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nightstitch96's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Bullying, War, and Murder
Minor: Self harm and Cannibalism
tahsintries's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Excrement, and War
nostradamnus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The Art of Prophecy is a just fine vanilla high-fantasy novel with an okay-ly executed wuxia reskin. The first act is by far the strongest, but after that, it peters out so much that I think, after getting the set-up, you could easily skip to the next installation of the series, which will presumably fulfill the "thesis" of this book:
At the end of the day, there's just very little that makes this book stand out aside from Taishi (who does admittedly rock--even if she never changes and accomplishes nothing of import, you can't improve on perfection). I'll be reading on to The Art of Destiny, but only because I'm fairly certain it's the book I wanted to read in the first place when I picked this up.
Graphic: Racism, Colonisation, and Abandonment
Moderate: Blood, Death, Alcohol, War, and Violence
ssellwood's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Murder, Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cannibalism and Fire/Fire injury
lizgriffinwords's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Violence, Death, and War
azrah786's review against another edition
4.25
**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
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Murder, Torture, War, Death, Xenophobia, Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Ableism, Drug use, and Alcohol
niamhyjay's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Death, Xenophobia, and War
Moderate: Slavery, Death of parent, and Torture
adancewithbooks's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: War, Violence, and Death
radinsh's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
leanne_miron's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Xenophobia, Violence, and Bullying
Minor: Genocide