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azrah786's review against another edition
3.75
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, murder, death, child death, body horror, grief, abandonment, kidnapping, fire, injury, toxic friendship
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Daniel Abraham has woven together an alluring tale that is but one section of the tapestry that makes up the venerable city of Kithamar - the heart of this all new epic fantasy series.
Part of a trilogy of stories that occur within the same year, this first instalment predominantly accustoms us to the slums of Kithamar and follows two young street thieves from Longhill – Alys, as she stumbles down a path of grief and vengeance in the aftermath of her brother’s death and Sammish, who’s heart is set on helping her friend see through this dark period of her life in any way that she can. However, their lives soon become intertwined with the political machinations of the city and the darker secrets lurking in its shadows.
An ambitious jigsaw puzzle of a book, the opening pages of Age of Ash give us a completed picture that we gradually collect the pieces of as the story progresses to see how everything comes to be and I quite enjoyed this style of narration. Though I will outright say this book is one hell of a slow burner which may not be a lot of people’s cup of tea.
**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, blood, murder, death, child death, body horror, grief, abandonment, kidnapping, fire, injury, toxic friendship
--
Daniel Abraham has woven together an alluring tale that is but one section of the tapestry that makes up the venerable city of Kithamar - the heart of this all new epic fantasy series.
Part of a trilogy of stories that occur within the same year, this first instalment predominantly accustoms us to the slums of Kithamar and follows two young street thieves from Longhill – Alys, as she stumbles down a path of grief and vengeance in the aftermath of her brother’s death and Sammish, who’s heart is set on helping her friend see through this dark period of her life in any way that she can. However, their lives soon become intertwined with the political machinations of the city and the darker secrets lurking in its shadows.
An ambitious jigsaw puzzle of a book, the opening pages of Age of Ash give us a completed picture that we gradually collect the pieces of as the story progresses to see how everything comes to be and I quite enjoyed this style of narration. Though I will outright say this book is one hell of a slow burner which may not be a lot of people’s cup of tea.
"The world is so much rounder when you have more than just the one life in it."
Along with laying out a string of events that keep you intrigued, Abraham perfectly captures the atmosphere of the setting. With each chapter the prose full on drops you into the streets of the scene, touching on both the rich history that has shaped it into the place that it is and giving you a glimpse of the array of lives that keep it going. Kithamar is very much portrayed as a character itself.
Nevertheless, despite the worldbuilding being remarkably immersive it did start to drag the story out a little too much to the point that I kind of lost track of what made the different areas that we pass through actually stand out – other than which were the poorer areas and which were the richer areas.
"That's not fair."
"Who gives a shit? Who promised you fair? I didn't. Fair is good people get treated good, and bad people get the bad. That sound like anyplace you know? I've never been there."
What I personally found to be the strongest part of the story were the primary character arcs.
Alys isn’t the most likeable of characters and is downright frustrating for the most part however, a sense of empathy towards her situation gradually crept up on me the more I read. I became absorbed by her journey and the theme of grief which was so masterfully explored through her character.
However, Sammish was the character that I found myself rooting for the most. Her storyline surprisingly seemed more immediate to the overarching plot and I loved following how her compassion drove her to both utilise and step up from her predetermined role of “walk away” in order to set things straight.
“Everything stood on everything else, until she didn't know what she was mourning for except all of it. She was overwhelmed by a storm she couldn't see, but felt it beating at her from every direction.”
Along with these primary protagonists we also come across and are briefly put into the shoes of a handful of other interesting characters of varying morality, who give us glimpse into other lifestyles within the city. Perspectives that were higher up the social ladder and more directly involved with the politics and magic of the world, the latter of which hardly had enough attention in this first book.
Thus I’m very intrigued to see who is going to be shadowed in the forthcoming books in the series and what further secrets about Kithamar are to be revealed.
Final Rating – 3.75/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, Blood, Grief, Body horror, Violence, Kidnapping, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
maggieslibrarycard's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Age of Ash (Kithamar #1) by Daniel Abraham
4.5 stars
Thank you to Orbit Books and Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings (may contain spoilers): Death/Death of a Child/Death of a Sibling, Violence/Gore, Suicidal Thoughts, Self Harm, Body Horror
Age of Ash follows the story of Alys, a young thief living in an impoverished neighbourhood in the city of Kithamar, over the course of an emotionally devastating and politically turbulent year. The death of the previous prince of the city and subsequent coronation of the next ruler kicks off a series of events which lead to a grieving Alys becoming intermingled with the proceedings of the cultish dark magic at the helm of the city, and Alys must decide whether she should embrace this life or not. While Alys is the main perspective, I would argue that the perspective of Sammish, another young thief from Longhill, is equally important. Sammish is a few years younger than Alys and has had a crush on her for as long as she can remember. However, as Alys gets pulled deeper into dark plots, Sammish needs to decide for herself whether to follow Alys. We also get the perspectives of a few other, very interesting characters, which definitely add some dimensions to the story, but Alys and Sammish are by far the most prevalent!
I thought the writing style of this novel was so unique and engaging, I hadn’t really read anything written in this way before. I think the best way to describe it would be like a very dark fairytale. From the very first chapter, I was immensely captivated and drawn in to the story, and I could hardly put the book down. The pacing was very even throughout the book (although not really fast-paced, which is fine by me, but maybe not everyone’s preference). I also liked how the more mystical elements of the plot were gradually revealed as the book progressed, it made it very easy to put myself in the shoes of Alys or Sammish, and I really felt for their confusion and eventual terror as they began to understand more of what was going on. It also made some given the world of the city that little bits were revealed at a time, as the mystical elements of the book are very much a secret from pretty much nearly everyone who lives there.
