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hezthbookcravings's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
If you’re a fan of wuxia stories mixed with a twist on the Chosen One trope, The Art of Prophecy delivers a fresh take that feels both familiar and inventive. The premise is exciting—what happens when the "Chosen One" doesn't quite live up to expectations? Wesley Chu's world-building is simply breathtaking, with layers of history, politics, and culture that you can easily get lost in. Every corner of this world feels alive, and the action sequences are some of the best I've read in a while. The fight scenes had me gripping my Kindle, hanging onto every move.
However, not everything landed perfectly for me. I found myself drawn only to Taishi’s POV, while the others felt flat and didn’t pull me in the same way. I also loved the humor at times—it was witty and on point—but some jokes felt forced and awkward, which threw me out of the moment.
One of the biggest issues I had was with the timeline. At times, it was hard to tell how much time had passed between events, leaving me confused about the story’s progression. And while there are a lot of fascinating plot threads, many of them remain unresolved, leaving the book on a frustrating cliffhanger.
Acts 2 and 3 dragged a bit, but luckily the fantastic action scenes saved the pacing here. I do wish the conflict between the Zhuun and Khan people had been explored more deeply—it felt like a missed opportunity to flesh out a central part of the story.
Overall, The Art of Prophecy is an enjoyable read with excellent action and a unique premise, but it didn’t fully hit the mark for me in terms of characters and pacing.
However, not everything landed perfectly for me. I found myself drawn only to Taishi’s POV, while the others felt flat and didn’t pull me in the same way. I also loved the humor at times—it was witty and on point—but some jokes felt forced and awkward, which threw me out of the moment.
One of the biggest issues I had was with the timeline. At times, it was hard to tell how much time had passed between events, leaving me confused about the story’s progression. And while there are a lot of fascinating plot threads, many of them remain unresolved, leaving the book on a frustrating cliffhanger.
Acts 2 and 3 dragged a bit, but luckily the fantastic action scenes saved the pacing here. I do wish the conflict between the Zhuun and Khan people had been explored more deeply—it felt like a missed opportunity to flesh out a central part of the story.
Overall, The Art of Prophecy is an enjoyable read with excellent action and a unique premise, but it didn’t fully hit the mark for me in terms of characters and pacing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War
seforana's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
ehmannky's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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
Every once in a while I'll have a couple DNF books in a row and I start wondering if I'm heading into a reading rut or if I am losing my love of reading and then I pull a book as well-written and fun as The Art of Prophecy and realize no, I just haven't been choosing good books. Everything about this was a delight--the characters were so compelling and delightful, the plot moves forward without any snags, it's genuinely funny, and the world is so interestingly built. The book took a turn early on that I wasn't expecting, and it just led to a really fun Old Lady Wuxia read. The book follows multiple POV characters as they navigate a seemingly broken Chosen One Prophecy and a world radically shifting after the end of a centuries' long war. I am so excited to read book 2.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Colonisation
Minor: Slavery and War
nightstitch96's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Self harm and Cannibalism
tahsintries's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Excrement, and War
nostradamnus's review against another edition
slow-paced
- 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
Read if you like: slow placing with the occasional excellent fight scene scattered throughout.
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:That this is a story about Jian being trained by Taishi and hunted by Sali . All that really happens in the interim is that our trio/arguably quartet of protagonists collect allies and the occasional, low-level enemy, but none of these characters grow in an impactful way or drive the plot forward through their actions. Taishi's journey is the most emblematic of this as it ends in her receiving a prophecy of which the primary function (at least in this first book) is telling her something both she and the reader already know .
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, and War
ssellwood's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
4.0
The Art of Prophecy takes on the classic prophesied hero trope, but with a twist. Jian, prophesied to slay the great Khan isn't perfect, in fact he's arrogant and impetuous, but that all begins to change when he meets his new mentor Taishi. Highlights included a broad mix of character POVs from different sides of the conflict, detailed, fast-paced fight scenes, the strong, sassy character of Taishi, Jian's character development and good humour. I did feel that the pacing became a little slower in the middle and that Qisami's character was a little one dimensional. Overall, would recommend for the visual battle scenes and the fun characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cannibalism and Fire/Fire injury
lizgriffinwords's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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
4.75
An excellent fantasy series opener! If you like epic, multi-cultural tales that have great dynamic characters at the core, please pick up this book. The audiobook is read by the excellent Natalie Naudus.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
azrah786's review against another edition
4.25
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**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
**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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Drug use, and Alcohol
niamhyjay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, and War
Moderate: Slavery, Torture, and Death of parent