Wesley has done it again! I'm sucked right back in, baby. Love this multi-POV story, and we get to see more of this weird world?! Sign me up for this series, and I love this Chinese High Fantasy series. The subtle and loud humor is so appreciated in fantasy, and it continues even more here.

In this second installment of WAR ARTS series, we follow Jian, the prophesied hero supposed to defeat the Eternal Khan of Katuia and bring peace to his people; Ling Taishi, a windwhisper grandmaster; Salminde, the Viperstrike (a childhood friend of Khan) and Qisami, an assassin shadowkill.

Picking up where THE ART OF PROPHECY leaves off, Chu shows dedication to explore several lineages of war artists while introducing different flavors of war arts. When relationships are established, the characters - more attached to their closed ones - carry their own burden. Some are meant to be greater while others struggle between unfulfilled purpose x find their own life's purpose, their bond formed by shared trauma defining a tight knot. Too many new characters are delivered at once and it can feel quite overwhelming to keep track of them. Regardless, they work together to give readers broader perspectives and add complexity to the story.

The author spends time in details - with rich descriptions and war arts feel more expansive. Betrayal, forgiveness, pride and sacrifice are loaded in the pages, weaving an emotional touch into the narrative. Readers will find elements of humor and mental game, one of the aspects that I love in this book. The story starts slow and it feels lukewarm until halfway, when things are tied up. I personally had expected to linger in the main characters, without being distracted by secondary ones.

In THE ART OF DESTINY, the characters dive deeper into politics and the story focuses on leadership/guardianship with all its brokenness. I appreciate reading about the strong connection between master and student and I am hoping to have it further exposed in the final installment. With the last 100 pages punctuated by tension, this novel closes with exhilarating battle scenes and a cliffhanger.

For wuxia lovers (like me) or just fans of fantasy, Chu delivers a full plate to savor. I hope more people read this series and I am ready for the final book.

I was lucky enough to recive a copy of the first book at San Diego Comic Con. This was a great second book in the series

I love this series and I wish it got more love on bookstagram! The second book is just as good as the first, as we get to know the characters more and dive deeper into their motivations. Most of them are still reeling from changes in what they perceived as their destinies, so there’s a lot of figuring out what to do next, but there’s also still fun action and relationship building. And I love that there are lighter moments interspersed throughout.

Wesley Chu describes this series as “failed prophecy but funny”. The first book, The Art of Prophecy, was one of my favorite books last year. It’s indeed funny but also has stellar battle scenes, complex emotions, and more. And an older female character who’s powerful and smart and mean!

The Art of Destiny picks up almost immediately where the first volume left off. Jian is in training under Taishi and other masters. Qisami the assassin, disgraced after the events of the first book, takes on a deep undercover mission with her cell that has the power to change their fortunes for the better… but Qisami discovers it’s changing her.

I can’t reveal much more without spoilers, but this was fantastic and I eagerly wait for the next one!

The Art of Destiny was one of my most anticipated reads for 2023. Only a year has passed since the War Arts saga began, but I still needed a refresher. I easily fell back into the series thanks to not only a detailed character list that refreshed my memory but also because Wesley Chu’s dynamic characters felt like old friends that I was excitedly catching up with. Book two has a much different vibe and takes a more wandering path to set the stage for the rest of the series. It has a slow pace and branches off to many different subplots, so it lacks a lot of the punchiness and excitement in book one, but I still found myself unable to put the book down. Spoilers below for book one in the series, The Art of Prophecy.

The world erupts into chaos now that the prophecy is good and broken. The Tiandi religion has abandoned its prophesied hero, and the dukes amass armies to push at their borders. Unrest, droughts, and all sorts of drama unfold throughout the Enlightened States, but the country’s problems have not yet reached the mysterious peaks of the Cloud Pillars. In this remote area, Wen Jian continues to train under Taishi, the Grandmaster of the Windshipering School of the Zhang Lineage. While Jian struggles under the weight of his destiny, he is granted a small reprieve as his enemies turn their attention elsewhere. Qisami and her Shadowkill cell failed their mission and are now licking their wounds by taking on bad, low-paying contracts. In Katuia, the Pull of the Khan is destroying Sali’s body, and the famed Viperstrike is but a shadow of herself as she attempts to create freedom and safety for her clan.

