The Art of Prophecy

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The Art of Prophecy blew my mind. Every part of this book impressed me, from the worldbuilding to the character dynamics, to the fight scenes and the weapons (Reader, I think I fell in love with Sali’s weapon of choice. I’ll let you read the book to find out what it is, but it is the coolest weapon I’ve ever read in my life and I want one really, really bad). This is the kind of book that shows you what fantasy is capable of when written by an author who is a master of his craft. I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for a digital copy of this book. The training overseer stood and clapped his hands. “You all have the honor of aiding in the training of the undefeated Champion of the Five Under Heaven, the terror of the Katuia Hordes, and the savior of the Zhuun people. Fight bravely, but remember your place. The penalty for injuring him is death. The penalty for drawing his blood is death. The penalty for refusing to engage is death.” The overseer continued, rambling off another ten or fifteen rules. By the time he was done, Taishi wasn’t sure how any fighting was possible. “Any questions?” he intoned. So many stories begin the same way- With a prophecy. A chosen one. And the inevitable quest to slay a villain, save the kingdom, and fulfill a grand destiny.

Prophecies don’t make heroes: they only choose them. When Chosen One Jian falls short of his prophesied quest, he must find his own path to greatness. What follows is a story more wondrous than any prophecy could foresee, and with many unexpected heroes: Taishi, an older woman who is the greatest grandmaster of magical martial arts in the kingdom but who thought her adventuring days were all behind her; Sali, a straitlaced warrior who learns the rules may no longer apply when the leader to whom she pledged her life is gone; and Qisami, a chaotic assassin who takes a little too much pleasure in the kill. I'm up in the air whether I want to own the physical copy. I did use one of my Audible credits to get the book as I couldn't seem to get through it with my Netgalley copy. The narration is very good and funny as hell at times so I do recommend it. I’m a big fan of free will when it comes to my characters. I build the setting, I lay the trap, and then I let them make all the bad decisions they want, as long as it feels real and organic. Jian, however, is a character I wanted to hate but ended up loving almost instantly. He starts out the book spoiled, yes, but Chu works him in such a way that even his haughty nature is endearing, and when his life starts changing, his confusion and turmoil is genuine and heartfelt. The transformation he undergoes might be the most obvious in the book, but I’d venture to say The Art of Prophecy is, at its core, about people challenging the roles that have been thrust on them and while Jian might be the most obvious in that, he is far from the only one undergoing fundamental change.I won’t spoil the fast-paced plotline, which unfolds unexpectedly, because that’s exactly the point. I won’t go over the characters you’ll get to meet, how each one is unique but somehow familiar. And I won’t mention the more… colorful sensory details that make up these fantastic locations. This was an intriguing setup, but I felt that this was the best part of the book and that it became less compelling once Taishi and Jian went their separate ways. My favorite element of The Art of Prophecy was the dynamic between the two, whose mentor/mentee relationship had a rough start given that Taishi publicly humiliated her pupil and dismissed his previous teachers. Jian is not used to being challenged or viewed as a human being rather than a divine one, and he hates that Taishi treats him like a mere teenage boy and even dares to suggest he could improve. Taishi was also the most interesting character to me: an experienced older master who lost an arm, has power over wind, and is just kind of grumpy and over everyone’s crap. Yet beneath her grouchy exterior, she does have a soft spot for Jian and wants what’s best for him, even when he’s cross with her for ruining his luxurious lifestyle. It does begin with a prophecy- A child will rise to defeat the Eternal Khan, a cruel immortal god-king, and save the kingdom. Taishi (one of my favorite characters ever, full stop) arrives to evaluate Jian’s training and realizes that he’s woefully underprepared for what he is to face. Taishi sets about changing Jian’s life, his training, his… everything. As you can imagine, there are growing pains as Jian and Taishi seem to rub each other wrong for a good chunk of the book, but Taishi is determined, and her stubborn nature and fundamental belief in her task, and in Jian, keeps her going when most everyone else would have probably given up. (I also really love her wry wit, which tends to lift a scene exactly when it needs it most.) Welcome to the Hive, Wesley. Congratulations on your UK publication of The Art of Prophecy. Can you tell our readers a little about it? What can they expect?

Sali, our point of view character in the Grass Sea, is fantastic. With a very “takes-no-shit” attitude, Sali has a way with walking into a room and just owning it (she also has one of the coolest weapons I’ve ever read in fantasy). Sali is one of those characters I could sink into so easily, and yet while she has a hard edge and she’s prone to uh… hurting people who cross her, she has a spine crafted of loyalty and love to her people and those she cares about. She has her own moral core, and her raw humanity is what makes the Grass Sea, this incredible, strange place that Chu created, so intensely captivating and immersive. One could make the argument that it was one of the first epic fantasies, filled with great conflict and big personalities. It also showed that even though it was set almost two thousand years ago, the more things changed the more people stayed the same.Wesley Chu is the #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of twelve published novels. Chu is an accomplished martial artist and a former member of the Screen Actors Guild. He has acted in film and television, worked as a model and stuntman, and summited Kilimanjaro. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Paula, and their two boys, Hunter and River. Without giving away spoilers, I would say the philosophy behind prophecies in the book very closely mirrors my own. The thing that destiny is that, if something has to happen, then someone has to make that choice, which means that this person had to have grown up in a way to be perfectly situated at that time, at that place, and in that certain mindset to make that decision based upon everything that has happened in their life. The story opens with Ling Taishi, one of the greatest war masters of her generation, meeting Jian, the Chosen One who’s prophesied to defeat the Eternal Khan, the immortal god-king of the Katuia hordes. She’s not impressed. The boy is spoiled, arrogant, and not ready for the challenge. Just when she decides to train him, unexpected events prove the prophecy was a sham, and the boy’s existence becomes a political problem. That’s all you need to know - a more in-depth synopsis would only spoil part of the fun.

Overall, I rate this book a 4/5. I loved the cast of older women, found the premise really fun, and the story, especially the fight scenes, extremely engaging.

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but for those who love an intricately-crafted world where martial arts dominate life and the characters are compelling, then this is a book you will want to add to your TBR! Taishi rolled her eyes. So much stupid pomp. She mouthed silently and carried her whisper on the wind to the man’s ear. “Skip the rest.” appropriate for expressing the majesty of the Spirit ( Acts 17:2, 3; 2 Cor. 4:2-4; Gal. 3:1). For this