Bookrate

A hero once believed to be the chosen one must find a new path with the help of a band of unlikely allies in the sequel to The Art of Prophecy, an epic fantasy ode to martial arts and magic from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Wesley Chu. Once there was a prophecy that a Chosen One would rise to defeat the Eternal Khan, an immortal god king. But the prophecy was wrong. Now Jian, the former chosen hero of prophecy, is just an ordinary young man trying to find his own way. But he may yet have an extraordinary destiny, because he joins forces with Taishi, his grumpy grandmaster who instructs him in the ways of her powerful family war art. Jian still has a long way to go before he can become her heir, so she recruits a band of elderly grandmasters who have come out of retirement to whip him into shape and help with this one last job. And there are others who are also seeking their own destiny: Qisami, an assassin on a secret mission to protect a powerful noblewoman from her enemies. But as Qisami goes undercover to complete her mission, she takes on a new identity that gives her something she never had before: friendship, found family, and a new purpose. And Sali also thought her fate was already laid before her. She was supposed to be looking for the next Eternal Khan, and now finds her clain exiled from everything she ever knew. As she leads the survivors in search of a new home, Sali discovers that she’s something she never thought she could be: a leader and revolutionary. Because sometimes destiny is grander than any prophecy can foresee. And the greatest destiny of all is the one you choose for yourself. ’An ambitious and touching exploration of disillusionment in faith, tradition, and family — a glorious reinvention of fantasy and wuxia tropes.’ — Naomi Novik, NYT bestselling author of A Deadly Education