It has been foretold: A child will rise to defeat the Eternal Khan, a cruel immortal god-king, and save the kingdom. The hero: Jian, who has been raised since birth in luxury and splendor, celebrated before he has won a single battle. But the prophecy was wrong. Because when Taishi, the greatest war artist of her generation, arrives to evaluate the prophesied hero, she finds a spoiled brat unprepared to face his destiny. But the only force more powerful than fate is Taishi herself. Possessed of an iron will, a sharp tongue—and an unexpectedly soft heart—Taishi will find a way to forge Jian into the weapon and leader he needs to be in order to fulfill his legend. What follows is a journey more wondrous than any prophecy can foresee: a story of master and student, assassin and revolutionary, of fallen gods and broken prophecies, and of a war between kingdoms, and love and friendship between deadly rivals.
Her mother used to say that rain was nature's way of healing the wounds inflicted by people. Some wounds, however, were too deep to wash away.
The Art of Prophecy is a book about a prophecy about a hero which is rendered defunct when it is accidentally broken and the Immortal Khan, the leader of the Zhuun's enemy, is slayed by a common soldier. Jian is raised believing he is the chosen one, and knows it. He's a spoiled brat and Taishi, a famed War Artist takes it onto herself—rather unwillingly—to train him into a master. Most of Jian's story takes place at a school for war arts where he must keep his true identity hidden or risk being captured by numerous factions which either want him dead or want the bounty the leaders of his country have sent to find him in order to tie up a rather clumsy loose end. He spends his early days withdrawn and bitter and arrogant, but a few of his classmates manage to break his shell. For me, that was one of my absolute favorite parts of the book. I loved seeing this utter jerk of a boy opening up and realizing that he is no better or worse than anyone else. His journey to realizing that he has much to be grateful for and many people who deserve fair treatment regardless of their societal class was lovely to see unfold.
Taishi goes on a long journey to try and discover why exactly the prophecy got it so very wrong. It takes her all over the world and I love her interactions best of all. This is a woman who has lived to a long age by force of will and skill with her magic and blade. She does not suffer fools, but is compassionate which I think makes her the best kind of hero. Many times throughout her travels I was either in tears from sadness or hilarity, usually laughter though. For example, she doesn't like to fight animals even when she is being attacked. Little things like that make me really connect with a character, especially when she knows her empathy could be what kills her. She's an aging woman who only has one arm but is still the baddest of the bad.
Sali is Katuia, the group of people who are the enemy's whose downfall the prophecy predicted. She is a warrior who carries a fragment of her leader's soul which can only return to the Khan when she is dead, and when we meet her she is on her way to fulfill her duty. Sali is arguably my favorite character; I love her strength and she uses one of the coolest weapon I have ever read about it in my entire life. Picture a reticulated whip that can become a speak with a flick of her wrist. She unwillingly becomes the leader of a rebellion and I love that for her. Her culture is interesting and I really could have read an entire history book style about them alone. They are nomadic, traveling in large cities that are machines. I can't help but to hate what the Zhuun have done to her people and I'm conflicted because I very much want Jian and Taishi to survive, but I also want Sali's people to be free. I'm not sure it's possible, but that's the kind of resolution I hope to see. One cool thing about this one is that you get intimate with both sides of this war that has been waged for hundreds of years and get attached to people from both sides. The Katuians have been so wronged and the ending of the book—without giving too much away—killed my heart a little. I'm excited to see Sali become even more of a revolutionist for her people because they undoubtedly need a leader who will put their needs about anything else.
There is so much to say about this book but really, the most important thing is that if you enjoy fantasy and martial arts, YOU NEED THIS BOOK IN YOUR LIFE. Everything about this was executed so incredibly well and meticulously that I have absolutely nothing to say about it that I didn't like. Not even shitting you, this is my ideal kind of adventure; from the world-building to the character development to the hilariously witty characters and the emotional workouts to the amazing action sequences. This is one of those books that will be on the tip of my tongue when asked what my favorite books are. I rank it a five out of five stars and will be telling everyone I know who also enjoys fantasy books to get this one. If you haven't read it yet, you need it.
