A review by theirresponsiblereader
The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu

adventurous funny 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

 This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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What’s The Art of Prophecy About? 
Briefly (cuz, boy howdy, I could go on and on and on about this): There’s a prophesied Champion who will save his kingdom from the Eternal Khan, but he’s a spoiled brat who is not as skilled a warrior as he believes—and he’s even less skilled than he needs to be. But that’s okay, because the prophecy is broken—or wrong. The greatest living practitioner of magically-enhanced war arts has decided to take over his training and protection. Two incredibly dangerous women from very different backgrounds and for very different reasons have decided he needs to die. 

Taishi 
Taishi is almost certainly my favorite new character of 2022*. She’s elderly—exactly how old, I don’t think we’re told. In her prime, she fought the Eternal Khan to a stalemate more than once. Somewhere along the line, she lost the use of one of her arms. Her age and the loss of her arm have slowed her down and made her less effective. But not so slow that anybody but her can tell. She’s practically a force of nature. Since then, she’s pretty much retired but is strongarmed into checking in on Jian’s training. It’s hard to say what she’s less-impressed with—him or the work of his expert trainers—she’s spreading the scorn all around. 

* Sure, it’s possible the next four months will bring someone better across my path, but not really likely. 

She’s opinionated, set in her ways, cantankerous, and stubbornly determined. Pity those who try to get in her way. Once she determines that she needs to shepherd and educate Jian, nothing (including Jian) is going to stand in her way. 

Taishi’s voice—both in dialogue or as it comes across in the narration—is strong, sardonic, and sarcastic. I loved every second of her point-of-view chapters (seeing her through other characters’ eyes was just as good, though). I was mildly annoyed every time the point-of-view changed, while still being curious about the other arcs. 

Wuxia 
Wuxia is my new word for the month—from at least one article online (so it must be true), I’m not a total novice when it comes to this genre—I watched the first two Kung Fu Panda movies with my kids when they first came out. But that’s it. So I don’t know how much of this story/world is Chu using or playing with or subverting the conventions of the genre. But it looks like he’s using several of them, and seems to be having fun with them (at least he’s getting the reader to have fun). 

I can say that I’m pretty curious about the genre now—and intend to keep an eye out for more opportunities to expose myself to it. 

Obviously, one of the defining characteristics of wuxia is the martial arts, and what’s the point of a martial-arts-based fantasy without fight scenes? The Art of Prophecy delivers those in spades. Maybe even by the bucket. I’ve always enjoyed Chu’s fight scenes, but these make the stuff in the Tao books look basic. They’re just fantastic—and littering them with the quips from the point-of-view character (either expressed or kept internal) made them all the better. I could read these all day. 

So, what did I think about The Art of Prophecy? 
I don’t know that I can really express how excited I am about this book. The last time I was this enthusiastic about a Fantasy novel was Kings of the Wyld, and I’ve read some really good Fantasy since then. But this is a whole different level. 

I’m going to leave it at that—if I went into the kind of depth I want to, I’d either spend another week or so trying to get it all out (or would never finish because I was dissatisfied with it). I could do a couple of hundred words on the nature of prophecy and free will in this universe alone (and someone smarter than me had better do that soon)—or even the importance of honor, role, and manners (do not try to cut in line around these people). So I’m going to go shallow with this post—this is a great premise—and the execution of the premise is as great. The world-building is fascinating, and the history that’s hinted at is some of the best I can remember. I loved every one of these characters (none as much as Taishi, but that’s nothing against the others) and feel like I could’ve read a version of this book that was 50% longer just for more time with them. Probably the best action scenes I’ve read this year. It’s too long to read in a single sitting, but it’s the kind of book you want to read in one. 

Stop wasting time reading about it, start reading The Art of Prophecy.