Warrior by Ellen Oh

Warrior by Ellen Oh
Genre: YA Fantasy
Expected Publication: December 31st, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Page Count: 327
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First an outcast, now a hero.

But her fight rages on.

Kira, the yellow-eyed demon slayer who fiercely protected her kingdom—and the crown prince—has been proclaimed the Dragon Musado of the prophecy. With the defeated the evil shaman.

But it wasn’t enough.

Hansong is in chaos. The Demon Lord’s minions have infiltrated the city, treason is brewing among the military ranks, and Kira is buried by the overwhelming loss of her parents. She’s also plagued by the annoying feelings that blossom whenever she’s around Jaewon. But she is determined that nothing will stop her from finding the second treasure needed to fulfill the Dragon King’s prophecy. Not even the army of half-breed demons hot on their trail. If only she could learn to trust others…

Her father always said one person can change the world. Will it be Kira?

*An advanced copy was provided for me to review*

I thrive for anything imaginative, new, and epically badass.  And yay for me, I found all these elements in Ellen Oh's Dragon King Chronicles. Since when do you get to find a book series that focuses on Asian culture rather than more of a European/white dominant one? Or one that doesn't focus on a romance or turn primarily into one? I don't think I've read anything like these books, which is the best thing ever.

I truly love Kira. She's a very consistent character who does, while it might not seem like it since she's such an experienced fighter and mature character in general, learn valuable lessons. She's such a strong and noble character who doesn't enjoy moping around too much (which tends to be a popular trend in strong YA characters. I love emotional breakdowns, but I despise constant moping.) I also love how much Kira values her family! She'd do anything for them and her friends, which basically is almost a majority of the plot, besides the whole find-the-prophecy-treasures thing.

I can already see how people will be discontent with the lack of romance, but to me it's perfection. To begin with, I'm not big on romance, but for Kira, she's not either. She experiences love through her family and she's completely inexperienced when it comes to loving *whispers* boy-men. So when she does find a boy-man, she doesn't know what to do or how to act and she doesn't like that. Also, she doesn't need some significant other to lean on, and for her to suddenly fall in love would be uncharacteristic and, in my opinion, would ruin the plot. And with what little the author has given us, not only do I want more for later on, but I ship them harder!

Warrior is almost like the show Supernatural, what with the demons taking over and going all apocalyptic on all the humans. And Kira and her buds must braves these dangers to save the world, essentially, while many don't believe what is happening or believe in Kira, for that matter. I enjoy how the plot (not only for its somewhat Supernatural elements) is set and with it's quick pace, I flew through the pages and was finished with the book in under a day. 

The Dragon King's Prophecy will possibly always be a favorite series of mine. Oh transports readers right into a Korean fantasy setting, with rich culture and interesting characters. Kira poses as a strong and independent character that doesn't come off as the cliche martyr of the story. And with Warrior's ending, I'm left wanting more. So obviously, I can't wait to see what happens next and I hope that others will enjoy this book as much as I did.

5 Splashes

Prophecy by Ellen Oh

The Synopsis:
The greatest warrior in all of the Seven Kingdoms... is a girl with yellow eyes.
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.

*A review copy was provided for me to read*

My Thoughts:
The first time I ever heard or saw anything about this book was on the Pitch Dark website.  If you haven't graced the beauty that is this site, I highly suggest you go visit there.  There are three websites that are run by HarperCollins and they do giveaways and these two amazingly entertaining bookworms do weekly video chats and stuff.  It's a great place!  Anyway, instantly, I was hypnotized by the cover.  I absolutely love this cover, and I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advance copy of the book.

I admired Kira's character.  She was a strong, independent heroine that I found to be very relatable with.  The fact that she was revered and treasured by her family and friends, but treated as the social Pariah amongst her village people was extremely sad.  But I loved how she never let that get her down.  She didn't think herself above anybody.  If anything, she thought lowly of herself because she put others ahead of herself before she took care of herself.  Anyhow, she didn't let the bullying get to her.  She had more important things to do, but it was fascinating to watch her tuck those sad and inadequate feelings away to be the strong and brave person she was expected to be.  Plus, she's a badass demon slayer with yellow eyes.  Come on.  Of course I'm going to find her interesting.

I also found the book to be original because how many other YA Asian-fantasy-historical-fiction books do you see out there?  I didn't have that much of a want to travel to Asia, but after reading this book, guess what other destination I've added to my To-Visit List?  The culture in Prophecy was so rich and accurate, besides that fact that Kira gets to be part of the king's army.  But that's besides the point.  I felt like I was there, in the Seven Kingdoms, traveling with Kira and her friends.

There was so much action and adventure and death in Prophecy!  And with the vivid imagery, making me feel as if I were there with Kira, this book got plenty of bonus points.  My only complaint would be that I wish there was a little more meat to the story.  It was great, but I felt that some scenes could have been further elaborated.

Also, there wasn't a lot of romance.  Actually, there really wasn't any, and I liked that.  I mean, Kira's got a lot on her plate, so why add a complicated and distracting romance to the mix?  I'm curious to see how things will turn out with it in the next book, but I'm glad that Oh didn't really expand on the romance for now.  I am content.  So, Oh, kudos to you!

Prophecy was a fast and exciting read, filled with plenty of action and adventure.  The culture in the book was alive and the imagery was vivid.  The idea of a demon slaying, yellowed-eyed girl was original and very interesting.  I'm super excited for the next installment and I can easily see this book becoming a favorite amongst the YA community.  Fans of fantasy, historical fiction, demon slaying, action, and adventure will enjoy this book.