Being able to see the future would be such a cool psychic power to have. Instead of worrying about making the wrong choice, you can just check and see which outcome works best for you. You won’t have to struggle in life if you know what will happen. However, having psychic abilities might not be worth the trouble it comes with. For these next entries, the main characters didn’t want to be put in harrowing situations but did what they could to reach a favorable future. Having visions might not be worth the trouble these protagonists get into, but it does make for a good read!
Will Dando from The Oracle Year by Charles Soule
The Oracle Year follows Will Dando, a normal New Yorker who suddenly wakes up with the ability to predict the future. With such power, Will greedily uploads his predictions online as the Oracle, hiding his identity to protect his loved ones. Unfortunately, it’s not enough. Too many people want to take advantage of Will’s power and hunt him down to reveal the Oracle’s identity. Will he avoid the menacing threats waiting for him to slip, or will he try to be a hero?
Will Dando is like Peter Parker; power gets to his head, and he sells his predictions for monetary gain. Things take a turn for the worse as he’s suddenly targeted by world leaders and dangerous underground men. Realizing the dangers of his power, Will tries to avoid exposure as he attempts to use his power for good. From greedy crook to aspiring hero, Will is a classic case of a hero origin story. Hopefully, Will can make it out with his identity intact.
Merlin from The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
We all know Merlin the Great was a powerful wizard from Arthurian legend. He’s a wise old man who guides Arthur to becoming a great king of Britain. In Stewart’s take on the character, he’s a young illegitimate son of a South Wales princess. His father’s identity is unknown. From a young age, Merlin possesses the gift of Sight and sees a vision of the future King Arthur not yet unfolding. To get to that future, Merlin must navigate war and invasions while figuring out who he is.
The Arthurian Saga is a book series that follows Merlin as he becomes the greatest magician in history. From a boy to a man, Merlin is an outsider, watching a story unfold before his eyes. That might cause some disconnect between Merlin and people. It’s a thoughtful insight into how the power to see the future causes a person like Merlin to seek further knowledge and stray away from what he considers “distractions.”
Johnny Smith from The Dead Zone by Stephan King
Receiving the gift of foresight from a head injury is not the best way to get psychic abilities, but it is what happened to Johnny Smith as a child. Only receiving snippets of the future, his gift grows more as Johhny’s left in a four-year coma as an adult. Now seeing clear visions of the future, Johnny is reluctantly left chasing down a dangerous man who may doom the entire human race. Only Stephan King can make a protagonist go through harrowing experiences to obtain the power to see the future.
Just from the summary, readers feel sorry for Johnny. With two life-threatening accidents and a power he doesn’t want, Johhny wants to live a normal life. But what makes Johnny compelling is that despite his wishes, he’ll do what’s right and go after the dangerous man in his visions. Otherwise, if he doesn’t do it when he has the power to, then who will at the expense of all humanity?
Trigger Warning: Mentions of self-harm and abuse in the next section.
Meg Corbyn from Written in Red by Anne Bishop
Meg Corbyn has a uniquely disturbing way of seeing visions. It’s not pretty; she must draw her own blood to have premonitions. Not only that, Meg’s locked up by her Controller, keeping her as a possession to use whenever he needs a vision. But Meg’s sitting still, escaping to the only safe place she could think of, Lakeside Courtyard, where other gifted people take business. However, it might not be as secure with Simon Wolfgard, a shapeshifter distrustful of Meg and her secrets. Can Lakeside Courtyard give Meg the protection she needs, or will the safety of many outweigh the safety of one?
Meg, along with readers, learn about the world Anne Bishop created. Having been locked up for so long, Meg is like a child with innocent views of the world despite her captivity. But of course, with the abuse she’s gone through, she’s unfortunately seen the horror mankind will make for power. But it’s what makes Meg worth rooting for, happily cheering behind her as she makes friends.
Alex Verus from Fated by Benedict Jacka
Alex Verus admits that he isn’t a powerful mage, even with his power of foresight. However, it allows him to successfully pull off operations to perfection by choosing the best possible future in his favor. If Harry Potter was exclusively set in the city of London, then the Alex Verus series is the series to read. Behind the facade of a magic store in modern London is a store that caters to other mages. Some of those mages request Alex’s powers to retrieve a mystic relic from a mage war long ago. If many mages want Alex’s services, then such a relic is more than Alex bargained for. He doesn’t need foresight to know such a thing is not good for survival.
As a diviner, Alex is more strategic and thinks things through, knowing he isn’t as powerful as other mages in London. It makes Alex seem humble, knowing where his strengths lie rather than fighting and figuring things out later. Though he is flawed in his sense of right and wrong, just like Alex, readers will want to stay away from the dangers a relic all mages desire to obtain will bring.
Would it be worth getting the ability to see the future? Maybe not, but it’s worth dreaming of the possibilities rather than dealing with the hassle of being psychic. The closest thing we’ll do to that possibility is by reading.
Check out more books with powerful abilities in Bookstr’s A Witch, A Psychic, A Creepy Child – Three to Read!
Interested in more horror fun? Check out Spine-chilling Horror Novels Not for the Faint of Heart on Bookshop.org!
