The Art of Prophecy Series: The War Arts Saga #1 Published by Random House Worlds on August 9, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Asian American, Fiction / Fantasy / Action & Adventure, Fiction / Fantasy / Epic
Pages: 528
Find the Author: Website, Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram
Goodreads
A “superb fantasy saga” (Helene Wecker) of martial arts and magic, about what happens when a prophesied hero is not the chosen one after all—but has to work with a band of unlikely allies to save the kingdom anyway, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lives of Tao
“An ambitious and touching exploration of disillusionment in faith, tradition, and family—a glorious reinvention of fantasy and wuxia tropes.”—Naomi Novik, New York Times bestselling author of A Deadly EducationSo 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.
But this is not that kind of story.
It does begin with a prophecy: A child will rise to defeat the Eternal Khan, a cruel immortal god-king, and save the kingdom.
And that prophecy did anoint a hero, Jian, raised since birth in luxury and splendor, and celebrated before he has won a single battle.
But that’s when the story hits its first twist: The prophecy is wrong.
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.
And Jian himself, who has to find a way to become what he no longer believes he can be—a hero after all.
Review:
Art of Prophecy is one of the best books I’ve read this year, a high fantasy delight loaded with incredible fights, moral complexities, and soap opera twists galore. It’s lush and lovely, shattering the usual fantasy tropes from the start: the prophesied hero is a spoiled, poorly-trained brat, and the powerful enemy he is destined to conquer ends up dying \ an ignoble death at an ordinary soldier’s hands. Varying points of view create a nuanced perspective of events as the lost hero struggles to stay alive while pursued by assassins with different motivations. Chu’s alternate-world take on historical China is intriguing and has room for further exploration in later books.
About Wesley Chu
Wesley Chu is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twelve published novels, including Time Salvager, The Rise of Io, and The Walking Dead: Typhoon. He won the Astounding Award for Best New Writer. His debut, The Lives of Tao, won the Young Adult Library Services Association Alex Award. 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 two boys, Hunter and River.
