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A review by alexmyor
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I should preface this review with this story in general was not my cup of tea. It was not pro-me so it was going to have a hard time winning me over either way.
THAT BEING SAID. OH MY GOD. Dark af and just very very violent. Characters were constantly injured -- seriously injured and in pain -- from intentionally inflicted wounds by others! And you know it would have been ok maybe if they hadn't constantly been telling me how injured they were and how violent everything was. Maybe the violence was supposed to put me on the edge of my seat but instead it just gave me anxiety... Like the injuries were so bad that they had to use deus ex machina magic TWICE?? Anyways, that is one thing.
Secondly, I didn't love the constant ominous warnings from Helene either. *I* knew that what she was randomly alluding to in scenes where Elias *had* to win were important because I am the reader and I know that every bit of dialogue is carefully chosen but Elias -- bless his heart -- never picked up on it. And we were all then punished for the main characters supposed incompetence. That being said, I found Elias' mix of capable and deer-in-headlights personality type very interesting.
Finally, going back to the dark af comment, there was just not a lot of joy in this book. That might be perfectly fine with some people but for me I never laughed once. I like getting really emotionally invested in my stories but with this book I was kind of more emotionally invested *at* the book. I was pretty mad at the story's lack of calm moments. We only got to be calm, sans any tension once after the third trial when Elias and Laia meet and I wanted just a lot more of that. The only time I smiled during the book was when Laia got into her 'burn it down' attitude at the very end...
Look. This book just wasn't for me. Maybe it's for others. I hope other people who like darkness and constant violence find this book satisfying. I will say that when I got to the end I had an overwhelming urge to keep going. But that could have been my crankiness at the fact that absolutely nothing was resolved...
Secondly, I didn't love the constant ominous warnings from Helene either. *I* knew that what she was randomly alluding to in scenes where Elias *had* to win were important because I am the reader and I know that every bit of dialogue is carefully chosen but Elias -- bless his heart -- never picked up on it. And we were all then punished for the main characters supposed incompetence. That being said, I found Elias' mix of capable and deer-in-headlights personality type very interesting.
Finally, going back to the dark af comment, there was just not a lot of joy in this book. That might be perfectly fine with some people but for me I never laughed once. I like getting really emotionally invested in my stories but with this book I was kind of more emotionally invested *at* the book. I was pretty mad at the story's lack of calm moments. We only got to be calm, sans any tension once after the third trial when Elias and Laia meet and I wanted just a lot more of that. The only time I smiled during the book was when Laia got into her 'burn it down' attitude at the very end...
Look. This book just wasn't for me. Maybe it's for others. I hope other people who like darkness and constant violence find this book satisfying. I will say that when I got to the end I had an overwhelming urge to keep going. But that could have been my crankiness at the fact that absolutely nothing was resolved...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Torture, and Slavery
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Sexual violence