An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir.
Rating : 5 / 5
Released Date : 28th April 2015
Pages : 446
Genre : Fantasy, YA
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin Random House affiliated)
Source: I own a Copy
‘The field of battle is my temple. The sword point is my priest. The dance of death is my prayer. The killing blow is my release.’
Wow I love this quote from the book and so do many because it’s all over the internet. I would love to have a T-shirt like this but people who don’t read will think me mad. This was one of the most Anticipated YA releases of 2015 and it did not disappoint.
The Writing style. (5 / 5)
The story is written in two POV’s and it’s FP. The writing itself was pure. I can imagine that if I should have lived in that time and place that’s the way they would have spoken. The chapters are named accordingly and other than that there was nothing wrong with it.
The World. (5 / 5)
An Ember in the Ashes is based in the desert. The time setting is old because they still had slaves. (I’m against slavery. That was the cruelest time in all of humanity.) The Martials overthrew the Scholars and their lands and now they oppress and enslave the scholars. The Empire seeks power and fights with sword instead of knowledge. Books, schools and libraries are forbidden and punishable by death. (Is that right? I’m not certain. Please don’t crucify me.) The Martials won the war against the scholars only because they were trained in steel craft and wielded a special steel that could cut through 3 men at once.
The Plot. (5 / 5)
A girl will do anything to save her brother and a soldier will do anything to be free.
That’s all you are getting out of me!
The Characters. (5 / 5)
Laia. (The Slave.)
Laia is a very strong female character and you have no choice but to admire her courage. She ends up being so brave. Her brother is taken from her and her grandparents killed. She ran for her life as their home was set ablaze. Laia seeks out the Resistance, a group of scholars who wants to regain the world they once knew and also the very organization her parents started. Laia is to become a slave at the BCA and in order for her brother to be saved by the Resistance she needs to spy on the commandant.
The commandant lashes out on Laia several times over stupid stuff and its cringe worthy. She soon learns the commandant is up to no good and the Resistance is not all that it seems.
Elias. (The Soldier)
Elias was left for dead by his own mother until a desert tribe, Saif, found him and raised him. When he was just a small boy, Augur (Basically, an Oracle.) took him to Blackcliff Military Academy for training as a Mask Legionnaire. His mask has not yet grown into his skin like the other soldiers and he is somewhat an outcast because his own mother happens to be the commandant of the school. Elias wants to escape after graduation but the same night an Augur advices him not to.
The trails for the new Emperor started and he had no choice but to take part. He feels sympathetic towards Laia and it blossoms into so much more in the end but he had one trail left and that was to
Kill her.
That very same choice would be his downfall.
The Smaller Things.
I can’t and won’t say anything more. (Come on you know the drill.) This book contains a massive twist in the end like a shocker which also is more of a relief than anything else. The emotion this book provokes is unbelievable and the cliffhanger! (Yeah there will be a second book. I am patiently waiting for this one.)
There are also hints of the supernatural like the Jinn but only far into the book. The cover is amazing; I can see that it represent the BCA.
That’s probably it. I highly recommend this. If you liked The Wrath and the Dawn you will certainly love this.
The Blurb.
“Amazing, you can almost feel the sand between your toes and the warm breath of the commandant down your neck. A thrilling and captivating story that will be spoken about for years to come.”
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