The Oracle Year
Author: Charles Soule
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Publication Date: April 3, 2018
ISBN: 9780062686657
Get the book: Amazon, Barnes & Noble (note: these are NOT affiliate links, just regular ones.)
The Oracle Year tells the story of one year in the life of New Yorker Will Dando after he awakens from a dream with 108 predictions about the future. His average life takes a rapid turn when those predictions start coming true. He begins asking himself questions: Who sent the predictions? Why were they sent to Will? Can he change anything about the predictions? How much of what comes next is his fault? Will and his friend Hamza set up a website to begin monetizing the predictions as they release them to the world. Will and Hamza become very wealthy while Will struggles to deal with the implications of his newfound fortunes, people around the world become desperate to learn more about this person known only as The Oracle. Is he an abomination? A sign of the end of days? A threat to national security? A spy? A fraud? The quest to learn the truth consumes some of the most powerful people in the free world and Will finds himself on the run from operatives with guns and a destiny that he still cannot understand.
This book is fast-paced and loaded with adventure, and is divided into the seasons of the year portrayed. I appreciated the modern touches to this story, including the use of Tor browsers and the creation of (almost) untraceable websites elevated this story of the Everyman Prophet. It will also have readers pondering the greater questions in life about what we were each put on this Earth to do. What is our purpose?
Rating: 
4 glasses of lemonade. This one would be great for book clubs. I can certainly see it being made into a movie, and I sense that a lot more people are going to be talking about this title in the next few weeks. The only reason it falls a glass of lemonade short is a little cursing and some hefty religious questions. The story poses the theory that major religious beliefs would not respond well to a prophet suddenly appearing on the scene. Some people might be offended to see religion portrayed in a short-sighted fashion, and others might completely agree with the way religion is portrayed in the book and be offended by the idea that the prophecies did not come from God (although that question is not specifically answered in the book).
I chose this book as part of my Book of the Month Club subscription. I’m really enjoying this service and you might too. Check it out here. (Disclaimer: This is a referral link and I will get a free book credit from BOTM for every person who signs up for the service using my link.) The service costs 14.99/ month and you can add extra books for 9.99. The cool thing that some of the books are pre-publication, so you will literally be getting your hands on them before they even hit stores, and you can skip months anytime you want if there are not titles that appeal to you.
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