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azrah786's review against another edition
4.25
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I was gifted a copy of the book by Daphne Press through Black Crow PR in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, injury, gore, murder, torture, war, death, death of parent, xenophobia, bullying, confinement, emotional abuse, ableism, grief, drug use, alcohol
--
The Art of Prophecy is a book that has truly left a lasting impression as it is still rattling around in my mind two months on.
Now I’ll admit I did struggle with it at first as the opening chapters didn’t initially grab my interest. They consisted of the standard sequence of throwing us into a new world with lots of names and places and details that you have to get your head around and I immediately did not like Jian, the central figure of the prophecy this book revolves around, and his whiny bratty attitude. However, the synopsis played the story out to be something different to what it actually is.
My expectations were for it to predominantly follow a rag tag group joining together to go on a quest to get to the bottom of the failed prophecy with all the usual banter and resulting found family bonding. What this story is instead is a narrative shadowing a handful of characters (predominantly kick-ass female MCs) of varying backgrounds on their individual journeys, whose paths intersect and merge based around this prophecy and the central “hero” for different reasons and it was so so refreshing.
It is a slow-burner but once you get sucked in, you’re entranced by both the characters and the world. Wuxia inspired, the worldbuilding is vast and so evidently lived in but it is all revealed in a leisurely and meticulous manner. Over the course of the book we traverse across the continent and learn of the different people and cultures that make it up like a patchwork quilt and how they stand with regards to each other’s beliefs and ways of life. There is a community of people who live as part of a moving city which is one of the elements that I still vividly remember and that fascinated me the most.
I don’t actually want to say too much with regards to the plot as it truly needs to be enjoyed first hand but it does include a fair few familiar and classic fantasy elements (prophecies and chosen ones, master & apprentice situations) just in a slightly unconventional way.
Chu’s storytelling is wonderfully engaging. There’s a great balance of light, humorous moments and then lots of action and the exploration of darker themes. The martial arts fight scenes were so entertaining and the magical elements made it even cooler and it reminded me of the Green Bone Saga a little. But I’ve got to say what I loved the most were the characters, especially Ling Tiashi, and watching their motivations shift, their relationships grow and their arcs develop.
I’m excited to see where the story leads them all next!
Final Rating – 4.25/5 Stars
**I was gifted a copy of the book by Daphne Press through Black Crow PR in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, injury, gore, murder, torture, war, death, death of parent, xenophobia, bullying, confinement, emotional abuse, ableism, grief, drug use, alcohol
--
The Art of Prophecy is a book that has truly left a lasting impression as it is still rattling around in my mind two months on.
Now I’ll admit I did struggle with it at first as the opening chapters didn’t initially grab my interest. They consisted of the standard sequence of throwing us into a new world with lots of names and places and details that you have to get your head around and I immediately did not like Jian, the central figure of the prophecy this book revolves around, and his whiny bratty attitude. However, the synopsis played the story out to be something different to what it actually is.
My expectations were for it to predominantly follow a rag tag group joining together to go on a quest to get to the bottom of the failed prophecy with all the usual banter and resulting found family bonding. What this story is instead is a narrative shadowing a handful of characters (predominantly kick-ass female MCs) of varying backgrounds on their individual journeys, whose paths intersect and merge based around this prophecy and the central “hero” for different reasons and it was so so refreshing.
It is a slow-burner but once you get sucked in, you’re entranced by both the characters and the world. Wuxia inspired, the worldbuilding is vast and so evidently lived in but it is all revealed in a leisurely and meticulous manner. Over the course of the book we traverse across the continent and learn of the different people and cultures that make it up like a patchwork quilt and how they stand with regards to each other’s beliefs and ways of life. There is a community of people who live as part of a moving city which is one of the elements that I still vividly remember and that fascinated me the most.
I don’t actually want to say too much with regards to the plot as it truly needs to be enjoyed first hand but it does include a fair few familiar and classic fantasy elements (prophecies and chosen ones, master & apprentice situations) just in a slightly unconventional way.
Chu’s storytelling is wonderfully engaging. There’s a great balance of light, humorous moments and then lots of action and the exploration of darker themes. The martial arts fight scenes were so entertaining and the magical elements made it even cooler and it reminded me of the Green Bone Saga a little. But I’ve got to say what I loved the most were the characters, especially Ling Tiashi, and watching their motivations shift, their relationships grow and their arcs develop.
I’m excited to see where the story leads them all next!
Final Rating – 4.25/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Drug use, and Alcohol
niamhyjay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, and War
Moderate: Slavery, Torture, and Death of parent
adancewithbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to Daphne Press and netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway.
