Knowledge is power. So when an unassuming Manhattan bassist named Will Dando awakens from a dream one morning with 108 predictions about the future in his head, he rapidly finds himself the most powerful man in the world. Protecting his anonymity by calling himself the Oracle, he sets up a heavily guarded Web site with the help of his friend Hamza to selectively announce his revelations. In no time, global corporations are offering him millions for exclusive access, eager to profit from his prophecies.

He's also making a lot of high-powered enemies, from the President of the United States and a nationally prominent televangelist to a warlord with a nuclear missile and an assassin grandmother. Legions of cyber spies are unleashed to hack the Site—as it's come to be called—and the best manhunters money can buy are deployed not only to unmask the Oracle but to take him out of the game entirely. With only a handful of people he can trust—including a beautiful journalist—it's all Will can do to simply survive, elude exposure, and protect those he loves long enough to use his knowledge to save the world.

Delivering fast-paced adventure on a global scale as well as sharp-witted satire on our concepts of power and faith, Marvel writer Charles Soule's audacious debut novel takes readers on a rollicking ride where it's impossible to predict what will happen next.

I don’t read a lot of sci-fi. In other words, The Oracle Year is the kind of book I might glance at for like a second before skulking off to the romance section. But something about the story of a regular guy who suddenly has the ability to see the future intrigued me, so here we are. Who would have thought a “political technothriller” would not only be readable, but compelling?

Will Dando, a sometimes-employed, 20-something-year-old bass player wakes up one day with 108 predictions about the future in his head. While I, a coward, would go back to sleep and pretend nothing unusual had happened, Will, an actual good person, creates a website to anonymously share—and okay, profit from—his knowledge with the world. Not surprisingly, everything spirals out of control and Will quickly creates a bunch of terrifyingly high-powered enemies (like the U.S. government).

Though The Oracle Year is packed with high-tech computer stuff and fancy government lingo, the plot was actually fun to read (but I still couldn’t confidently explain to you how coding works or what, exactly, the Chief of Staff is). It has the energy and urgency of those thrillers stocked in the checkout line at the drugstore but it’s also super smart and emotionally accessible, a breathtaking adventure about an ordinary dude just trying to use his newfound power to save the world. Strap in. You'll be glad you took the ride.