<b>thank you so much to daphne press for providing me with an arc of this book!</b>

4.5

i was already interested in this book; i had it preordered before i had ever requested this, and oh my god i was so right to.

the art of prophecy feels like something that just emerged, yknow? the type of thing that was born, not made. it wasn't one person who decided on plot, characters, themes; it just popped out fully formed.

jian as a main character is (in my opinion) the best kind of child protagonist. he is irritating, entitled and whiny when we first meet him. by the end of the novel, we understand how he got to that place, and we watch him unlearn all those traits, while still being quintessentially himself. he still wants to do some good, he wants a goal to work towards, and seeing his journey to finding these things in a different avenue of what he's been raised to believe about himself is immensely satisfied.

my favourite part of the novel are the women. *cue the women gif of saoirse ronan* all of the women in this book are so interesting, it makes me want books focused singularly on them. yes, all 3 are 'Badass Independent Women', but their motivations are so different and as people, their traits probably couldn't be further from each other. i enjoyed the way faith was introduced, because sali's decisions were made partially for her (the motivation of finding her sister) but also for her community at large. jian as a figure introduced an interesting perspective on what it's like to have the weight of a thousand expectations on you, and not know how to live up to them. taishi as a non-motherly-mother-figure was such a lovely surprise too, and i really enjoyed being in her head. i have to say, my favourite character in this was qisami. she is such a cut-throat, hilarious character who truly doesn't care about morals, or belief in a higher authority, she only cares about getting free from the coolest assassin collective i've read about in years. after that jaw-dropping epilogue, i am VIBRATING with excitement for the sequel.

overall this was such a fun, complex story with fight scenes that are cinematic in nature, and characters who i feel like are out there in the world already. i'll be keeping my pre-order of this gorgeous book, and i'll be first in line when the sequel comes out too.

4.5 stars.
The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu is a non-stop, action filled juggernaut of a Kung-Fu novel. All of the actions scences, and there are a lot of them, are so clearly described that when this gets turned into a movie or (preferably) television series a script wont need o be created, it already has.
What happens when a Prophecy has gotten it wrong, the chosen one is not needed to kill the great Khan, as the so-called great Khan has gotten himself drunk and then killed by a passing foot soldier. Three female warriors are going to end up clashing (many times) over the chosen one. Lots of humour, similar to Jay Kristoff's Nevernight books, but without the annoying footnotes.
This novel has turned out to be my favourite read of 2022, and now my main Xmas wish is for the next two volumes not be too far away.

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to Net Galley, Wesley Chu and Daphne Press for letting me read this.

I was hooked right from the start of this novel, it would be impossible not to be utterly charmed by Taishi. She is so wonderfully talented, grounded and doesn’t suffer fools. Taishi is a Grand Master who has been sent to evaluate the progress of Jian. Jian is the fabled hero of a prophecy, a warrior who will defeat the Eternal Khan and save their people. Jian has been trained by multiple masters, pampered and treated like royalty. As a result, his fighting is all style and no substance and Taishi decides to take over, throwing out all the masters. Jian gets a shock and is defiant but he’s unable to defeat Taishi to be allowed to leave.

The relationship between Jian and Taishi was fascinating, they clash frequently but there grows a begrudging respect. This is compounded when certain events happen that turn Jian’s world upside down.

This book is told from multiple perspectives, Taishi, Jian, Sali and Qisami. This is done exceptionally well will all of the voices feeling unique. All the individual story lines were interesting and I loved that with Sali, we see the view of the enemy, as Sali is part of the Will of the Khan. We understand their customs and culture from her perspective.

The fighting styles in this book were just brilliant. I found the Windwhisper, Viperstrike and Shadowkill proficiencies so fascinating. The combat is written really well so it’s exciting and still easy to visualise.

The presentation of women in this book is excellent. The majority of the book is female focused, even if Jian is arguably the central character. I was delighted to see so many unique, talented, dedicated female characters. Taishi was my favourite, but I loved that she wasn’t an anomaly and other female characters are presented as strong and powerful. This extends beyond the central characters to the supporting cast too.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I would read more from this author and I would definitely read this again.

A precisely innovative novel that focuses on character-driven immersion set against a brutal landscape. There is so much action and complexity filled within these pages but expectations were not met.

I revived this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Boy, was I excited to get my hands on this after hearing about it on the smaller BookTube community and I was not let down!

“I was informed before I was dragged all the way across the Jagged Peak Mountains that I was going to witness legendary greatness. That this Hero of Prophecy, Champion of the Five Under Heaven, was a once-in-a-lifetime sight.
So far, all I've seen is a bunch of wounded throwaway soldiers and eight fools teaching an arrogant and spoiled boy to fight like a fool."

This is such a thought-provoking, character-driven book whilst also having a driving plot pivotal to the thematic moods.

The art of prophecy, indeed.
It speaks to what people believe in, what we based and justify our values on and how society functions on a level only achievable through an immersive fantasy book.
By taking a common, overused troupe and subverting it as the driving plot, the character’s motivations and the politics, the book acts as an excellent study of the fantasy genre and expectations, as readers, society and those in the fantasy world.

“…when finally given the holy blessing of meeting the legendary saviour of his people, instead of a mighty warrior god, he is delivered someone so utterly and completely ordinary."

However, it never once felt too heavy or philosophical to the point of being snobbishly superior. There were jabs, bantering, jokes and found family; endearing, emerging friendships and engaging, vivid action scenes.

This is a stunning debut and I can’t wait to see where the next books takes us, especially as so much foundation has been laid for a truly epic fantasy.
I would recommend this to fans of Dandelion Dynasty and even a more adult version of The Mortal Engines.