Prophecy by Ellen Oh

 

Published: January 2nd, 2013

Publisher: Harper Teen

Pages: 312

Copy: Publisher through Edelweiss

Summary: Goodreads

Kira’s the only female in the king’s army, and the prince’s bodyguard. She’s a demon slayer and an outcast, hated by nearly everyone in her home city of Hansong. And, she’s their only hope...

Murdered kings and discovered traitors point to a demon invasion, sending Kira on the run with the young prince. He may be the savior predicted in the Dragon King Prophecy, but the missing treasure of myth may be the true key. With only the guidance of the cryptic prophecy, Kira must battle demon soldiers, evil shaman, and the Demon Lord himself to find what was once lost and raise a prince into a king.

Intrigue and mystery, ancient lore and action-packed fantasy come together in this heart-stopping first book in a trilogy.

Prophecy follows the travels of Kira, a misunderstood demon slayer, as she tries hard to do her job as the young prince's bodyguard.  There are some great characters here that cover a huge range of ages from the 12 year old prince, to old monks.  One of my favourites, who doesn't actually get a lot of air time, is Shin Bo Hyun - he is so slick and sure of himself while being scrupulously polite.  I can't wait to see just exactly what he turns out to be in the grand scheme of things.  I think there is much more to him than meets the eye.

It's hard not to feel a little sorry for Kira, who is so obviously different from everyone else with her yellow eyes, but she handles herself well and I loved her snarky humour.

"'And why is it always 'the one' that saves the world, like some fairy tale? One man against the Demon Lord and his legions of evil soldiers? Unbelievable! Good luck finding that poor guy.  If he's smart, he'll either kill himself or run far, far away.'" (from ARC page 29)

There is some wonderful world building here and you can tell that Ms Oh has done some serious research into mythologies.  As I was reading I was trying to decide what the mythological background was, and I have since discovered it is Korean. Very well done Ms Oh, I was fascinated.

Interesting worlds, believable characters, and a mysteriously cryptic prophecy all gel together into an exciting fantasy that I read very quickly. Now I have to wait until 2014 to read the 2nd book in the trilogy - Warrior.  It's already on my list.