Reviews with content warning for Drug use - The Art of Prophecy

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The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu

3 reviews

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
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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

silentquercus's review

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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

readundancies's review

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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.

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