The Prescott Legacy

A Medical Urban Fantasy Novel

Fiction - Fantasy - Urban
455 Pages
Reviewed on 08/30/2022
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite

The Prescott Legacy: A Medical Urban Fantasy Novel by Robert Sounvonnakasy revolves around a college student named Simon Weller who is a whole lot more than just that. Simon is a bit of a mixed bag and every inch the awkward kid, but awkward goes to the extreme when he starts having lucid dreams, or visions, followed by pain. His friends are what my California father would call “college bros” and on a night out that goes wrong Simon's budding power first manifests itself in the saving of a life. Simon has a superpower: he can heal people of ailments and cure STDs. Simon and his side-bro Karl put it to the test, as insane college dorm kids tend to do, and Karl slits his wrists. Simon saves him and it's as if Karl had never been injured. Success! Unfortunately, Simon can only save those he knows are ailing, and a devastating loss rocks his friend group which has a domino effect. Their suspicions of foul play run as rampant as the pandemic ravaging Seattle, leading the group into the dark underbelly of the city and literally underground.

Dungeons and Dragons. Anime drawings of Bruce Lee. The keys to a sweet Honda Passport. No, this is not my Christmas list, it is just a taste of the dorkiness that marks Simon Weller and his friends in The Prescott Legacy. Robert Sounvonnakasy frequently invokes nerd-culture references and as a half-Asian reader who was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and lived for a handful of years in Seattle, I can sum all of this up in three words: I dig it. The Prescott Legacy has a lot going on and many of the sub-plots focus on those who are on the fringes of society, but not in the same way that Simon and his friends are. These fringes are horrific pockets of hate, violence, further disenfranchising and exploitation, and all manner of harm that befalls the vulnerable. Simon can feel it when he comes into an area where women have been assaulted and people have been shot. The levity of the character quirks is necessary because the rest of what readers are shown is downright heavy. It can occasionally go overboard. I could have gotten through the story without knowing that a transverse colon reattached itself, but the story is engaging. The writing is above par and is worth the commitment that a book of this size and scope requires. Recommended.

Alex Ndirangu

What would you do if you awoke one day to discover you possessed magical healing abilities? Would you hide them for fear of being exploited by governments and medical organizations, or would you take the risk and reveal them to the world? How would you use your influence to make the world a better place? The Prescott Legacy: A Medical Urban Fantasy Novel by Robert Sounvonnakasy gives an excellent picture of what your life could be if you had such powers. This compelling story redefines the paranormal fantasy subgenre by tackling several contemporary issues within an original and unique premise. In the narrative, we meet Simon Weller, a young college student who learns that he has a mysterious magical talent that enables him to heal other people; those who have been diagnosed with diseases, soothing the injured and even curing genetic abnormalities. He can also put an end to social ills that threaten to split up families and the suffering brought on by domestic and relationship abuse. However, to use his special power's healing potential, he must expend a significant amount of physical energy. How can Simon heal those in desperate need without becoming overwhelmed?

There was nothing that I didn't like about The Prescott Legacy. The conflicting emotions are one of its exquisite qualities. This book covers a variety of delicate social topics and offers heartfelt insights that will send you on an emotional roller coaster. I want to acknowledge Robert Sounvonnakasy for the skillful manner that he connected every issue with Simon's healing superpower as the essential remedy. This element gave the plot its primary focus and emphasized the motivation and struggles of the characters. The author also used a lot of descriptive language. This energized the writing style, created a vivid world that appealed to my senses, and gave the impression that I was physically present in that world. The story's realistic setting made it more relatable. This writer has touched all the sensitive chords, from minor cuts and bruises to the serious issue of domestic violence. He also incorporated diversity by including people from various backgrounds and ethnicities. I am convinced that these two elements played a significant role in making the book's fictional premise appear completely realistic. This book is for anyone who enjoys superhero thrillers with a twist of reality.

Asher Syed

In the flash of a hand, the life college student Simon Weller thought he knew changed completely in The Prescott Legacy: A Medical Urban Fantasy Novel by Robert Sounvonnakasy. Simon is a Washington State young adult who lives on his university campus but spends whatever time he is able visiting his mother and younger sister. He has a core group of friends with shared interests, but hides suppressed abandonment pain he harbors over the father who was not present. Simon discovers he has the power to heal when his friend is near death and is able to inexplicably determine what is wrong and repair it immediately. Stunned and physically impacted by exhaustion and temporary blindness, Simon's character arc has him learning what his capabilities and limitations are and, as he does so, some pieces of his past convolute his perception of everything he thought he understood until that point. Simon's friend group deals with their own varying levels of hardship, with two people named Abby and Ryan, whom Simon holds dear, being on the receiving end of its worst. A pandemic knocks Seattle to its knees and in the middle of a health storm, Simon's resolve, safety, and super-skill are put to the biggest test yet.

For fans of the Marvel comics, not the movies but the old-school comic books, Simon Weller of Robert Sounvonnakasy's The Prescott Legacy is a modern-day non-mutant superhero like the Healer, a member of a community forced underground to save himself from the massacre. Simon is able to heal major ailments without dying, which the Healer was not able to do, but as an unexplored character, I wished got more time on paper. Everything about Simon's pre-superpower life is normal and even boring for the Biomedics major at Pacific Region University. His friends are instantly likable which makes some of the twists they encounter hard to swallow as a reader, and for Simon, we feel a true degree of empathy that I don't usually experience when reading books that aren't literary fiction. The death of Spiderman's grandparents didn't hurt me the same way Sounvonnakasy did at some moments. There are parallels to recent events and things that happen do not require a lot of suspension of disbelief, and that is also something I wouldn't expect to experience in a book about a young adult with magic hands. I am an avid superhero genre reader and it would surprise me if this was Sounvonnakasy's debut novel but, whatever the case, I hope there are many more.

K.C. Finn

The Prescott Legacy: A Medical Urban Fantasy Novel is a work of fiction in the fantasy, thriller, and medical fiction subgenres. It is best suited to mature readers owing to some scenes of graphic violence, gore, and the use of explicit language, and was penned by author Robert Sounvonnakasy. In this unique urban fantasy tale, our protagonist Simon Weller finds himself in possession of a truly special superhero gift: that of healing others who are tortured by their own afflictions. As Simon begins to explore difficult and complex emotional situations, he has to uncover many medical and social breakthroughs in order to truly become the hero he was always meant to be.

One of the things that I enjoyed most about this book was its unique take on multi-genre writing and the very different but totally compatible influences which it uses to layer a superb and in-depth thriller tale. From the medical mystery standpoint, the plot holds water because of its own internal logic, and the emotional ties that the author makes to pertinent real-world conditions like cancer, violence, and abuse. When you combine this with the superhero and urban fantasy element of Simon’s origin story and his rise to the top, the tension is ramped up tenfold, and this really brings out some exciting new enemies and dangerous consequences beyond the everyday. I also really enjoyed the dialogue for its accessibility, levity, and wit. Overall, I would highly recommend The Prescott Legacy for fantasy readers everywhere looking for a unique and highly engaging new genre mash-up.