The novel is, in my opinion, very character focused and I really felt a lot for Alys and Sammish while I was reading. Both of the characters were crafted in a way so that they were simultaneously very relatable but very flawed, and I definitely found myself getting frustrated at them at times, which to me is an indicator of a very human and realistic character. I think the themes of growing up, loneliness, loss, and grief were all explored in a very interesting way over the course of the novel and I definitely could perceive the growth in the two main characters from the start of the novel to the end. While I certainly haven’t experienced anything very similar to Alys and Sammish’s lives over the course of the book’s year, as someone who is (probably?) around the same age as them, I definitely related to some of their uncertainties about who they wanted to be and what they wanted their lives to be. I loved that the book took its time exploring these themes and I think this was what led to such a great exploration of them.
That being said, this is definitely a quieter and more introspective fantasy novel, so there aren’t very many action sequences or things of that sort. I didn’t have a problem with this, but it's a good thing to be aware of before beginning the book in my opinion just so you don’t go in with the wrong expectations! However, I will say that the extensive discussion of thievery techniques in this book was really entertaining to read about and it was interesting to see how particular characters’ roles and techniques in regards to petty crimes related to their inner growth and personality. I also think the book leaned into small amounts of horror, particularly when describing the cultish aspects of certain groups, which I really enjoyed.
If I were to critique one aspect of the book, it would be that I wish there was a bit more worldbuilding, especially as the book takes place inside of a single city. I would have loved to learn more about the politics, cultures, and traditions within the city and I hope this is included in greater detail in a future instalment of the trilogy. This isn’t to say there wasn’t any worldbuilding at all, I think sufficient amounts were done for the story’s purpose, I am just always hungry for more when it comes to this sort of thing.
Overall, I think this was a unique, enchanting, and entertaining entry into a new trilogy! While this is definitely adult fantasy, I think it would also serve as an excellent gateway into the genre for younger readers who don’t mind a slower paced, character focused story.
4.5 stars
Thank you to Orbit Books and Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings (may contain spoilers): Death/Death of a Child/Death of a Sibling, Violence/Gore, Suicidal Thoughts, Self Harm, Body Horror
Age of Ash follows the story of Alys, a young thief living in an impoverished neighbourhood in the city of Kithamar, over the course of an emotionally devastating and politically turbulent year. The death of the previous prince of the city and subsequent coronation of the next ruler kicks off a series of events which lead to a grieving Alys becoming intermingled with the proceedings of the cultish dark magic at the helm of the city, and Alys must decide whether she should embrace this life or not. While Alys is the main perspective, I would argue that the perspective of Sammish, another young thief from Longhill, is equally important. Sammish is a few years younger than Alys and has had a crush on her for as long as she can remember. However, as Alys gets pulled deeper into dark plots, Sammish needs to decide for herself whether to follow Alys. We also get the perspectives of a few other, very interesting characters, which definitely add some dimensions to the story, but Alys and Sammish are by far the most prevalent!
I thought the writing style of this novel was so unique and engaging, I hadn’t really read anything written in this way before. I think the best way to describe it would be like a very dark fairytale. From the very first chapter, I was immensely captivated and drawn in to the story, and I could hardly put the book down. The pacing was very even throughout the book (although not really fast-paced, which is fine by me, but maybe not everyone’s preference). I also liked how the more mystical elements of the plot were gradually revealed as the book progressed, it made it very easy to put myself in the shoes of Alys or Sammish, and I really felt for their confusion and eventual terror as they began to understand more of what was going on. It also made some given the world of the city that little bits were revealed at a time, as the mystical elements of the book are very much a secret from pretty much nearly everyone who lives there.
The novel is, in my opinion, very character focused and I really felt a lot for Alys and Sammish while I was reading. Both of the characters were crafted in a way so that they were simultaneously very relatable but very flawed, and I definitely found myself getting frustrated at them at times, which to me is an indicator of a very human and realistic character. I think the themes of growing up, loneliness, loss, and grief were all explored in a very interesting way over the course of the novel and I definitely could perceive the growth in the two main characters from the start of the novel to the end. While I certainly haven’t experienced anything very similar to Alys and Sammish’s lives over the course of the book’s year, as someone who is (probably?) around the same age as them, I definitely related to some of their uncertainties about who they wanted to be and what they wanted their lives to be. I loved that the book took its time exploring these themes and I think this was what led to such a great exploration of them.
That being said, this is definitely a quieter and more introspective fantasy novel, so there aren’t very many action sequences or things of that sort. I didn’t have a problem with this, but it's a good thing to be aware of before beginning the book in my opinion just so you don’t go in with the wrong expectations! However, I will say that the extensive discussion of thievery techniques in this book was really entertaining to read about and it was interesting to see how particular characters’ roles and techniques in regards to petty crimes related to their inner growth and personality. I also think the book leaned into small amounts of horror, particularly when describing the cultish aspects of certain groups, which I really enjoyed.
If I were to critique one aspect of the book, it would be that I wish there was a bit more worldbuilding, especially as the book takes place inside of a single city. I would have loved to learn more about the politics, cultures, and traditions within the city and I hope this is included in greater detail in a future instalment of the trilogy. This isn’t to say there wasn’t any worldbuilding at all, I think sufficient amounts were done for the story’s purpose, I am just always hungry for more when it comes to this sort of thing.
Overall, I think this was a unique, enchanting, and entertaining entry into a new trilogy! While this is definitely adult fantasy, I think it would also serve as an excellent gateway into the genre for younger readers who don’t mind a slower paced, character focused story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Violence, Toxic friendship, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Blood
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Slavery
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