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rosebudthom's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you so much to P.N. Vang for sending me an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!
Flight of a Thousand Embers is a powerful fantasy that explores topics of inclusion and morality, in a land where, to one side, magic wielders (epidmauri) are welcomed, and the other they are outlawed. The story follows three epidmauri in the Western land of Argotra, each with different positions in their society, and a princess in Zide where epidmauri are free. As the West sees the trickling start of war with Zide moving in to wage a war fought with magic, two hidden Argotran epidmauri must protect their land without exposing themselves, and chose a side before it's too late. Meanwhile, the Zide princess has battles of her own, believing her father to be under the influence of a sinister power he refuses to see as anything besides one of their seven honoured gods.
The hard magic system is easy to understand whilst containing minor complexities to up the stakes, such as resisting the instinctual pull of other epidmauri magic.
What the story really comes down to in my opinion was morality: when is it okay to cause another's death? Does one fight for their land or for their people? Whose allegiance should one seek, when both sides seem to be doing wrong? And is it wrong to want to be oneself, when a core part of you is outlawed in your land?
The characters were my favourite part of this book by far! They each had distinct motives, allegiances and enemies, passions and proclivities. I felt myself very drawn to Narwin for many reasons; she was just very easy for me personally to relate to. I honestly felt like I could be friends with any of the main 4 though!
The only negative thing I could say about this book is that at times the writing was a little clunky, a bit wordy, pulling me out of the magic temporarily.
Overall a very enjoyable read! Ignore the reading dates logged on Goodreads - the only reason it took me so long to get through is because I'm Beta reading another high fantasy at the same time haha
Flight of a Thousand Embers is a powerful fantasy that explores topics of inclusion and morality, in a land where, to one side, magic wielders (epidmauri) are welcomed, and the other they are outlawed. The story follows three epidmauri in the Western land of Argotra, each with different positions in their society, and a princess in Zide where epidmauri are free. As the West sees the trickling start of war with Zide moving in to wage a war fought with magic, two hidden Argotran epidmauri must protect their land without exposing themselves, and chose a side before it's too late. Meanwhile, the Zide princess has battles of her own, believing her father to be under the influence of a sinister power he refuses to see as anything besides one of their seven honoured gods.
The hard magic system is easy to understand whilst containing minor complexities to up the stakes, such as resisting the instinctual pull of other epidmauri magic.
What the story really comes down to in my opinion was morality: when is it okay to cause another's death? Does one fight for their land or for their people? Whose allegiance should one seek, when both sides seem to be doing wrong? And is it wrong to want to be oneself, when a core part of you is outlawed in your land?
The characters were my favourite part of this book by far! They each had distinct motives, allegiances and enemies, passions and proclivities. I felt myself very drawn to Narwin for many reasons; she was just very easy for me personally to relate to. I honestly felt like I could be friends with any of the main 4 though!
The only negative thing I could say about this book is that at times the writing was a little clunky, a bit wordy, pulling me out of the magic temporarily.
Overall a very enjoyable read! Ignore the reading dates logged on Goodreads - the only reason it took me so long to get through is because I'm Beta reading another high fantasy at the same time haha
spharris's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
riniya's review against another edition
4.0
Escera is divided. Magic is banished and those who wield it are hated, doomed to be killed or exiled from the kingdom. They are mocked as God-imitators and those with magic fear being discovered.
Fear is spreading as the Emperor has declared war on the smaller kings.
For Narwin, her magic caused her dream of becoming a warrior to crumble and she is faced with a life of being a library keeper. Her new path is not what she thought it would be as she finds it tainted in shadows, filled with deception and death.
Splendor is a city guard but fire and life burns beneath his flesh. Keeping his secret is difficult, especially as he often works with those tasks to seek his kind out. He grows weary of this tasks as a guard and finds them burdensome as he questions his purpose.
Guy is impulsive and rash, which causes a divide amongst himself and his peers. Faced with his duties and his conscience, he must decide between his kingdom or his pride.
Rayla, daughter of the emperor, challenges her fathers decisions. The dagger at his side is driving him mad and causing a darkness to spread through her home that only she and her mother can see.
These four navigate their lives unaware of the paths the others are on…. And just how they all interconnect.
This book was honestly so good. I got approved as an arc reader for this burgeoning series. It is a fantasy world filled with politics, intrigue, romance, and deception. A world divided on itself, which will be its downfall.
I think that this book was paced so well. It starts off with a prologue that is just so gripping and it did not let me go. This is a multi POV book, and despite having four different characters that you’re following, I was able to keep them all separate. I didn’t feel lost or confused and seeing how everyone’s decisions affected, the others was amazing and showed how well out this author planned and thought things through.
My only critique, which is true for so many fantasy books is the pronunciation of the words. I found myself shortening many words and names to the first syllable because I could not understand how they were meant to be said. It also did take me a bit to understand that what they used as currency was not in fact dragons but that’s on me.
Overall, I am very happy to give this book a four star rating, and I am looking forward to the sequel, especially with the cliffhanger and the way the characters developed.
Fear is spreading as the Emperor has declared war on the smaller kings.
For Narwin, her magic caused her dream of becoming a warrior to crumble and she is faced with a life of being a library keeper. Her new path is not what she thought it would be as she finds it tainted in shadows, filled with deception and death.
Splendor is a city guard but fire and life burns beneath his flesh. Keeping his secret is difficult, especially as he often works with those tasks to seek his kind out. He grows weary of this tasks as a guard and finds them burdensome as he questions his purpose.
Guy is impulsive and rash, which causes a divide amongst himself and his peers. Faced with his duties and his conscience, he must decide between his kingdom or his pride.
Rayla, daughter of the emperor, challenges her fathers decisions. The dagger at his side is driving him mad and causing a darkness to spread through her home that only she and her mother can see.
