Foretold: 14 Stories of Prophecy and Prediction (review)

Ranging from delightful romances to humorous science fiction narratives, from dark fantasies to cautionary tales, these fourteen original stories offer a range of takes on the idea of prophecy. Predictions in these stories come from oracles, legends, a sham fortune-teller, real fortune-tellers, a cult leader, a wily grandmother, a crime-obsessed teenager's own inner drama, and a nasty teacher. They are fulfilled sometimes by magic, sometimes by effort and hard work, and sometimes by the conscious or unconscious acts of the tellers, but always in surprising and canny ways. All of the stories are successful in terms of high interest and craft, but several rise above the others as simply outstanding. Among these, readers will find Saundra Mitchell's "The Chosen One," a well-plotted and beautifully written piece about a girl who embarks on a quest to save her sister's life, and in so doing fulfills an ambiguous prophecy in a clever way and, thanks to her sister's own ingenious plotting, receives her heart's desire as well. Another compelling entry, Malinda Lo's seemingly traditional story of the birth prophecy of a princess that foretells she will destroy her father's kingdom when she finds her true love, offers a surprising twist. Most of the prophecies are redemptive in some way, but some serve up revenge and darkness; given that, it's easy to predict that all readers will find something to latch onto here.