The story structure changes a lot in The Art of Destiny. At its foundation, the same incredible characters are at the helm, ready to carry out immersive fight sequences and deliver quippy lines so we don’t take ourselves too seriously. But the story is evolving, and book two gives us a totally different flavor. The characters in book one are either focused on surviving or hunting, and the story weaves together into a satisfying culmination of events where all the characters meet head-on in a final showdown. In the sequel, the paths have diverged and the pieces of the story become scattered on different winds as the characters take on side quests. Jian trains more freely to prepare for the prophecy, Qisami goes back to the Shadowkill grind, and Sali searches for a cure. The story spends a lot of time building and putting the pieces into the proper position for book three, so it felt like I was treading water a lot of the time. I still enjoyed the book very much, but it definitely lulls in places and has a slower pace in comparison to its explosive predecessor.

One of my favorite parts about this series is that the chosen one is nowhere near ready to fulfill his prophecy. It’s this realization that kicks off the events of book one, and Jian’s lack of discipline, training, and youthful whims were qualities that served him well in that story. But when Destiny picks up three years later, it seems that the young man has regressed. Jian has become a bumbling himbo barely aware of himself and the world around him. Now, I like that Jian is naive and that there are gaps in his training. He is young and untested, and I fully expected him to continue his evolution in this book. However, his shortcomings are magnified so much more in this book that Jian feels unrecognizable. This can be explained by the focus of the story, which zooms in on Jian’s training in a way that was absent in book one. Jian’s struggles also make the prophecy feel impossible which plays into the everpresent foreboding feeling that the world is going to shit. Additionally, Jian’s regression does support the story’s development overall because it allows Chu to grow the cast all the while digging in his heels to make the reader comfortable with a hero who is not going to meet expectations. Ultimately, Jian’s failures continue to support the theme of our unqualified hero, but it was jarring to re-acquaint myself with him in this book.

I am thrilled that Chu introduces new characters to build Jian’s support group for his hero’s journey in this book. Taishi may be the Windwhispering Grandmaster, but there is only so much she can teach Jian. Recognizing this flaw provides Jian opportunities to work with other trusted war masters and their heirs to round out his abilities. Bringing in these new characters builds out the world further, exposes us to different fighting styles, and gives us a peek into Taishi’s history. While Jian’s story does lull, part of it is kept fresh by the many new personalities that hurt and help him along his path. Qisami and Sali also provide the reader with avenues to meet new characters and explore other areas of the world. Although their stories feel detached and separate from Jian’s, they both serve to keep tabs on the world while Jian is hidden away. Qisami has a pulse on the Enlightened States and provides us a window into the very real issues brewing amongst the dukes. Sali continues to be our eyes into the feared Katuia clans as the failed prophecy disrupts their long-held belief system.

Overall, I found The Art of Destiny to be a good but largely underwhelming story. I’m giving it a higher rating simply because Wesley Chu has created a fantastic cast of characters that I want to read about even on their worst days. I am hopeful that these hard-earned pieces of the story are setting up for an epic conclusion to the series.

Rating: The Art of Destiny – 7.5/10

Very enjoyable sequel to The Art of Prophecy, that once again managed to surprise me several times. It's obviously a middle book with a lot of setting up for the finale, rather than resolving any story arcs, but you know that going in; it's the curse of the middle book. The main character POVs were more disparate here than in book one, but the upside was that I actually enjoyed all of them about equally, which was less so in the first book. Somehow, either the passage of time or the writing in this book, made Qisami less annoying to me. I was happy to read her chapters this time.

Chu is writing a really good, layered story that is gripping and entertaining. The writing style, to me, feels a little uneven at times. Like he's making fun of grandiose statements and gestures in one chapter, but then seems to pull out a grand statement completely unironically the next. And while most of the narrating is solidly 3rd person POV, the omniscient narrator pops up here and there for a paragraph.

For a trilogy called War Arts that features several different types of deadly fighter classes it should not come as a surprise that the number of pages dedicated to detailed fighting scenes is quite high. Probably plenty people enjoy that, but I have had always had trouble picturing fights or battles when reading about them, and I've kind of given up long ago in trying to make sense of them. My brain automatically goes into skim mode when they start, especially when we are pulling out named moves, like Eagle Soaring Above Waterfall, or what have you. Most of the story happens just before the fighting starts, I noticed, but I could be wrong, maybe I skimmed over some important bits.

Anyway, this in no way hampered my enjoyment of this book. I'm really looking forward to seeing how Chu is going bring all story lines together in the next book.

I had eagerly awaited The Art of Destiny since I saw the author put it on Goodreads. I enjoyed reading The Art of Prophecy and needed to know what happened to Wen, Taishi, Qisami, and Sali. So, when I saw the widget arrive in my email, I immediately downloaded it. This book did not disappoint.

