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A review by thea
The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu
5.0
4.7 stars! i did not expect to love and enjoy this book as much as i did?? the worldbuilding was effortlessly fleshed out, the characters are all crackheads in their own way, and the plot had a firm foot on the neck of my short attention span. i'm definitely ready to buy my physical copy in august — and you should too! if you want to read a hilarious story about an exasperated war arts grandmaster that doesn't even know why she's here & a chaotic gay assassin that relentlessly flirts with a straitlaced warrior who would really benefit from tylenol, then look no further.
honestly, the synopsis doesn't do this story justice. reading this was immersive, with the distinct perspectives giving us a slice of every part of the world. i was filled with delight when i realized that there is no way i'm picking a side. how could i when the characters are so dumb and gay and lovable? some of them are not even explicitly gay, but [taps my forehead] i know these things. i screech with excitement whenever the characters on opposing sides interact (aka try to kill each other) because i am rooting for them at the same time! i gravitate towards stories where it separately, steadily builds up each main character's arc until it eventually weaves and connects all of them together in successful climax scenes that spike my adrenaline levels. and the art of prophecy? [chef's kiss] everything i wanted, it gave.
this story was fast-paced, knocked me out with plot twists, and made me laugh with its dry humor. and the characters are the heart. i literally adore all the side characters. everyone introduced has a story, so it never felt like anybody was insignificant, regardless if they had a small role in the story. and now the three main baddies: taishi is chaotic good (violent), sali is lawful neutral (fuck the authorities), and qisami is a chaotic neutral that borders on evil (kinda awkward when she asks people out). i'll focus on taishi here since she's given the traditional "mentor" role in hero stories, but with her own spice (!!) — she's such an asshole to the prophesized hero (jian) (as she should) but she's unfaltering, wise, and is human in her regrets and need to stomp idiots. she's a tough love, hilarious person that i fell in love with on the first page. jian is one lucky dude to have her as his mentor (found family).
there were some points where i did get whiplashed/ thrown off guard by some plot choices, but they've never been strong enough to make me deeply upset. it never took away from my enjoyment. overall, this first book was a strong beginning in the sense that it satisfied the foundational worldbuilding and overarching plot set-up for future books while providing readers with lovable characters we can easily get attached to and root for.
includes: disability rep, all-the-characters-are-crackheads, warrior boys that cry, top ten anime betrayals, and epic martial arts magic!!!
thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me an arc!
Merged review:
4.7 stars! i did not expect to love and enjoy this book as much as i did?? the worldbuilding was effortlessly fleshed out, the characters are all crackheads in their own way, and the plot had a firm foot on the neck of my short attention span. i'm definitely ready to buy my physical copy in august — and you should too! if you want to read a hilarious story about an exasperated war arts grandmaster that doesn't even know why she's here & a chaotic gay assassin that relentlessly flirts with a straitlaced warrior who would really benefit from tylenol, then look no further.
honestly, the synopsis doesn't do this story justice. reading this was immersive, with the distinct perspectives giving us a slice of every part of the world. i was filled with delight when i realized that there is no way i'm picking a side. how could i when the characters are so dumb and gay and lovable? some of them are not even explicitly gay, but [taps my forehead] i know these things. i screech with excitement whenever the characters on opposing sides interact (aka try to kill each other) because i am rooting for them at the same time! i gravitate towards stories where it separately, steadily builds up each main character's arc until it eventually weaves and connects all of them together in successful climax scenes that spike my adrenaline levels. and the art of prophecy? [chef's kiss] everything i wanted, it gave.
this story was fast-paced, knocked me out with plot twists, and made me laugh with its dry humor. and the characters are the heart. i literally adore all the side characters. everyone introduced has a story, so it never felt like anybody was insignificant, regardless if they had a small role in the story. and now the three main baddies: taishi is chaotic good (violent), sali is lawful neutral (fuck the authorities), and qisami is a chaotic neutral that borders on evil (kinda awkward when she asks people out). i'll focus on taishi here since she's given the traditional "mentor" role in hero stories, but with her own spice (!!) — she's such an asshole to the prophesized hero (jian) (as she should) but she's unfaltering, wise, and is human in her regrets and need to stomp idiots. she's a tough love, hilarious person that i fell in love with on the first page. jian is one lucky dude to have her as his mentor (found family).
there were some points where i did get whiplashed/ thrown off guard by some plot choices, but they've never been strong enough to make me deeply upset. it never took away from my enjoyment. overall, this first book was a strong beginning in the sense that it satisfied the foundational worldbuilding and overarching plot set-up for future books while providing readers with lovable characters we can easily get attached to and root for.
