The Oracle Year

January 1, 2018
When struggling New York City bassist Will Dando, the hero of bestselling comic book writer Soule’s wildly entertaining first novel, awakens with the precise knowledge of future events—some seemingly trivial and others of monumental importance—he and a longtime friend decide to slowly disclose the information online as the omniscient Oracle. As the world’s population becomes obsessed with the Oracle’s posts—some thinking he’s a savior and others vilifying him—unmasking the Oracle’s identity becomes the prime objective for government agencies, religious groups, and journalists worldwide. On the run from those seeking to kill him or exploit his knowledge, Dando realizes that all the predictions are somehow connected and that someone—or something—could be orchestrating the end of the world. Although the premise is a bit shaky, the relentless pacing, richly developed characters, and brilliant ending make this apocalyptic speculative thriller an undeniable page-turner. Agent: Seth Fishman, Gernert Company.

March 15, 2018

A few months ago, failing New York City musician Will Dando had a dream in which he received 108 specific predictions about the future. With the help of friend Hamza, he releases some of his visions on a secure website, soon known as the Site. After a few of the posts come true, the anonymous Oracle, as Will is branded by the world, sells other predictions for vast sums. Along the way, he attracts many enemies, including a powerful televangelist who incites his followers to find and destroy the Oracle. Likewise, the U.S. president wants to determine if the Oracle is dangerous and if he can help him win a second term in office. Meanwhile, the Oracle's revelations are causing global instability. Soon, Will, Hamza, and journalist Leigh realize the Site has its own motives for these predictions and must do their best to stop events from spiraling out of control into nuclear Armageddon. VERDICT Comic book franchise author Soule (Death of Wolverine) delivers an original and exciting spin on an old concept. Recommended for fans of Stephen King's Revival, The Stand, and "The Dark Tower" series. [Soon to be adapted into a TV series from Tomorrow Studios.--Ed.] [See Prepub Alert, 10/2/17.]--Jason L. Steagall, Gateway Technical Coll. Lib., Elkhorn, WI

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2018
A man who can see the future--in cryptic fragments--wreaks havoc on the world stage as millions wait breathlessly for every single prediction.This is Soule's debut novel, although he's spent years writing some of the most popular superhero characters for Marvel, DC, Image, and more. Here, he uses his keen eye to create a whip-smart thriller that employs the tiniest bit of speculative fiction, spinning an entertaining, keenly satirical tale about behavior and causality. In a clever twist, Soule starts his novel in the middle of the story, as "scruffy, underemployed" bass player Will Dando flirts with a woman at a bar, hinting that he's the mysterious figure known in popular culture as "The Oracle." In fact, Will does know some of the future, as revealed to him in 108 predictions in a dream. They can be as benign as a woman buying milk or as deadly as a bridge collapse. Will has been working with his best friend, Hamza Sheikh, and Hamza's pregnant wife, Miko, to sell certain predictions to corporations for hundreds of millions of dollars while posting others on an incredibly popular website known simply as "The Site." He has good intentions. "The predictions came to me. I'm using my best judgement about what to do with them," he later tells spunky reporter Leigh Shore, who becomes an ally. But Will quickly draws the ire of a range of powerful and dangerous figures that include the president of the United States, a hypocritical televangelist, and the most interesting foe, a sly, grandmotherly assassin known only as "The Coach." Soule finesses Will's dilemma with a Byzantine plot in which Will and his companions can't tell if the prophecies are coalescing into a dangerous endgame or their very lives are being manipulated by the arc of the predictions.A thrilling, noodle-bending adventure that keeps readers guessing until the very end.

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March 1, 2018
In Soule's latest writing adventure, Will Dando is an average guitar player in New York?struggling to get by, occasionally assisted by friends?until he wakes from a dream with 108 predictions about the future in his head. The Oracle Year begins with some initial tests to determine the predictions' accuracy, after which Will protects his anonymity by creating a website and dubbing himself the Oracle. As he reveals more predictions, he draws attention from corporations that would profit from his prophecies, the U.S. president, who will try to control him, and a televangelist determined to discredit him. With assistance from his friend Hazma, a journalist named Leigh, and internet experts nicknamed the Florida Ladies, Will unleashes prophecies through the Site, as the public calls it, and profits handsomely by releasing some prophecies privately to his corporate audience. Will and his friends struggle to unscramble the pattern to the prophecies, including a few cryptic ones, while they attempt to evade an assassin grandmother, and the entire world panics about a warlord with a nuclear missile. Soule's background in comics shows in this dark, rollicking tale.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)