First, I want to let everyone know that there is a map (a little small on my Kindle, but it might be bigger in a book) of The Enlightened States. I loved that. The second thing, and this is what I loved, is that the author included a glossary (or a Dramatis Personae). It lists every single named character in the book and has a brief description of them. As a reviewer, that is a lifesaver since I am forever going back and forth on my Kindle to find characters and make sure the names are correct.

I also want to let everyone know that this book is long. It is 672 pages. It is also slow, but, as I said above, the author reintroduced characters and introduced new characters. And there was a lot.

The Art of Destiny is split into three separate storylines. One follows Wen Jian and Tiashi. The other follows Qisami. The last storyline follows Sali. The storylines are kept entirely different from each other until the end of the book. Then Wen Jian, Tiashi, and Qisami’s storylines merge. But Sali’s is kept separate, and the author did have good reason for that. All of the storylines were well-written and very rich in lore. I was immersed in each storyline separately and did not have an issue transferring from one to another.

The storyline following Wen Jian and Tiashi focuses on Wen Jian, his training, Tiashi bringing the other grandmasters to the Cloud Pillars, and the events at the end of the book. I enjoyed reading about the other grandmasters and their chosen martial arts. I liked how each interacted with Wen and Tiashi. I also liked that they all had Wen’s back and would follow him (and Tiashi) anywhere. The storyline was still ongoing at the end of the book, and I am curious about where everyone ended up.

The storyline with Qisami did make me a little sad. Once placed in the Duke’s household, she seemed to find a family that accepted her for who she was (at face value). She formed friendships outside of her pod. She lost sight of why she was there until Firstwife told her to kill people that she had become attached to. But the saddest thing is when her pod mates betrayed her. Her surprise and betrayal came off the pages, as did her anger. She was so upset that she let Wen and Tiashi slip through her fingers.

The storyline with Sali had my attention the most. She was trying so hard to find a way to get rid of the Pull of the Khan. But her journies and the pull were killing her. She was also trying to be strong for her tribe. Her weariness was palpable. But, when she heard of a potential cure in the north, on the island nation of Hrusha, she reluctantly went. Her character’s growth while on the island was comparable to Qisami’s. I loved her fight scenes with the Stormchaser. It was the highlight of the book for me. What she turned into also surprised me.

The book’s fantasy angle was incredible (including the martial arts). I loved that the author based it on Chinese folklore and then ran with it. I wish the author recorded some of the lore in a glossary because I had some issues keeping them straight (but that is a me issue, not a book or writing issue).

The end of The Art of Destiny was good. Nothing was wrapped up. Instead, things were revealed and left there for my overactive imagination to process. I can’t wait to see where book three will take these characters. I also can’t wait to see how the author will merge Sali’s storyline with Qisami, Wen, and Tiashi’s.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey, NetGalley, and Wesley Chu for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Art of Destiny. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

Disappointing. We return to the world of <i>The Art of Prophecy</i> with our same four POV characters -- Wen Jian, the erstwhile "Hero of Prophecy"; Ling Taishi, his mentor; Salminde, a former "Will of the Khan" now in possession of the last fragment of the Eternal Khan's soul (which she must get rid of, one way or another, before the Khan may be reborn); and Qisami, a psychopathic assassin.

Jian and Taishi are now together most of the book doing their training thing, accompanied by a bunch of new characters (mostly former comrades of Taishi's, with their own apprentices) about whom I never cared. Qisami is doing her assassin thing, completely independent of the rest of the book for the most part, and I still hated her character. Salminde is off doing... something... to guide and help her people, and debating whether to try to purge herself of the fragment of the Khan's soul -- this is now a very big debate, as holding onto it is slowly killing her but getting rid of it will allow the Khan's soul to be reborn. This part of the book really lost me, as we find out that the Khan's soul is <spoiler>like, some evil alien entity threatening the world? Or something?</spoiler> A baffling development and a really unsatisfying one to me, since as I said in my review of the first part I thought it was going to do something cool with Jian being the reincarnation of the Khan. But instead it's a much more cut-and-dry <spoiler>cosmic evil</spoiler> thing which is confusing and boring.

All in all the book kinda flew by, which was good and bad: zippy reading, but it also meant I was more than 500 pages in before I realized basically nothing had so far happened. A flurry of Plot Development occurs in the last stretch of the book but since a lot of it involved new characters (about whom I did not care) battling our heroes or heroically dying in their defense it ended up being kind of shrugworthy. Really on the fence about continuing to the next book in this series when it comes out.

