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A review by david_downum
Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham
4.0
3.5 rounded up to a 4.
I find it a little difficult to rate this book because there is quite a bit of it that I really enjoyed, but overall I just found it rather boring. I initially read this book because I requested the sequel in Netgalley not realizing that it was #2 in a series. I was excited by the premise, and thought there would be a murder mystery with political machinations at the center, however that is not what I got. Let me start with the things I liked
1.) The characters- I really like Sammish as a character, She was really well written and had growth as a character, that was believable and what you want in a protagonist. She starts as mousy and quiet (both skills that help her in her role in theft), no one notices her and she is kind of a doormat. In the end she is the character who has the strength to see that something is wrong in Kithimar and to do something about it. The other protagonist Alys (who I am assuming is supposed to be the main protagonist) is not nearly as interesting. In the story, Alys loses her brother which is the catalyst for the whole book. She broods through the rest of the book and makes dumb choice after dumb choice. I like that a fantasy novel is trying to grapple with an important topic like grief, because I don't see that very often, I just am not sure that it was handled well. I loved all of the side characters from the street thieves, to Alys' mother, to the "bad" guys that are manipulating Alys. All of these characters were fleshed out the right amount, with interesting quirks.
2.) The World building is great in this book, many other reviewers have remarked on this and I have to agree with them. It was easy to fall into the city of Kithimar, because it was described in such detail without belaboring the point or info dumping. The city unfolded in a natural way, which is a testament to the writing of Abraham.
3) The writing style in this was good. It is hard for me to articulate what about the writing worked for me, however, as long as the writing is not flowery or dense I can usually get along with it ok.
Things I didn't enjoy:
1.) The pace- I really enjoyed the pace of the book in any section that did not have Alys, every time she was brought in I found my mind wandering. I just found all of her sections repetitive. Her sections just threw the whole pace off for me.
Overall I enjoyed the book. I will say that I am worried that the next book is the same time frame from another POV, as this does not tend to work for me.
I find it a little difficult to rate this book because there is quite a bit of it that I really enjoyed, but overall I just found it rather boring. I initially read this book because I requested the sequel in Netgalley not realizing that it was #2 in a series. I was excited by the premise, and thought there would be a murder mystery with political machinations at the center, however that is not what I got. Let me start with the things I liked
1.) The characters- I really like Sammish as a character, She was really well written and had growth as a character, that was believable and what you want in a protagonist. She starts as mousy and quiet (both skills that help her in her role in theft), no one notices her and she is kind of a doormat. In the end she is the character who has the strength to see that something is wrong in Kithimar and to do something about it. The other protagonist Alys (who I am assuming is supposed to be the main protagonist) is not nearly as interesting. In the story, Alys loses her brother which is the catalyst for the whole book. She broods through the rest of the book and makes dumb choice after dumb choice. I like that a fantasy novel is trying to grapple with an important topic like grief, because I don't see that very often, I just am not sure that it was handled well. I loved all of the side characters from the street thieves, to Alys' mother, to the "bad" guys that are manipulating Alys. All of these characters were fleshed out the right amount, with interesting quirks.
2.) The World building is great in this book, many other reviewers have remarked on this and I have to agree with them. It was easy to fall into the city of Kithimar, because it was described in such detail without belaboring the point or info dumping. The city unfolded in a natural way, which is a testament to the writing of Abraham.
3) The writing style in this was good. It is hard for me to articulate what about the writing worked for me, however, as long as the writing is not flowery or dense I can usually get along with it ok.
Things I didn't enjoy:
1.) The pace- I really enjoyed the pace of the book in any section that did not have Alys, every time she was brought in I found my mind wandering. I just found all of her sections repetitive. Her sections just threw the whole pace off for me.
Overall I enjoyed the book. I will say that I am worried that the next book is the same time frame from another POV, as this does not tend to work for me.