Gothics! I miss gothics. Or rather I should say, I miss historical gothics (since modern set ones annoy the hell out of me). I knew going into Prophecy of the Sisters that the book was a mystery and a bit of a thriller and supernatural. In a lot of ways it reminded me of the anime Noir (more on that later) or even of the old time Noir movies with Bogart.

We're introduced to the scene by Lia, at the site of their father's grave. She slowly introduces the family and people there, giving small descriptions of the scene itself. The tone is somber, lightly depressed and gloomy. Which, as it happens, matches the house they live in to perfection.

Prophecy of the Sisters is not an action filled book, or a book that is driven the events themselves. Instead its driven by Lia's reaction to the changes in her world, to herself and to her sister and to the family in general. The new tattoo on her wrist, Alice's creepy visits to the 'Dark Room' (their deceased mother's old room), a mysterious book given to her by James (Lia's suitor and friend). The narrative is character centric in other words.

The sister's relationship is what intrigued me the most. Lia freely admits that even as children she and Alice had little in common interest wise and even less in common personality wise. Alice was always the dreamer, the whimsical one who said and did strange things while Lia was the more practical, down to Earth twin. They shared touching moments as children, though less frequently as they grew older and the gap between them widened, but always there was the affection, a certain closeness that nothing could separate out.

And yet they are diametrically opposite in everything. Competitive even, at least on Alice's side. I mentioned I felt this reminded me of the anime Noir, which I doubt many of you know. In the anime there are two characters--Kirika (a young japanese girl with amazing abilities to kill) and Chloe (also a young girl with amazing abilities to kill. On the surface they are very similar--same age, similar fighting styles (though not methods of killing) and there is a sort of bond between them. The differences are however that while Chloe embraces who and what she is, Kirika wants nothing more then to be normal and live a normal life. She has affection for Chloe, but also realizes that Chloe will be the instrument of her death if she doesn't find another way.

This is how I feel Lia feels about Alice. Once things begin to happen, once the prophecy begins to play a stronger influence on their lives, the two of them begin to view the other as an obstacle to what they want. Alice wants the Prophecy and Lia's refusal creates problems for her. Lia wants things to go back to normal, to be a family again, but by the end Alice is the cause of something she can never forgive.

The novel is slow-paced, dwelling on the atmospheric details and ways of life in Victorian America. These points are important though, underscoring the difficulties that both girls face no matter their direction or inclination. There is a lot of pain in this book, but I choose to believe in Lia, that she will find another way hopefully. ( )

I read this probably 5 years ago, I don't really remember a whole lot about it. It was good enough for me to want to read the rest of the series, so I would probably recommend it based on that alone. ( )

Las siniestras circunstancias que rodean la muerte de su padre enturbian las vidas de las gemelas Lia y Alice Milthorpe. El misterio se instala entre las sombrías paredes de Birchwood, y el recelo que siempre habían sentido la una acia la otra se acrecienta tanto que acaban convirtiéndose en enemigas. Una habitación oscura que invoca más que ninguna otra el recuerdo de la trágica muerte de su madre, ocurrida años atrás; un espeluznante ritual; la inexplicable aparición de una extraña marca en la muñeca de Lia; su ardiente pasión por James; el hallazgo de un libro muy antiguo de origen desconocido...

Lia no puede olvidar las misteriosas palabras de la página final de la profecía, pues recuerdan que aún es posible un futuro en el que las almas no acechen sus sueños y esperanzas. Debe encontrar la piedra escondida por las hermanas de Altus, sus antecesoras, y completar el ritual de Avebury para cerrar la puerta a Samael y liberar a futuras generaciones de hermanas y a la humanidad del oscuro caos que resultaría de su llegada a nuestro mundo. Pero Alice sigue esforzándose por impedir esa liberación y aún no ha encontrado a la cuarta llave. ¿Llegará el dia señalado?

Was disappointing. I felt like the book leads you around by the hand. Predictable, and fell flat compared to others of the genre. Wouldn't recommend. ( )