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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: Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Murder, Torture, War, Death, Xenophobia, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Ableism, Drug use, and Alcohol
gen_wolfhailstorm's review
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: Racism, War, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Violence, Slavery, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Torture, Religious bigotry, Gore, Bullying, Blood, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Genocide, Murder, Misogyny, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Hate crime, and Emotional abuse
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