The Art of Prophecy
The War Arts Saga, Book 1
Wesley Chu
Del Rey
Fiction, Fantasy/Humor
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: It was the prophecy that founded a religion, that gave the beleaguered nations hope, that justified exorbitant expenditures of time, effort, and cold hard liang coins once the child was found: the Prophecized Hero of the Tiandi and Champion of the Five Under Heaven, who would rise to slay the Immortal Khan of the Grass Sea and end the relentless raids of those barbaric Katuian people upon civilized Zhuun lands. Thus was young Jian raised in a luxurious palace, surrounded by bodyguards and servants catering to every whim, trained by the best war artists in every possible manner of combat... and utterly incapable of winning a fight against so much as a child, let alone the Khan. Aging windwhisper Taishi, long past her prime, despairs when she discovers how spoiled the hero-to-be has become, how greed and corruption have turned his training into a mockery. She determines to do her best to salvage the situation - until the Immortal Khan is killed by someone else, rendering the prophecy obsolete and Jian a political liability.
Jian doesn't understand it. As far back as he can recall, he's been the glorified chosen one. He's learned everything his exalted masters have taught him, struck every pose perfect as a painting, won every practice match he's ever been in - and never questioned why. Only the one-armed old hag of a war artist who plucks air currents like harp strings doubts his prowess... but when the very people who once praised him try to kill him in his own garden, only that old hag defends him, whisking him away from Mute Men assassins and bounty-hungry shadowkills. Faced with the very real possibility that not only was his entire life a lie but that he may not actually be a good war artist, Jian finds himself staring into a bleak future... but the prophecy may not be quite as obsolete as everyone believes, and the Champion of the Five Under Heaven may yet be needed to save the land.
The Viperstrike warrior Sali has served the moving cities of the Grass Sea and the Immortal Khan himself with unwavering loyalty. She even bears a piece of his Will within her, a fragment of soul that beckons her when the Khan's too-mortal body is struck down. Tradition compels her to lay down her life, to return that fragment of the Khan's will that it may be reborn in a new body... but with the land-chained Zhuun armies destroying her people, Sali defies her sacred duty to become a Soul Seeker, to find the Khan's new vessel and unite the Grass Sea against the enemy. Once she has found him, she'll gladly die and return his piece of soul to him - but destiny may have another fate in mind for the warrior.
REVIEW: Warriors who can step through shadows or ride upon winds or even blur time, a "sea" of moving, living plants where cities rove upon great wheels, a prophecy that appears to have ruined more than it promised to save, and a collection of characters left to pick up the pieces and figure out what went wrong and why nothing seems to be going right... Chu blends magical martial arts with a well-imagined world and flawed yet interesting characters in this amusing epic adventure
Starting with Taishi discovering just how far astray the coddled would-be hero has been led by advisors and trainers more interested in their own glorification (and purses) than with saving Zhuun from the Immortal Khan's people, the tale takes several surprising turns. Jian, naturally, undergoes some much-needed growing up by being literally chased out of the lap of luxury and into the harsh reality beyond the palace walls... not quite as much growing up as one might expect by the end, in some ways, but he is still young and has a lot of botched upbringing to erase before he can truly become anything like a proper hero. Taishi, for her part, sees just enough promise in the boy to keep from giving up on him - just as she's not convinced that it's the prophecy that failed, a journey that leads her to the heart of the Tiandi religion and some surprising revelations, not to mention some new allies and enemies along the way. Steadfast warrior Sali of the Grass Sea has dedicated herself fully to her people and her Khan - especially when a childhood best friend became the new incarnation of the Katuian ruler after the previous one passed away. She eats, sleeps, and breathes tradition... yet finds herself defying not only the shamans but her own soul's pull toward death when she decides that she can serve the Grass Sea better by finding the new Khan amid the postwar chaos than by committing suicide in the temple - the first of many clashes she'll encounter with truths and rules she once considered as solid and unquestionable as the sun and three moons in the heavens. Further complications come from Quisimi, an ambitious (if not entirely mentally stable) shadowkill mercenary who means to make a name for herself and her crew by taking down the ex-hero and his traitor protector, the windwhisper war artist Taishi. They all have their parts to play in the unfolding saga, all facing conflicts that force them to reexamine their loyalties and beliefs and long-unquestioned assumptions.
The tale moves decently enough, with plenty of action, many exciting fight sequences and fascinating settings, some emotion and drama, and more than a touch of humor throughout, though sometimes it feels like it's not quite covering as much ground as it seems it should be given the page count, if that makes any sense. I wasn't entirely certain I'd read over five hundred pages worth of story when I reached the end, for all that I generally enjoyed it and look forward to where the saga goes from here.
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