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A review by todd_bissell
Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham
2.0
2.5 stars: sorry, but this gets the dreaded #DNF tag for me.
The city of Kithamar is the single best character in this book, if that makes any sense. Much like the cities in China Miéville's Bas-Lag universe, this urban setting is richly earthy and omnipresent, and very much a critical aspect of this book. Very well done.
Alas, I can't say the same for the characters, plot, and pacing.
Things are happening that are much bigger than the two main characters as they interact with two (or more?) factions. What are these factions competing for? What are the stakes? Where is the gravitas? Why should I root for one, or the other? Or neither?
I greatly enjoyed Daniel Abraham's other two multi-volume fantasy series, even if the pacing of those books was perhaps a bit slow at first. This follows the same "slow burn" pacing...., but this time, I'm not seeing a big payoff anywhere on the horizon.
45% in... and I'm out: too many other books in a huge stack besides my bed to spend any more time on this one, sorry.
The city of Kithamar is the single best character in this book, if that makes any sense. Much like the cities in China Miéville's Bas-Lag universe, this urban setting is richly earthy and omnipresent, and very much a critical aspect of this book. Very well done.
Alas, I can't say the same for the characters, plot, and pacing.
Things are happening that are much bigger than the two main characters as they interact with two (or more?) factions. What are these factions competing for? What are the stakes? Where is the gravitas? Why should I root for one, or the other? Or neither?
I greatly enjoyed Daniel Abraham's other two multi-volume fantasy series, even if the pacing of those books was perhaps a bit slow at first. This follows the same "slow burn" pacing...., but this time, I'm not seeing a big payoff anywhere on the horizon.
45% in... and I'm out: too many other books in a huge stack besides my bed to spend any more time on this one, sorry.