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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
I can’t remember when I last read a book where the city described stood out clearer from the pages. The city is masterfully brought to life.
I only have one question and it’s about the ancient being Kithamar. Yes what it did is bad, taking over bodies like they are nothing but meat sacks. But in a world as harsh as this one, what should it matter to street rats like Alys or Sammish? They do end up involved, but it felt to me like a foolish pursuit and I did not understand the motivation for it. I think it would have made more sense to me if the ancient being Kithamar had more of its story explained. Like, is it a horrible ruler to its people? I hope to learn more about it in the next book.
I only have one question and it’s about the ancient being Kithamar. Yes what it did is bad, taking over bodies like they are nothing but meat sacks. But in a world as harsh as this one, what should it matter to street rats like Alys or Sammish? They do end up involved, but it felt to me like a foolish pursuit and I did not understand the motivation for it. I think it would have made more sense to me if the ancient being Kithamar had more of its story explained. Like, is it a horrible ruler to its people? I hope to learn more about it in the next book.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is the slowest book I have ever read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Daniel Abraham's first book since the expanse and I found it to be middling at best. The main problem with the story is Alys. I found her to be boring and her character change to be unearned or at least not well earned. Other parts of the plot were good and I liked most of the other characters. I think the Villain needed to be a little more villainous to sell that they were truly evil.
My rating system
1 - Did not enjoy
2 - Not irredeemable but has too many flaws to say I enjoyed
3 - Enjoyed it
4 - Great book but didn't love it
5 - Amazing book
My rating system
1 - Did not enjoy
2 - Not irredeemable but has too many flaws to say I enjoyed
3 - Enjoyed it
4 - Great book but didn't love it
5 - Amazing book
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
It leaves a lasting impression and a clear image of Kithamar within my mind. I could rediscover this book hidden away in a closet after 10 years and still know what it made me feel - immersed and part of the city. I can see why it wouldn't be a 5 star read for everyone, as it's by no means perfect, but it is the perfect book for me. It was exactly the escapism I needed. Kithamar has been solidified within my mind and will remain solidified for years to come.
The greatest strength of all of Daniel Abraham's books (including when writing as one half of James S.A. Corey) is the characters. Every series is imbued with rich characters who feel totally real and grow, screw up, and deepen throughout the course of the books. Age of Ash is definitely no exception.
The book follows several different characters in this long, hard year in the city of Kithamar. Our primary protagonists are two young women named Alys and Sammish who know nothing but the city's streets, working in crews pulling off cons and stealing from the more fortunate. One of these pulls goes wrong, naturally, and their story spirals out from there.
What I enjoyed about the structure of this book is how tight the separate threads were at first before unraveling for the book's middle portion. As the characters' lives diverge and a few more POVs are introduced, it's hard to see the bigger picture and how each plot element talks to the others, but then as we progress toward the conclusion, Abraham weaves them all back together in surprising and highly satisfying ways.
One of the best storylines is about the city of Kithamar itself and its line of leaders, which I won't spoil so that you can discover it on your own. It was a bizarre, fascinating development that had me scrambling to figuratively turn the pages of my eARC to see what was going to happen next. Which leads me to my one concern about the series...
Age of Ash tells a full, satisfying story both in terms of its character arcs and the narrative. But as the book's marketing proclaims, the trilogy is going to be telling the story of this single year in the city's history, from different characters' perspectives in each book. I love this idea, but where my concern comes into play is the amount of information we already learned in this volume. We had POVs from what seems to be the most important character in this city's story, and I feel like it would be strange getting POVs from them again in other volumes but with this chunk of the storyline missing, as well as learning chunks that were missing from this volume.
I think this approach works great in a series like Marlon James's Dark Star Trilogy, where part of the actual point of the narrative is learning different people's takes on the events and following several unreliable narrators. Whereas here, the storytelling is much more straightforward, I'm not sure what is gained by retelling the events but from different perspectives, since we seemed to hit all the key players in this one book. If it was told solely from Alys's perspective, then book 2 was Sammish's, etc. it would make sense to me, but as it stands I'm not sure where the story goes from here. Which is another interesting point, because I feel like the ending to this volume--while very satisfying and could pretty much be read on its own--does leave a lot of lingering questions, but I am unsure whether those are actually going to be explored, if the intent with book 2 (and then 3) is to start over again at the beginning of this year.
All that being said, I have a ton of trust in Abraham as a storyteller, so I'm confident there is a great plan in mind and am definitely on board to see what he does with the remainder of the Kithamar trilogy. If it's as gripping as this first book, then we're all in for a treat.
The book follows several different characters in this long, hard year in the city of Kithamar. Our primary protagonists are two young women named Alys and Sammish who know nothing but the city's streets, working in crews pulling off cons and stealing from the more fortunate. One of these pulls goes wrong, naturally, and their story spirals out from there.
What I enjoyed about the structure of this book is how tight the separate threads were at first before unraveling for the book's middle portion. As the characters' lives diverge and a few more POVs are introduced, it's hard to see the bigger picture and how each plot element talks to the others, but then as we progress toward the conclusion, Abraham weaves them all back together in surprising and highly satisfying ways.
One of the best storylines is about the city of Kithamar itself and its line of leaders, which I won't spoil so that you can discover it on your own. It was a bizarre, fascinating development that had me scrambling to figuratively turn the pages of my eARC to see what was going to happen next. Which leads me to my one concern about the series...
Age of Ash tells a full, satisfying story both in terms of its character arcs and the narrative. But as the book's marketing proclaims, the trilogy is going to be telling the story of this single year in the city's history, from different characters' perspectives in each book. I love this idea, but where my concern comes into play is the amount of information we already learned in this volume. We had POVs from what seems to be the most important character in this city's story, and I feel like it would be strange getting POVs from them again in other volumes but with this chunk of the storyline missing, as well as learning chunks that were missing from this volume.
I think this approach works great in a series like Marlon James's Dark Star Trilogy, where part of the actual point of the narrative is learning different people's takes on the events and following several unreliable narrators. Whereas here, the storytelling is much more straightforward, I'm not sure what is gained by retelling the events but from different perspectives, since we seemed to hit all the key players in this one book. If it was told solely from Alys's perspective, then book 2 was Sammish's, etc. it would make sense to me, but as it stands I'm not sure where the story goes from here. Which is another interesting point, because I feel like the ending to this volume--while very satisfying and could pretty much be read on its own--does leave a lot of lingering questions, but I am unsure whether those are actually going to be explored, if the intent with book 2 (and then 3) is to start over again at the beginning of this year.
All that being said, I have a ton of trust in Abraham as a storyteller, so I'm confident there is a great plan in mind and am definitely on board to see what he does with the remainder of the Kithamar trilogy. If it's as gripping as this first book, then we're all in for a treat.