Review: The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu
Blurb:
So many stories begin the same way: With a prophecy. A chosen one. And the inevitable quest to slay a villain, save the kingdom, and fulfill a grand destiny.
But this is not that kind of story.
It does begin with a prophecy: A child will rise to defeat the Eternal Khan, a cruel immortal god-king, and save the kingdom.
And that prophecy did anoint a hero, Jian, raised since birth in luxury and splendor, and celebrated before he has won a single battle.
But that’s when the story hits its first twist: The prophecy is wrong.
What follows is a story more wondrous than any prophecy could foresee, and with many unexpected heroes: Taishi, an older woman who is the greatest grandmaster of magical martial arts in the kingdom but who thought her adventuring days were all behind her; Sali, a straitlaced warrior who learns the rules may no longer apply when the leader to whom she pledged her life is gone; and Qisami, a chaotic assassin who takes a little too much pleasure in the kill.
And Jian himself, who has to find a way to become what he no longer believes he can be—a hero after all.
Review:
The Art of Prophecy is an epic Asian fantasy born of Chu’s “steady diet” of wuxia movies over most of his life. Chu directly credits wuxia as the inspiration that began his own pursuit of kung fu or as he said “… to begin my own journey to the lunar court.”
The book truly is an ode to the genre in both written and film. If you are fan of wuxia the influences will be obvious. Or, if you are a more casual fan of movies such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon you will find delight in the parallels.
The protagonists and antagonists fill the familiar arch type roles of hero, sage/mentor, warrior, and assassin. Chu also leverages stereotypes from his influences in such a way that “the cliché” is fresh and entertaining.
The character dialogue and repour scored high marks in my reading.
With some exceptions, the pacing moves the reader along. Where the pace slows it is deliberate and has a point. Some will appreciate these passages and others not so much. I found it all fit together and experienced little distraction.
Chu turns the chosen one trope on its head. The chosen one, Jian, is a young pompous disaster of a fool not of his own making. The mentor, Taishi, is a worn out, some may say ancient, battle disabled woman who just happens to be a Grand Master in the Arts of War.
Taishi is as a grumpy bad ass old woman who wants nothing to do with the idiot chosen one she has to keep alive is the dynamic that sets up the character arcs that follow over the course of the story for Taishi and Jian.
The assassin, Qisami, plays the foil to Taishi. Qisami is so well written and chaotic it is difficult to root against her.
The warrior, Sali, has a branch of the narrative that plays more to the long game of where Chu is taking the story. Her people are defeated and all but slaves. In Sali, a rebel and leader is born. Knit in the element of a broken prophecy that just may put itself back together with Sali’s help, willingly or not.
The world building is rich providing a setting that incorporates and pits the sophisticated and developed society against that of the perceived barbarian nomad element. The caste like societal structure and the prejudices a caste system lends itself to dictate much of the cultural norms, motivations and interactions. Supported by elements of greed, and palace/political and military intrigue the environment created provides a terrain that lends itself to the twists and turns that the characters must navigate.
I was less than satisfied with the lack of closure at the end of the narrative. I wouldn’t say it ends as a cliff hanger, but it is a set up for the next book leaving enough unresolved points to be slightly annoying.
Overall, it was a fun read packed with mind blowing movie like action. The characters are well written and a real treat. Exploring the world the characters traverse is absorbing and fuel for the imagination.
