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A review by saraubs
The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding
5.0
4.5 stars.
What a wonderous surprise this was! I had included The Ember Blade in a video about underrated books, and as it was billed as "Lord of the Rings made modern", I wanted to dive in right away! From the other side, I can confidently say that while this isn't the second coming of Tolkien, it is very much worth reading.
The Ember Blade follows Aren and Cade, best friends and socially distinct members of the colonized Ossian people. Aren lives a life of privilege, looking up to the ruling Krodans and trying his best to assimilate to their way of life, while Cade bears witness to the struggles and frustrations of his lower-class parents, who remember fonder times before Krodan occupation. When family tragedy leads to Cade's and Aren's imprisonment, their friendship is tested and their respective worldviews begin to fundamentally shift.
Rounding out at nearly 900 pages, this book covers a lot of ground. The story, which I assume had been written to serve as a standalone if the buzz wasn't quite enough to extend into a series, is ambitious in its execution. Not only does the cast of characters expand greatly after the first 200 pages, we follow individuals with completely different belief systems, histories, and goals, and this leaves Wooding with a lot of dangling threads to weave together. While we begin the novel following Aren and Cade in what seems like typical coming of age fare, this quickly escalates into a political thriller/heist situation; while I do think that Wooding is ultimately successful in creating a mostly-cohesive narrative, the various arcs do feel somewhat episodic. Still, while the this pushing together of narrative threads leaves the pace somewhat erratic, I never once felt like I'd rather be reading something else.
And truthfully, while I really enjoyed the plot that Wooding has devised, where The Ember Blade truly shines is in its characters. It's hard to delve too deeply into analysis without spoilers, so I'll just stress that each of these characters - from Aren and Cade to those who show up in the novel's final act - feel so incredibly real. He manages to navigate well-worn tropes with a fresh perspective, and you're never quite sure what decisions the characters are going to make. Loyalties and values are never fixed and this maintains an incredible note of tension right to the final chapters. Setbacks, betrayals, and losses will have a profound impact (they certainly did for me!) and the ending is one to be mulled over long after finishing.
While I will be overjoyed to hear any news of a sequel, I think that The Ember Blade stands well on its own. Would highly recommend giving this one a chance, especially if you love classic fantasy tropes and well-drawn characters.
What a wonderous surprise this was! I had included The Ember Blade in a video about underrated books, and as it was billed as "Lord of the Rings made modern", I wanted to dive in right away! From the other side, I can confidently say that while this isn't the second coming of Tolkien, it is very much worth reading.
The Ember Blade follows Aren and Cade, best friends and socially distinct members of the colonized Ossian people. Aren lives a life of privilege, looking up to the ruling Krodans and trying his best to assimilate to their way of life, while Cade bears witness to the struggles and frustrations of his lower-class parents, who remember fonder times before Krodan occupation. When family tragedy leads to Cade's and Aren's imprisonment, their friendship is tested and their respective worldviews begin to fundamentally shift.
Rounding out at nearly 900 pages, this book covers a lot of ground. The story, which I assume had been written to serve as a standalone if the buzz wasn't quite enough to extend into a series, is ambitious in its execution. Not only does the cast of characters expand greatly after the first 200 pages, we follow individuals with completely different belief systems, histories, and goals, and this leaves Wooding with a lot of dangling threads to weave together. While we begin the novel following Aren and Cade in what seems like typical coming of age fare, this quickly escalates into a political thriller/heist situation; while I do think that Wooding is ultimately successful in creating a mostly-cohesive narrative, the various arcs do feel somewhat episodic. Still, while the this pushing together of narrative threads leaves the pace somewhat erratic, I never once felt like I'd rather be reading something else.
And truthfully, while I really enjoyed the plot that Wooding has devised, where The Ember Blade truly shines is in its characters. It's hard to delve too deeply into analysis without spoilers, so I'll just stress that each of these characters - from Aren and Cade to those who show up in the novel's final act - feel so incredibly real. He manages to navigate well-worn tropes with a fresh perspective, and you're never quite sure what decisions the characters are going to make. Loyalties and values are never fixed and this maintains an incredible note of tension right to the final chapters. Setbacks, betrayals, and losses will have a profound impact (they certainly did for me!) and the ending is one to be mulled over long after finishing.
While I will be overjoyed to hear any news of a sequel, I think that The Ember Blade stands well on its own. Would highly recommend giving this one a chance, especially if you love classic fantasy tropes and well-drawn characters.