The Art of Prophecy is a book that has had a slow going buzz. Perhaps not when it released last year but as 2023 continues I hear more people talking about this book. And there is a reason for that.
In this book we first start following Tashi when she comes to visit Jian, the prophesied Hero. Sheltered from the world, Jian has much to learn. And Tashi decides to be the person to do it. But when the world learns that the prophecy failed, both Jian and Tashi have to run for their lives. As their story unfolds we meet two more main characters. Salminde who is on the other end of the war, trying to save her people. Qisami on the other end is a hired assassin with powers of the shadow nature. It creates an interesting narrative. One that took a while to get going but once it does, it hits quite a punch.
I especially fell in love with Tashi. A one armed war artist, considered the greatest of her generation. She is brash and in your face. But she has a big heart, somewhere burrowed under al that saltiness. Jian on the other hand took some getting used to. He was an entitled brat because that was the way he was raised. When you are raised to be The HERO of your nation. The one from the prophecy. You get a little ahead of yourself. But when his nation drops him like a stone, he has to start learning to fend for himself. I think he grew into that splendidly because he ended up with the right people around him.
As for Salminde, she is a character that I also couldn't help but like right away. Coming home to your rulers death and knowing you are meant to sacrifice yourself, is quite a feat. Then not doing it and deciding that you will be the one to find his substitution and save your people, is quite a switch. But it was believable with who she is. She wants to do the right thing but also wants to save what is hers (her sister). And she is in an internal war with herself over that. I did find it harder to like her when she joins the ranks of wanting to kill Jian.
But that is also the charm of this book. Getting the oposite sides of this big war. A prophecy that failed. But what is the true story behind that? Believe me that the title of this book is absolutely fitting. I'm not sure how Qisame fits in and I don't particularly like her. But she came into the story quite a bit later and there wasn't much growth in her yet.
All in all, this book is a great pick for those of us who love a good in depth, slower build of an epic fantasy. And the best thing is that the sequel is coming out later this year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you Black Crow PR for sending this my way and including my participation in the Book Tour.
I knew this was going to be my cup of tea as soon as I read the line about the prophetic hero not being the hero after all and the motley cast of characters that we'd be introduced to.
This felt like such a jovial poke fun at old school martial arts movies (it had me in mind of crouching tiger, hidden dragon) and it really felt like it was playing out like a movie in my head.
The humour in this made me physically laugh out loud, whilst the action scenes had my belly feeling clenched and my teeth grinding in anticipation.
Act I was a great introduction to our main cast of characters. My favourite was definitely grandmaster Taishi. I feel like she delivered so much humour in her dead pan personality and just natural epic legendary...ness.
I really disliked Jian. He was written so perfectly as this spoiled child hero that really hadn't done anything to deserve all the praise and godship he was freely given, so when the two ultimately met, I loved to see how their different ways clashed and hoped to see some humble traits rise from within Jian.
Act I was also the beginning of the end for Jian in many ways. Finding out that the procephy was false was one of the biggest plot points of the first act and it was interesting to see how everyone reacted to the news. The balance of how everyone felt about the procephy before vs after was so perfectly tuned. Chu really knew how to enchance emotions in perfect timing for a big drop. It was looking to be a great set up for the second Act.
Act II was interesting in the fact that we met a new substantial character - Qisami - up until then I was racking my brain thinking this character had maybe been using an alias. Her whole sect of Shadowkills gave me serious Fire Nation vibes and I throughly enjoyed that.
I enjoyed exploring the war art school with Jian and seeing how he feared in his own two feet after the crumble of the world as he knew it.
I also loved that we had a constant narrative of Sali of the Katuia people, which at times was often every other chapter. I think sympathising with her people and being fascinated by their way of life in these moving citites and among the Grass Sea, is what made my loyalties get pretty tangled by Act III.
Act III was fantastic. There were multiple epic battles all leading up to the final boss and I couldn't begin to imagine which way events would pan out. Also, because I got to enjoy every narrative, I was incredibly stumped on where my loyalties lay. Which made this particularly hard to decide on was that even in battle there was so much honor and respect. It was so inspiring to see rivals admire eachothers techniques and skill during the fights.
I feel like this would be even more incredible via audio. Imagining how rich in character, how distinct each voice was and how hilarious or action packed scenes were by physically reading... this would surely be amplified tenfold in a listening experience.
By the end, my tear ducts was prickling and I was sad to leave these characters behind, but as a saga, there is bound to be more from this world, and I cannot wait to find out what comes next!
The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu is a new favourite, for sure!
I knew this was going to be my cup of tea as soon as I read the line about the prophetic hero not being the hero after all and the motley cast of characters that we'd be introduced to.