These four navigate their lives unaware of the paths the others are on…. And just how they all interconnect.
This book was honestly so good. I got approved as an arc reader for this burgeoning series. It is a fantasy world filled with politics, intrigue, romance, and deception. A world divided on itself, which will be its downfall.
I think that this book was paced so well. It starts off with a prologue that is just so gripping and it did not let me go. This is a multi POV book, and despite having four different characters that you’re following, I was able to keep them all separate. I didn’t feel lost or confused and seeing how everyone’s decisions affected, the others was amazing and showed how well out this author planned and thought things through.
My only critique, which is true for so many fantasy books is the pronunciation of the words. I found myself shortening many words and names to the first syllable because I could not understand how they were meant to be said. It also did take me a bit to understand that what they used as currency was not in fact dragons but that’s on me.
Overall, I am very happy to give this book a four star rating, and I am looking forward to the sequel, especially with the cliffhanger and the way the characters developed.
million_pages's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Flight of a Thousand Embers is an amazing NA fantasy book and I loved it! It’s also a debut novel, which is impressive. I totally recommend it to fantasy lovers
shelves_by_sim's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
Being gifted with magic is punishable by exile or death in Escera. A hard truth that Narwin and Splenor learn when forced to watch the execution of their friend and mentor, Malfus. Being the only two people in Wortham to posses magic, their lives are constantly in danger.
And since Narwin believes her and Splenor's naivety is the reason that Malfus was put to death, she cannot bring herself to give in to the love she has for him. If she loses control, they will be ruined - it cannot happen again.
But the Zide Empire is planning a war against them, seeing as in their kingdom, the emperor uses magic as a weapon and lately, all he can think about is spilling the blood of his enemies. His daughter, Rayla, and his wife do not agree with him and try to remove the object they believe to be causing his vengeful insanity.
Meanwhile, not everything is as it seems in Wortham's gaurd and protecting the city seems to be much more of a challenge when it is being attacked by infiltrators from within.
My thoughts:
This is a debut novel? I refuse to believe it! This book was so whole. The world building was immaculate and the story was so immersive. I loved the multiple POV's from Narwin, Splenor, Guy and Rayla. The concept behind the magic was so good, I loved the inclusion of the shadow sprites! There was a little bit of mystery too which was perfect. Narwin and Rayla are such strong female characters and I loved the hard choices that Splenor and Guy had to face. I cannot wait to see how Narwin takes hold of her destiny and fights for herself and her future!
And since Narwin believes her and Splenor's naivety is the reason that Malfus was put to death, she cannot bring herself to give in to the love she has for him. If she loses control, they will be ruined - it cannot happen again.
But the Zide Empire is planning a war against them, seeing as in their kingdom, the emperor uses magic as a weapon and lately, all he can think about is spilling the blood of his enemies. His daughter, Rayla, and his wife do not agree with him and try to remove the object they believe to be causing his vengeful insanity.
Meanwhile, not everything is as it seems in Wortham's gaurd and protecting the city seems to be much more of a challenge when it is being attacked by infiltrators from within.
My thoughts:
This is a debut novel? I refuse to believe it! This book was so whole. The world building was immaculate and the story was so immersive. I loved the multiple POV's from Narwin, Splenor, Guy and Rayla. The concept behind the magic was so good, I loved the inclusion of the shadow sprites! There was a little bit of mystery too which was perfect. Narwin and Rayla are such strong female characters and I loved the hard choices that Splenor and Guy had to face. I cannot wait to see how Narwin takes hold of her destiny and fights for herself and her future!
elisa_menz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
For a fantasy geek like me, there's hardly anything more satisfying than discovering an entirely new world as well-developed as this one. When you start reading and get that incredible feeling you're witnessing things happen instead of just reading them on a page, you know you've found a gem.
And that's not even the best part of this novel!
I'm just in awe of the amazing characters in this book. You have morally grey dudes, and then you have Splenor. I usually find it hard to justify some of the vilest actions in some of these "troubled" characters, but I can 100% stand behind this guy. The author managed to keep us on the line about "should we hate this guy or not?" for the entire novel. His ending in this first book is one of the most heartbreaking I've read in a while. Narwin is a bit of a pushover for most of the story, and when she stands her ground it usually backfires horribly (poor woman!). But her character arc is wild, and I'm afraid for her (and of her) for the next book. Guy is perfect. We love Guy. He starts as a cocky bastard with a big ego to hide his insecurities but by the end of the book we can't help but love The Guy.
...please don't kill him.
I'm still not sure how I feel about Rayla. Not my favorite in this novel, but after seeing what the author can do with her characters, I hope for great things.
10/10 recommend to fans of Epic Fantasy, forbidden magic, political intrigue, and amazing characters!
And that's not even the best part of this novel!
I'm just in awe of the amazing characters in this book. You have morally grey dudes, and then you have Splenor. I usually find it hard to justify some of the vilest actions in some of these "troubled" characters, but I can 100% stand behind this guy. The author managed to keep us on the line about "should we hate this guy or not?" for the entire novel. His ending in this first book is one of the most heartbreaking I've read in a while. Narwin is a bit of a pushover for most of the story, and when she stands her ground it usually backfires horribly (poor woman!). But her character arc is wild, and I'm afraid for her (and of her) for the next book. Guy is perfect. We love Guy. He starts as a cocky bastard with a big ego to hide his insecurities but by the end of the book we can't help but love The Guy.
...please don't kill him.
I'm still not sure how I feel about Rayla. Not my favorite in this novel, but after seeing what the author can do with her characters, I hope for great things.
10/10 recommend to fans of Epic Fantasy, forbidden magic, political intrigue, and amazing characters!
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