Una profecía. Un elegido con la misión de salvar al reino, enfrentarse al Kan Eterno y cumplir con su destino... Pero la profecía estaba equivocada pues el enemigo al que debía derrotar ha muerto. The palacelord appeared out of nowhere and hovered nearby as she gnawed on the peach, his eyes staring intently. He was sneaky for such a large man. Taishi fought the urge to spit the peach out and sour her face, but there was no sense in wasting quality fruit. She had to give the man his due and so offered him a slight tilt of his head. The palacelord beamed. It also might not surprise anyone to learn that one of the main themes of The Art of Prophecy is…well, prophecy. According to the book’s lore, many centuries ago it was foretold that a child will be born whose destiny is to defeat the Eternal Khan, the immortal god-king of the Katuia Hordes. When the story opens, this chosen one has been identified as Wen Jian, now a teenager studying at the palace under the tutelage of many masters who have been training him in martial arts since he was small boy. Somewhere along the way though, it appears that both the student and his teachers have become blinded by the pomp of prophecy, losing sight of their purpose. Thus, when the celebrated war master Ling Taishi arrives to evaluate Jian, rather than the great warrior everyone expected, she instead finds a pampered young man who has never been tried in a real battle. The setting is a fantastic alternate China, and the martial arts are ones that will only exist in your wildest dreams. Neither Taishi nor Jian are the characters you might expect. It IS a coming of age story, if you understand that all people, at every stage of their lives, are coming of age. As the story progresses, the cast of characters increases. Jian's situation changes, as does Taishi's. Old friend and new enemies abound. You will be swept along. And Jian himself, who has to find a way to become what he no longer believes he can be—a hero after all.

Ah, this year has been a thing that’s happened. I’m going to try to get in the habit of writing at least one review a week from now on, but I’ve been extremely busy and I just haven’t had time. So, here I am. I'm up in the air whether I want to own the physical copy. I did use one of my Audible credits to get the book as I couldn't seem to get through it with my Netgalley copy. The narration is very good and funny as hell at times so I do recommend it. Hands down, what I loved most about The Art of Prophecy was the way it turned a well-known fantasy trope on its head. What happens when the chosen turns out not to be the chosen one after all? While the first part of the novel played out like your typical master and apprentice scenario with Taishi taking on the role of wise teacher and Jian the part of the reluctant student, the plot was turned on its head once it is revealed that the Eternal Khan is dead. From here on out, it was anyone’s guess what would happen. While I will admit to being a big fan of warrior-in-training stories so I didn’t actually mind the cliches in the first part that much, I also had a blast once the focus shifted to Jian’s exile and all the developments that followed. The hero: Jian, who has been raised since birth in luxury and splendor, celebrated before he has won a single battle. It does begin with a prophecy- A child will rise to defeat the Eternal Khan, a cruel immortal god-king, and save the kingdom.

Success!

Hi Fantasy Hive, thanks for having me! I’m honestly not great at hand-selling, so I’m going to tell you what this book means to me. An ambitious and touching exploration of disillusionment in faith, tradition, and family—a glorious reinvention of fantasy and wuxia tropes.”—Naomi Novik, New York Times bestselling author of A Deadly Education

The training overseer stood and clapped his hands. “You all have the honor of aiding in the training of the undefeated Champion of the Five Under Heaven, the terror of the Katuia Hordes, and the savior of the Zhuun people. Fight bravely, but remember your place. The penalty for injuring him is death. The penalty for drawing his blood is death. The penalty for refusing to engage is death.” The overseer continued well, i also got an ARC of this and i desperately wish i could say i am also friends with WC because his storytelling makes him seem awesome! This book also lowkey cemented Del Rey as my chosen fantasy imprint. Even when I don't like what they're putting out I think that all the people they publish have very distinct voices, are doing interesting things in the fantasy space, and even though it takes me a minute to get into the fantasy by the end I'm always intrigued to see where the author is going to take the story and that was definitely the case here.

Extract

Oh, and the map in the book's preface needed to be better drawn. It was too dark, too small, and place names were difficult to read. but for those who love an intricately-crafted world where martial arts dominate life and the characters are compelling, then this is a book you will want to add to your TBR! Hilariously underplayed, the spoilt Jian, securely anointed as the child prodigy who will defeat the immortal god-king, the Eternal Khan, has nothing more to show for his training than his knowledge of how to hold a sword, and even that is in doubt. So when this brat decides to put down an old lady (who is btw the greatest grandmaster of magical martial arts) he truly has his comeuppance. Still with the way he’s been fawned upon ever since the prophecy it’s no wonder he’s more than a little wet behind the ears and behind the times. And Taishi is only too delighted to have a focus that will enliven her latter years. Now, the fighting. I’m not big on fighting, battles, weapons, etc. I can edit that stuff all day, every day but on a personal level, I tend to disengage.

But when Taishi arrives to evaluate the Chosen One's training, she finds that the youngster has been indulged and spoiled. He is definitely not prepared for the epic challenge that he will face. She has no choice but to dismiss his instructors and take over the young man's discipline and training. A prophecy is unexpectedly foiled and a chosen hero cast adrift in this first of a fantasy trilogy inspired by Chinese martial arts films. Actually, there were several characters that I just loved to be irritated with. They rubbed me the wrong way entirely, but for some reason, I still enjoyed them!! The whole cast is just entertaining as hell and I can’t help but be into them all. Even the two who annoyed me. I’ll let you contemplate as to which characters they may be.

Need Help?

An epic fantasy ode to martial arts and magic about what happens when a prophesied hero is not the chosen one after all, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lives of Tao. Jian wasn’t based off a person, but more a feeling of what it’s like to grow up as a young person with heavy expectations and responsibilities with so many demands thrusted upon him that were out of his control. He’s in many ways the personification of the teenage experience. Many readers have pointed out that he’s a little annoying at first, and that’s very fair assessment. The way I see it, how would you feel if you were put in his situation carrying the weight of an entire religion on your shoulders, and then failing everyone’s expectations before you even had a chance to do anything about it? Una historia con intrigas políticas, venganzas, ineterses propios, un poco de humor y con acción, mucha acción. Podríamos incluir esta novela dentro del wuxia, pues bebe principalmente de influencias orientales. El mundo que nos presenta Wesley Chu es complejo y estoy seguro que en esta primera entrega hemos podido disfrutar de tan solo una parte. future, or at least with some of them. These are: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. One character named Sali had one of the most unique and original weapons I've ever seen in fantasy multimedia. Most fantasy novels I read give characters traditional weapons like swords, so Sali's cool weapon really just transported me to an otherworldly fantasy realm.