This felt like such a jovial poke fun at old school martial arts movies (it had me in mind of crouching tiger, hidden dragon) and it really felt like it was playing out like a movie in my head.
The humour in this made me physically laugh out loud, whilst the action scenes had my belly feeling clenched and my teeth grinding in anticipation.
Act I was a great introduction to our main cast of characters. My favourite was definitely grandmaster Taishi. I feel like she delivered so much humour in her dead pan personality and just natural epic legendary...ness.
I really disliked Jian. He was written so perfectly as this spoiled child hero that really hadn't done anything to deserve all the praise and godship he was freely given, so when the two ultimately met, I loved to see how their different ways clashed and hoped to see some humble traits rise from within Jian.
Act I was also the beginning of the end for Jian in many ways. Finding out that the procephy was false was one of the biggest plot points of the first act and it was interesting to see how everyone reacted to the news. The balance of how everyone felt about the procephy before vs after was so perfectly tuned. Chu really knew how to enchance emotions in perfect timing for a big drop. It was looking to be a great set up for the second Act.
Act II was interesting in the fact that we met a new substantial character - Qisami - up until then I was racking my brain thinking this character had maybe been using an alias. Her whole sect of Shadowkills gave me serious Fire Nation vibes and I throughly enjoyed that.
I enjoyed exploring the war art school with Jian and seeing how he feared in his own two feet after the crumble of the world as he knew it.
I also loved that we had a constant narrative of Sali of the Katuia people, which at times was often every other chapter. I think sympathising with her people and being fascinated by their way of life in these moving citites and among the Grass Sea, is what made my loyalties get pretty tangled by Act III.
Act III was fantastic. There were multiple epic battles all leading up to the final boss and I couldn't begin to imagine which way events would pan out. Also, because I got to enjoy every narrative, I was incredibly stumped on where my loyalties lay. Which made this particularly hard to decide on was that even in battle there was so much honor and respect. It was so inspiring to see rivals admire eachothers techniques and skill during the fights.
I feel like this would be even more incredible via audio. Imagining how rich in character, how distinct each voice was and how hilarious or action packed scenes were by physically reading... this would surely be amplified tenfold in a listening experience.
By the end, my tear ducts was prickling and I was sad to leave these characters behind, but as a saga, there is bound to be more from this world, and I cannot wait to find out what comes next!
The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu is a new favourite, for sure!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
silentquercus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Medical content, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Self harm and Torture
2treads's review against another edition
challenging
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
'Enlightenment is forged through failure. Victory is earned through defeat.' -Tuhan
When Fate and Prophecy are non-aligned, the hero becomes just another political pawn and his master a fugitive. Chu steadily develops his world and story through his characters and their ways of life. Masters of martial arts, prophesied and doomed heroes, a war of wills and conquests, political intrigue, and dark betrayals all make this an epic tale.
The Art of Prophecy may move at a moderate pace but that does not detract from the immersiveness and attractiveness of the story. With action to spare, humourous dialogue, and unlikely partnerships and friendships, you can't help but keep reading. What makes this even more enjoyable is our central character around who the prophecy revolves.
An inept and spoiled boy who has been indulged and used more than he has been prepared is given a rude awakening when he is found lacking by a practical and blunt master. I love that Chu then takes this character and removes him from where he is comfortable into the world where he is forced to take another perspective and work towards growing into the hero he can be.
We also get an amazing cast who are also on their own missions whether bound by honour or gold, the ante gets upped and the reader is plunged into an increasingly complex world.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: War
readundancies's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Alright, so the start to The War Arts Saga was freaking awesome. Like we’re talking, I was having discussions with myself about purchasing a physical copy of this at less than 150 pages in.
Because this was action-packed, fun-filled and wildly entertaining, and the story’s only just begun really.
All of the character perspectives work really well at relaying the narrative and pushing the plot along so that none of them feel redundant. But Taishi and Jian’s perspectives specifically are so at odds with one another and I loved it. Taishi was genuinely one of the best character perspectives I’ve had the pleasure of reading from this year, and her lack of tolerance for bullshit is beyond what I could’ve dreamed of. Jian was equally as compelling emotionally but in the opposite vein; he started off so thoroughly annoying, but that’s kind of the point with a character so spoiled and the fact that I loved to despise him means the writing was on point when it comes to characterization.
Sali was less interesting to me compared to the former two; one, because her newly realized Soul Keeper status didn’t really have much to do with anything relevant and two, because once Qisami was introduced I was much more captivated by her chaotic deal and they were a little too similar in voice and tone despite coming from very different backgrounds. Both were renowned, highly skilled at their crafts and snarky and privileged because of their ties to their respective noble families. There was not enough differentiating them that wasn’t basic backstory, and their roles as leaders ordering others around so often didn’t help with matters. Don’t get me wrong though, I didn’t dislike Sali or Qisami, and I actually got more excited for their perspectives as the plot progressed because they brought the drama, ya know? I just really fell in love with Jian and Taishi (especially Taishi). And I do have to say the female representation in this novel was a delight to acquaint one’s self with as a reader, all strength and introspection or deliberately antagonizing intent.