includes: disability rep, all-the-characters-are-crackheads, warrior boys that cry, top ten anime betrayals, and epic martial arts magic!!!
thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me an arc!
honestly, the synopsis doesn't do this story justice. reading this was immersive, with the distinct perspectives giving us a slice of every part of the world. i was filled with delight when i realized that there is no way i'm picking a side. how could i when the characters are so dumb and gay and lovable? some of them are not even explicitly gay, but [taps my forehead] i know these things. i screech with excitement whenever the characters on opposing sides interact (aka try to kill each other) because i am rooting for them at the same time! i gravitate towards stories where it separately, steadily builds up each main character's arc until it eventually weaves and connects all of them together in successful climax scenes that spike my adrenaline levels. and the art of prophecy? [chef's kiss] everything i wanted, it gave.
this story was fast-paced, knocked me out with plot twists, and made me laugh with its dry humor. and the characters are the heart. i literally adore all the side characters. everyone introduced has a story, so it never felt like anybody was insignificant, regardless if they had a small role in the story. and now the three main baddies: taishi is chaotic good (violent), sali is lawful neutral (fuck the authorities), and qisami is a chaotic neutral that borders on evil (kinda awkward when she asks people out). i'll focus on taishi here since she's given the traditional "mentor" role in hero stories, but with her own spice (!!) — she's such an asshole to the prophesized hero (jian) (as she should) but she's unfaltering, wise, and is human in her regrets and need to stomp idiots. she's a tough love, hilarious person that i fell in love with on the first page. jian is one lucky dude to have her as his mentor (found family).
there were some points where i did get whiplashed/ thrown off guard by some plot choices, but they've never been strong enough to make me deeply upset. it never took away from my enjoyment. overall, this first book was a strong beginning in the sense that it satisfied the foundational worldbuilding and overarching plot set-up for future books while providing readers with lovable characters we can easily get attached to and root for.
includes: disability rep, all-the-characters-are-crackheads, warrior boys that cry, top ten anime betrayals, and epic martial arts magic!!!
thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me an arc!
Merged review:
4.7 stars! i did not expect to love and enjoy this book as much as i did?? the worldbuilding was effortlessly fleshed out, the characters are all crackheads in their own way, and the plot had a firm foot on the neck of my short attention span. i'm definitely ready to buy my physical copy in august — and you should too! if you want to read a hilarious story about an exasperated war arts grandmaster that doesn't even know why she's here & a chaotic gay assassin that relentlessly flirts with a straitlaced warrior who would really benefit from tylenol, then look no further.
honestly, the synopsis doesn't do this story justice. reading this was immersive, with the distinct perspectives giving us a slice of every part of the world. i was filled with delight when i realized that there is no way i'm picking a side. how could i when the characters are so dumb and gay and lovable? some of them are not even explicitly gay, but [taps my forehead] i know these things. i screech with excitement whenever the characters on opposing sides interact (aka try to kill each other) because i am rooting for them at the same time! i gravitate towards stories where it separately, steadily builds up each main character's arc until it eventually weaves and connects all of them together in successful climax scenes that spike my adrenaline levels. and the art of prophecy? [chef's kiss] everything i wanted, it gave.
this story was fast-paced, knocked me out with plot twists, and made me laugh with its dry humor. and the characters are the heart. i literally adore all the side characters. everyone introduced has a story, so it never felt like anybody was insignificant, regardless if they had a small role in the story. and now the three main baddies: taishi is chaotic good (violent), sali is lawful neutral (fuck the authorities), and qisami is a chaotic neutral that borders on evil (kinda awkward when she asks people out). i'll focus on taishi here since she's given the traditional "mentor" role in hero stories, but with her own spice (!!) — she's such an asshole to the prophesized hero (jian) (as she should) but she's unfaltering, wise, and is human in her regrets and need to stomp idiots. she's a tough love, hilarious person that i fell in love with on the first page. jian is one lucky dude to have her as his mentor (found family).
there were some points where i did get whiplashed/ thrown off guard by some plot choices, but they've never been strong enough to make me deeply upset. it never took away from my enjoyment. overall, this first book was a strong beginning in the sense that it satisfied the foundational worldbuilding and overarching plot set-up for future books while providing readers with lovable characters we can easily get attached to and root for.
includes: disability rep, all-the-characters-are-crackheads, warrior boys that cry, top ten anime betrayals, and epic martial arts magic!!!
thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me an arc!