I loved the first book, even though as an epic fantasy, it had both its lulls and strong points in equal measure.

But I'm not sure how I feel about this one. It's a direct continuation of the first book, but it feels very aimless. Like the first one, there are three distinct stories happening: Taishi and Jian, Qisami, and Sali, but they all seem too disconnected to actually tie into one cohesive story.

I liked each story separately, but as a whole, I don't understand what the main plotline is supposed to be. Events happen, each character experiences various degrees of character development, and that's about it.

Unlike the first one, I felt really detached from both the characters and the story. I still loved each character (Taishi is still a badass; Jian is unintentionally funny, but goodhearted; Qisami can be my bestie with her sarcastic bad bitch self; and Sali is the epitome of a rebel with a cause). There were funny moments that I highlighted, and the writing is still just as witty as the first one.

But other than that, the entire novel feels like a drawn-out TV drama with too many episodes when things could've been wrapped up in half the number of episodes. Each separate plotline kept dragging and dragging with no ending in sight. There are huge battle scenes in the climax, but I was so bored to the point where they weren't even exciting at all.

I'll still read the third novel, but I won't be preordering any special editions. I did consider preordering a special edition for this one, but I'm glad I didn't.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for this arc.

Jian's journey continues as he now prepares to be Taishi's heir. With his newfound friendships he has learned how to be a little less selfish and self-centered. With Taishi as his guardian he has learned and refined his war arts in hopes that he could someday fulfill the prophecy that may or may not be wrong. Qisami is trying to earn her way back into the good graces of her guild by going undercover and awaiting her assassination assignments. She and her crew begin a dangerous journey working for one of the leaders of their realm. Sali is on a mission to find a way to stop the pull of the Khan from killing her, she wants to be there for the birth of her niece/nephew. While Sali is away her clan is working hard to survive in harsh conditions and stay out of sight of the spirit shamans who are intent on destroying them.

This yet again, was a bit of a rough start for me, but the second half made it all worth it. While I preferred Qisami's storyline in the first book and expected that to be the case here, it wasn't. While I did still enjoy Qisami's POV, I found myself much more drawn to Jian now that he has had some character growth and doesn't annoy me quite as much as he did in the previous book. I still really did not care much about Sali, but maybe that will change with the next installment. Overall, this is a complicated world that got some expansion, with a variety of characters and personalities, which lead to a good read if you can manage to get past some of the density. This took me a long time to read, but I don't think that is the fault of the story, I think I just simply wasn't in the mood for Epic Fantasy when I picked it up. Once I got through my mood reading dilemma I really enjoyed myself.

The Art of Destiny, second book in the The War Arts Saga series, by Wesley Chu
I am head over heels for this series. I'd give it six stars if I could, because Wesley Chu is a master-builder of worlds. Every sentence, every image, every detail adds richness to the story, which like the first book, The Art of Prophecy, is told from multiple points of view. Unlike in the first book, though, the character arcs don't intersect much. But this book is even more character-driven than the first, developing these people and drawing me deep, deep, deep into the saga. I look forward to Book 3 and hope that Wesley Chu will set further series in this magical and martial artsy world. I recommend this series to anyone who loves epic adventure, wuxia, chosen-one tropes flipped ass over tea kettle, and kickass, badass characters who happen to be women. 

PS: Natalie Naudus, the narrator of the series's audio version, deserves an award for her performances of all the marvelous characters. I have added books to my tbr list just because she narrates them, even if I have no clue what they're about.

[Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy and share my opinion of this book.]

3.5 rounded to 4

Terrific writing with a sharp, funny voice. The characters are well defined and a great mix of wuxia types and modern heroes (or anti-heroes), and the world-building is vivid and layered. I really enjoyed reading it. That said, it read very much like a middle book of a trilogy, with great scenes that resonated as real while casual powers get thrown around, but it still kind of felt like all the threads were pulling toward the next book, along with emotional involvement. So, though I enjoyed reading it, it was easy to put down. But if you're invested in the series, don't skip this one, for all the character moments.

Have you started to relate more to characters who are tired? Definitely not because I'm tired all the time...

Wesley Chu's "The Art of Destiny" continues the story of the chosen one, he who will defeat the Eternal Khan. Who doesn't do his chores still. Taishi has placed the in a remote location to continue Jian's training, which is proving Difficult. Sali is slowly dying as the soul of the Khan continues to fester inside, while taking up a mantel of leadership. Qisami, while doing low level jobs as punishment, ends up undercover as a nanny. What can go wrong?

