The Oracle Year: A Novel

Charles Soule’s compulsively readable debut, The Oracle Year, is an intelligent, satirical thriller that will appeal to more than just sci-fi readers. In a dream, Will Dando inexplicably receives 108 predictions that will take place within a year’s time. After a few of the predictions come true, Will and his friend Hamza set up an untraceable website, known around the world as “The Site,” to which Will anonymously posts his predictions over the course of many months. They also clandestinely sell predictions to the highest bidders, their profits making them unbelievably rich. Sometimes, however, Will’s predictions come with serious consequences; he becomes more careful with his knowledge, doing what he thinks is best for everyone’s protection. Along with Hamza, Hamza’s pregnant wife, Miko, and an eager reporter, Leigh Shore, Will’s life is at risk when the President of the United States, threatened by the Oracle’s influence on the upcoming reelection, requests the FBI’s help in identifying the Oracle, an investigation that involves an elderly female assassin and a popular televangelist who loudly opposes the Oracle.

Though the premise of his story is straightforward, Soule offers thoughtful and witty commentary on today’s political, religious, and social climate. Soule’s previous experience with writing comics shines in his depiction of Will as he struggles with his newfound power. With well-plotted suspense, The Oracle Year is fun from start to finish, a perfect page-turner for end-of-summer reading.