The most recommended books with prophecy

Mafi weaves her story with such poetry and lyricism that it’s impossible not to pause for a moment and take stock of how expertly a character or setting is introduced every couple of chapters. The romance here is a slow, aching burn, but the pay-off is certainly worth it. Inspired by lush Persian mythology, the chance meeting between Alizeh, a magical Jinn masquerading as a lower servant, and Prince Kamran, the king’s grandson, makes for a compelling forbidden romance that anchors the wider plot of political intrigue and betrayal, which is in some ways reminiscent of Game of Thrones.

There is so much to love, perhaps in the first place, the bond between tragic hero Fitz and the irresistible Fool. But even more moving is that the series shows you how deeply human beings can be bonded to non-human beings. The world is so much alive that even wood harbours intelligence; and even if human beings arrogantly fail to acknowledge it, there are more magnificent intelligent creatures around than human beings. This series makes me all the more aware of the broken beauty of our own nature, and the need to take good care of it.

I found this book interesting from the perspective that it is almost the flip side of the book Left Behind. While Left Behind deals with the inner circle battling the evil world leader, this book is more about the people in the periphery who are not close to the action. It shows how the acts of the evil world leader affect the average person and reveals their view of what is taking place around them.

Wuxia. Need I say more? Wesley Chu’s The Art of Prophecy has it all: an intriguing fantasy world, epic struggles between empires, battles, thwarted destinies – and martial arts.

It poses the fascinating question: what happens to the prophesied hero when it turns out the prophecy is wrong, and he isn’t a hero after all?

What I loved most about this book are the female characters: warrior Sali, assassin Qisami, and Taishi. The scene-stealer for me is Taishi. She’s a master of martial arts, she can travel on the wind, she’s harsh, bad-tempered, an exacting teacher to the unfortunate-prophesied-hero-who isn’t (Wen Jiang, a spoiled young man who has to learn the painful lesson that he isn’t the marvel he thought he was), and she’s old.

The story unfolds from their conflicting points of view, and an exciting story it is. I can’t wait to see how it continues in the… show more.

Ilona Andrews is a husband-and-wife team that writes realistic, diverse characters and edgy, complex storylines. From the unique, somewhat sci-fi Innkeeper Chronicles to the gritty post-shift world of the Kate Daniels series and the powerful families of the Hidden Legacy series, the Andrews team excels at next level world building, flawed, relatable characters, and I love every one of their books, but Blood Heir is my favorite because it has a strong grown-up street kid with a found family vibes and is a tension-filled slow burn romance, with a strong, intelligent, compassionate, witty female protagonist. 

This book is so much fun and so light-hearted. It’s a perfect example of cozy fantasy romance.

It starts at the moment when our group of heroes slay the evil overlord; instead of following the usual fantasy content of battles and enemy attacks, it follows the friends as they inexpertly struggle to run the country they just inherited by accident, all while the new king secretly pines for his best friend.

It’s quirky and delightful, and it helped me escape the darkness of the real world for a few hours each day.

We often think of the Age of Revolutions as linked to the Enlightenment, with its emphasis on reason and science. But as Juster demonstrates in this fascinating book, it was also an age of prophecy. If they were sometimes dismissed as crazy, hundreds of male and female prophets found significant followers during the 1790s and early 1800s—followers who saw in those prophetic visions inspired ways to live in and face the challenges of a growing democratic society. Even those of us who knew about some of the ecstatic religious practices of the Second Great Awakening found ourselves marveling at Juster’s recapturing of a world of visionaries during an Age of Reason. Ultimately, she inspires us to connect the emerging democratization of the early nineteenth century to the profusion of charismatic and sometimes unsettling religious leaders. A wonderful piece of scholarship that is also a dream to read.

I’ve picked this book purely because I loved the way it brings in Native American culture into the forefront, and I also loved how it marries the modern world with the supernatural seamlessly as well as its gripping story. Reading it taught me a lot about Algonquian culture and the characters in its mythology, as well as how uncommon sources of inspiration can still provide a gripping storyline.

Although this book is aimed at a younger audience, it's one of the most compelling villain origin stories I've ever read. It's a spinoff novel based on lore from the bestselling Wings of Fire series, but can be read as a standalone. It shows the early life of the titular dragon, Darkstalker, who becomes a deadly antagonist in the main novel series.

This was shockingly dark and graphic for a middle grade novel, but I loved that about it, too. Add in the fact that every character in this book is a dragon, and you have a recipe for success. Though the narrative voice reads a little young (hey, it is meant for young readers), Darkstalker's journey toward evil is realistic, poignant, and, at times, heartbreaking.

There are no other poems like Rainer Maria Rilke’s Duino Elegies. Lyrical and intense, they express the poet’s struggle with existence, and his deep belief in the transformative power of suffering. Rilke asks the question that all spiritual seekers ask: “Look, I live. And for what?” He offers the answer that we live to strengthen the soul. In the Duino Elegies, Rilke encourages the reader to use his or her suffering to become closer to God. Reading his work helps the seeker to understand that the spiritual journey is on a larger scale than that of one’s fleeting life.