture include strange nightmares that haunt Owen, Daphne’s love interest, the mysterious trumpets that only Daphne can hear, and carved tablets that tell the prophecy: tablets that reveal their meaning to Daphne over the course of the book.

Biblical references abound in this story with the Children of God (the devote citizens of the town) setting themselves against the Children of the Earth (the hippy “evil cult”) who are committed to protecting the earth from the ravages of oil drilling.

The strength of this novel lies in the author’s drawing of her characters. The reader is introduced to a varied cast of believable secondary characters, several of whom are teenagers.  The story is told in a rotating third person point of view.

Mature themes include attempted incest, murder in self-defense, teen pregnancy, a verbally and emotionally abusive boyfriend, sexual references, teen drinking. premature childbirth and a stillborn baby, and verbal abuse and shaming by a minister. None of these sex / attempted incest / murder scenes are very graphic, but the the childbirth / stillborn baby scene is realistic. The verbal abuse scenes are also realistic and harsh.

While stereotypes abound, and although parts of the plot are fairly predictable, End Times: The Prophet Emerges makes for a good first book in this End Times series. It ends with a cliffhanger, ensuring that readers will be waiting for the sequel.