I dragged my feet a bit on this one because I wanted to listen to Natalie Naudus' Taishi. The grumpy and caring really comes through. Especially that one line...

Thank you Random House and Netgalley for the ARC.

Reasons to read:
-Each POV is great
-Spend some time with Taishi' old friends/enemies
-Conflict expands for both sides
-Corrupt religions continues to be an antagonist I don't mind getting clipped
-Hungry for more

Cons:
-Some of the food descriptions really did make me hungry

A prophecy stated that a chosen one would defeat the Eternal Khan, an immortal god-king. It was wrong. The former chosen one is now an ordinary young man, but Jian may still have an extraordinary destiny. He continues to train with Taishi in her family’s powerful war art. Jian still has much to study, so Taishi recruits a band of elderly grandmasters to train him. In addition, assassin Qisami is protecting a powerful noblewoman and discovers friendship, family, and a new purpose. Sali's clan is exiled, and she must lead them in a search for a new home.

The Art of Destiny is the second book in the War Arts Saga, following The Art of Prophecy. Jian is still learning here, though he's far better in skill than in the first book, for all that he makes mistakes. He has a long way to go before learning all that Taishi knows, so she must find more teachers to improve his skills. Each teaches him something different, furthering his education and helping him grow into a better person. Qisami was demoted for not bringing Jian's head to who had hired her and is taken in an elaborate trap to meet the duchess. While she normally wants to avoid the dukes and all their schemes, this duchess has gravitas and presence as well as skills of her own to keep Qisami in her employ. Sami is dying but searches for a cure to remain leading and to be a good aunt.

Jian's is the main thread, so it's easiest to connect to his part of the story. I enjoyed Qisami's portion and felt the most distant from Sami's. Jian is surrounded by war heroes who don't live up to their hype, so I felt sorry for him and hoped he could grow and learn how to become more of the man the prophecy once held him to be. Qisami did more spycraft than assassin work, and her group became a little found family. Sami's only concern was the cure, but finding it carries a cost she isn't willing to pay. Of course, the threads eventually intertwine, much as they had in the first book, and it's very cleverly done. The threads don't quite fall into each other the way you expect, and it sets up the third book of the trilogy with a dire note from the oracle, of course. This book took me much longer than expected to finish because there's so much detail in it, and so many layers to keep track of. It's a great follow-up to the first novel, and I have faith that the finale will be just as good.

This is a fantasy that I would recommend for Avatar but for Adults or just a more brutal Avatar. I love adventurey kinds of fantasy but truly the fight scenes were the highlight here, as one would hope from a book like this and this sequel amps it up even more. It felt very cinematic, kept pacing in fight scenes interesting and not tedious to read whatsoever, and brought something new to the table with the added bonus of magic I just loved the blend of influences and references to the tradition of martial arts stories with the storytelling and plot beats because the story itself is so good and this continuation blew me out of the water.

I had to put this one down 40% in. It was just so long and it felt like nothing was happening. I loved the characters in the first book, particularly Taishi. I just didn't feel like we were really getting to know anything new about the characters. We were just following them, almost like a slice of life. And with the end of the previous novel, there really weren't any stakes anymore. I just didn't know why we were doing this, and I felt myself dreading picking it up again. Such a disappointment after a great first novel.

Gah! I haven’t had a 5 star review in a long time! I actually loved this book more than the first book! I did already have it preordered in special edition from Waterstones and the audio book from Audible.

This book was hilarious in so many places and that’s a great thing! The audio narration is perfect as well! The characters are awesome and most of them funny as hell. I highly recommend this book and it does NOT have second book boring syndrome!

*Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey Random House for a digital copy of this book*

The Art of Destiny by Wesley Chu is the latest installment of a magnificent fantasy series with high stakes and action galore. This is the second War Arts Saga series and I'm in love with this series. Impressive world-building, spectacular sequencing, plot points, and character development can be both deadly and humourous. This is a character-driven series but the action is aplenty.

I received a review copy of this book from the author/publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Yeah I loved this book! This being the second in the series I thought it did a lot to add to the overall story. Some books suffer from middle book syndrome or that book only being there so the characters can get to the final battle or whatever the case may be. This one had a purpose. All the characters went through arch’s and there were twists I did not see coming. The battle scenes were again excellent. I said I have a hard time picturing fight scenes but Chu gave just enough detail that I could see it but not too much to where I was getting bogged down and not really picturing what I am reading. All in all the was a excellent second book to the series and I can not wait to read the next one.
5 STARS!