The Art of Prophecy: 1 (The War Arts Saga)

Product Information

To save the kingdom, an unlikely band of heroes rise: Taishi, an old grandmaster who swore her days of battle were over; Sali, a warrior re-evaluating her allegiances; and Qisami, an assassin with questionable values. Together, the four embark on a journey more wondrous than any prophecy could foresee. The plot though was so fun and intriguing that I was hooked from the beginning. Every plot twist just had me reeling and I couldn’t wait to see what happened next! And I still can’t!!! This is a cliff hangar for real and I’m just dying to see what’s going to happen next!!! The first group of toy soldiers paraded into the pit and milled about, uncertain and disorganized. They were ten volunteers in a random assortment of weapons and armor, no two looking like they belonged in the same unit. Taishi pitied this pathetic bunch, these loyal soldiers of the States who hadn’t died in the war, but hadn’t necessarily survived it either. Now they were left to eke out a living the only way they could: becoming training toys to a boy playing war. There was the pikeman with the distant stare. The swordswoman with the shaking hands. The young man missing the rest of his arm below the elbow cowering behind her... Taishi shifted her own mangled arm hanging useless by her side. Well, one should never underestimate a cripple. The worldbuilding in this book is heavily inspired by Chinese wuxia, with some twists. Qi is referred to as Jing (why change this lol), and the Khanate, likely inspired by the mongols, make these cool steampunk-esque moving cities that traverse the Grass Sea instead of riding horses. The steampunk element is one of the coolest aspects (how do they run? magic? steam engines?) and it’s definitely one I hope gets explored more as conflict between the Khanate and the Zuhn ramp up again.

from robin hobbs review: ‘wes chu is a friend of mine. and his editor sent me an advance reading copy of this book.’ While the series is a tribute to wuxia, The Art of Prophecy is really a mix of Asian influences combined with Western-styled storytelling, which is sort of a mirror of my own upbringing. 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 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. What follows is a story more wondrous than any prophecy can 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 she pledged her life to is gone; and Qisami, a chaotic assassin who takes a little too much pleasure in the kill.Sali, our point of view character in the Grass Sea, is fantastic. With a very “takes-no-shit” attitude, Sali has a way with walking into a room and just owning it (she also has one of the coolest weapons I’ve ever read in fantasy). Sali is one of those characters I could sink into so easily, and yet while she has a hard edge and she’s prone to uh… hurting people who cross her, she has a spine crafted of loyalty and love to her people and those she cares about. She has her own moral core, and her raw humanity is what makes the Grass Sea, this incredible, strange place that Chu created, so intensely captivating and immersive. This is yet another book I requested for the cover art alone. Look at the way the hair flows, the highlights of gold and red! I’ve yet to uncover the artists’ name (put the name of the cover artist in your book descriptions publishers!), but it kind of looks like a Tran Nguyen piece with how the face is shaded? Cover aside, The Art of Prophecy is a solid start to an epic fantasy series inspired by wuxia, ancient China, with hints of steampunk.

There is an obvious similarity between Art of War and the War Arts Saga, but that isn’t where the inspiration came from. I spent many years training in “wushu” which is an alternate description for what we know as Kung Fu, which actually means to ‘work hard.’ I know, it gets a little confusing. The term “wu shu” has several meanings. The literal translation means “martial technique” or “military art”. I played these definitions and meanings to create the War Arts Saga for the series.

Find more books

Overall, I rate this book a 4/5. I loved the cast of older women, found the premise really fun, and the story, especially the fight scenes, extremely engaging. Jian has been raised in splendor, trained by the best warriors, and celebrated before a single battle has been won. After all, he's the chosen one, selected by prophecy to defeat the immortal god-king and free the kingdom for good. But when the prophecy is proven to be incorrect, Jian still has to find a way to succeed—and maybe even become a hero in his own right. And Jian himself, who has to find a way to become what he no longer believes he can be—a hero after all. 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. I love the creatively colorful way characters insult each other. It not only feels otherworldly, but feels "smarter" than simply using strings of curse words. Even the slur used against a certain group of people reminded me of the slur my parents told me they heard often when they lived in England during the 1970s. (My family is from India).

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.This is an interesting fantasy setting that's inspired by wuxia drama and loosely analogous to China and the Eurasian Steppes during the time of the Khans. Jian is the prophesied hero meant to finally defeat the immortal Khan of the Grass Sea, and is being trained in a variety of martial arts under the auspices of martial arts masters commissioned by the five Dukes of his people. Taishi is a master the war arts who has come to assess Jian's readiness only to find a spoiled brat whose masters have trained in clashing styles. But then the immortal Khan dies at the hands of a simple soldier, and Jian has gone from being the hope of his people to being an embarrassment and a political liability as the five Dukes fall on each other vying for power.

Wesley Chu is the #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of twelve published novels. Chu is an accomplished martial artist and a former member of the Screen Actors Guild. He has acted in film and television, worked as a model and stuntman, and summited Kilimanjaro. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Paula, and their two boys, Hunter and River. 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. Either I’d eat a poisonous berry, get eaten by wolves, torn apart by a hippopotamus, drown in a shallow stream, fall off a weed in the Grass Sea, drown in the Sand Snake, roll off a cloud pillar, or just get disembowelled by a mute man. There’s just so many ways to die. 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.Most of these movies were badly dubbed and cheesy Kung-Fu movies. Little did I realize those movies would spawn several lifetime passions. As soon as I was able, I started learning Kung Fu, which eventually led to work as an actor and stunt man. I remember as a kid I could not find books about Asia and books about martial arts, so I decided that I was going to write it one day, which eventually led to a career as a novelist. Prophecies don't make heroes: they only choose them. When Chosen One Jian falls short of his prophesied quest, he must find his own path to greatness. I honestly cannot find negative thing to said about this book… i love everything i had read from it… from writing style, worldbuiling, character development to the epic fighting scenes, it’s everything i love in Fantasy book *insert all the heart eyes emojis here* except there is NO ROMANCE in this book 😁 but maybe i can get it in the next book? who knows 🤔 But as it turns out, Jian has more to fear than death at the hands of his own people. Out in the Grass Sea, Sali of the Katuia has taken on an important quest now that the khan and her dear friend whom she had pledged her life to is now gone. And then there’s the mysterious Qisami, a ruthless bounty hunter and assassin who has been tasked to kill Jian. Prophecies don’t make heroes: they only choose them. When Chosen One Jian falls short of his prophesied quest, he must find his own path to greatness.