Prophecy

I’m always up for a good book about dragons, and Prophecy by Ellen Oh definitely had those. I was a bit disappointed that the protagonist, Kira, wasn’t actually part dragon, though. Also, there just weren’t enough dragons. Kira is a badass demon slayer with supernatural strength and speed, and honestly she kind of reminded me of a Mary Sue (even though I think that term is silly).Nothing could go wrong for Kira, and her only weakness was everyone’s fear of her. I got tired of her whining (in 3rd person narrator voice) about how everyone was scared of her and how she didn’t have any friends.I’ve read a bunch of fantasy novels featuring aspects of Chinese culture, and it was nice that Prophecy switched it up by including aspects of Korean mythology instead. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the best part of the novel. What there was of the plot relied too much on Kira being the long-awaited ~savior~ of the world, blah blah blah (I don’t consider that a spoiler considering the book’s title). The constant wondering if the prophecy is really true and if Kira is actually the prophesied one got old fast.Overall, I finished Prophecy more out of a sense of duty rather than enjoyment. The plot was predictable, the love interest lackluster, and the villain too obvious. I didn’t get attached to any of the characters and actually cheered when they started dying, just because at least something was happening. I won’t be picking up the other two books in the series. At least this one was cheap.Check out this review and more on my book blog: https://ellectricbookreviews.wordpress.com/2015/04/09/review-of-ellen-ohs-prophecy/

PROPHECY is a fast-paced historical fantasy set in Korea that takes you on a wild ride throughout the country. Kira, our semi-magical heroine, has sworn to protect the prince and, to do this, she'll meet gods, warriors, demons, friends and foes.I love a flawed protagonist and Oh's cast is full of well developed characters. The book is steeped in Korean culture from the their relationships to each other to the weapons and fighting techniques. It was great for me, as a martial artist, to see the exact moves that Kira and others performed, something pretty rare in action stories.The writing overall reminded me very much of the few kdramas I have seen in both dialogue and prose!All in all, I look forward to WARRIOR, the next in the series, as well as following Oh as she comes into her style and brings us more exciting books.

Korean-based young adult fantasy featuring a female character not constricted to gender roles. What’s not to love here? I picked up the book solely on it being Korean-based in my effort to actively avoid fantasies based on a European-Medieval model. I’ve grown tired of that particular setting and I’m so glad to see that there are writers actively working against that typical backdrop. Now I’ll freely admit this up front; I’m ignorant about Korean culture and thus during much of my time reading this book I was looking up images to match with words I didn’t know. A great learning experience for me and I’d do it again honestly. But with that said, you don’t need to have an in-depth understanding of Korean culture to get into this book.At its core this is a great action adventure. The main character, Kira, consistently kicks butt throughout the story and one of the strengths of it is that the author knows how to write action. I didn’t have any issues visualizing the movements of Kira and her supporting cast as they battled their way through their foes. So don’t buy into the sexism and think boys couldn’t get into this story because it stars a girl. Of course, the very idea of blood and gore being primarily the interests of boys is sexist in itself…but we won’t go there.So Kira is our guide through this story, but she’s surrounded by some great characters. Her older brother, Kwan, is an excellent companion and serves a bit as her anchor, keeping her steady. Then there’s Taejo, a young prince and her cousin that she has been sworn to protect since childhood. Along the way they meet Jaewon and Seung, a comedic duo that adds so much life into the story. I love them the most, especially Seung who is so genuinely innocent and seems to be the light of the story. Some of the minor characters have bigger moments as well that really stood out. The role of King Eojin, their uncle, played against my expectations a number of times and his sister pulled out quite the moment towards the end of the story.There are some typical elements to the plot such as the fulfillment of a prophecy and the idea of the “one” but Ellen does succeed in turning that a bit on its head. Honestly, I could have done without so much focus on that, but it does sort of serve as the axis of the story so my gripe is perhaps a bit much. Also, I would have liked to have actually seen the demons instead of their possessions. But I have a feeling that might be rooted in some part of Korean culture I’m unfamiliar with.Overall, this is a quick, fun read. You’ll like the characters and will root for them throughout the story. Don’t look for a lot of emotional heft and some of the heavier bits we’ve seen lately from fantasy. This book knows its audience and perfectly zooms in on that. There’s nothing wrong with that and in fact, it gave me a nice breather from some of the heavier books I’ve been reading as of late. That alone allows me to see the appeal and boom in YA among older readers. Prophecy can consider itself a part of that boom and I think its greatest contribution is diversity. For a Korean teen who’s never seen themselves in a fantasy book before, I’m sure this felt like absolute gold. And that’s why books like Prophecy have to exist.More reviews like this can be found on my blog at: https://rrapmagazine.wordpress.com/

This was a very well written book and I enjoyed the characters a lot. The only problem was the the author didn't seem to know how to write romance. The flirting and romantic parts of the book were very cringey but they were far and few between so it didn't bother me too much. The storyline was very predictable but the story went where I wanted it to go so overall it was an enjoyable light read.

Slow and predictable with no development in romance. However, the story picks up in the second and third books, so they should be given a chance.