From a worldbuilding perspective, the state of the politics and establishing the tension between the Khanates and the Zhuun and the Zhuun even amongst themselves was really hammered home. As in, the entirety of the novel is mostly just letting the characters find their footing and building the world foundationally in terms of political climate and all of the political players at play.
And with respect to plot, even by the end of the book we’ve only really just gotten started with Taishi and Jian beginning their adventure, although there are quite a few dead bodies lying on the journey between Taishi and Jian meeting for the first time and Taishi actually asking Jian if he wants to take up the mantle of the Windwhisperer’s protege. We get to the see the Khanate perspective in Sali, Viperstrike and Will of the Khan who has failed and been failed by her people and religion, while also getting the perspective of Qisami, an assassin of the Consortium and shadowkill expert with an penchant for murder and a crazed determination to make her daddy’s jaw drop in awe of her skills because her inheritance is a begrudging one. But in the grand scope of things, nothing major has really happened yet other than the beginning of the training of the Prophesied Hero of Legend.
One thing that really grated on my nerves though was the map. Let’s talk about this map and within Act Two I think I only saw one location mentioned within the novel that was actually present on the map. What even was the point other than a lovely illustrated map that did not help me because there were no locations on it that were actually referenced in the story. Also why did the map have no title? Like what land is this? Aggravation is my new name when it comes to this map.
But other than that? I enjoyed myself and I am committed to the series as a whole because this was a heck of fun time. And I can’t wait until the sequel comes out and we get to see Taishi actually start training with Jian and their whole mentor-mentee dynamic properly over an extended period of time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
kindra_demi's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Review content warning: suicide (mentioned in the spoiler section)
I was so excited going into this book because of the premise of it. Chosen one but something got messed up and he isn't the chosen one? It sounded so interesting to me! And I will give that the plot ideas are great, but the execution failed.
My biggest complaint is the fact the one thought that gets the entire ball rolling for Jian and Taishi is based on (the following is a vague spoiler of what starts Jian and Taishi journey)a false sense of security from sloppy politicians. If the dukes really did their work, they would know that the Eternal Khan will reincarnate and if Jian still has any form of power or influence as the prophecy originally said, then killing him doesn't make sense. And if he doesn't have power or influence, even staging his death to look like an accident/suicide, the people of the Tiandi religion wouldn't want to listen to the dukes and would rather go find their next prophecy child when the Eternal Khan returned.
If you ever want to read a story written with heavy influence of toxic masculinity, this is the book for you. In the beginning it did make sense, our main character Jian was trained by several different masters and had the world catered to him because he was the Hero of Prophecy. He wasn't even allowed to be scratched, so yeah it makes sense that there is going to be extreme levels of arrogance when you think the entire world is below you. But there comes a certain point where you should see a change and some growth from the characters and you don't. The characters fell flat. The women could only be strong or damsels in distress, no in between. Everyone was the best and the strongest, until they weren't. And even when they weren't, they still somehow were?
Many times it felt as if the author was just trying to hit a word count because there would be descriptions or comments that were repeated throughout the chapters for no reason or he would use certain words in an attempt to sound smart, but really it just took me out of the story so I could see what the word meant.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
I was so excited going into this book because of the premise of it. Chosen one but something got messed up and he isn't the chosen one? It sounded so interesting to me! And I will give that the plot ideas are great, but the execution failed.
My biggest complaint is the fact the one thought that gets the entire ball rolling for Jian and Taishi is based on (the following is a vague spoiler of what starts Jian and Taishi journey)
If you ever want to read a story written with heavy influence of toxic masculinity, this is the book for you. In the beginning it did make sense, our main character Jian was trained by several different masters and had the world catered to him because he was the Hero of Prophecy. He wasn't even allowed to be scratched, so yeah it makes sense that there is going to be extreme levels of arrogance when you think the entire world is below you. But there comes a certain point where you should see a change and some growth from the characters and you don't. The characters fell flat. The women could only be strong or damsels in distress, no in between. Everyone was the best and the strongest, until they weren't. And even when they weren't, they still somehow were?
Many times it felt as if the author was just trying to hit a word count because there would be descriptions or comments that were repeated throughout the chapters for no reason or he would use certain words in an attempt to sound smart, but really it just took me out of the story so I could see what the word meant.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, and Alcohol