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A review by wokeupbricked
A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir
3.0
Well, this was a mess. And a huge step back from book 1, The Ember In The Ashes.
I loved An Ember in the Ashes with all my heart. It was intense, brutal, cruel, forbidden, and passionate. Beautiful and ugly, heartbreaking and heartmending.
And what can I say about A Torch Against the Night?
I'm deeply and truly underwhelmed.
What in the burning skies was the point of writing this book? Except to pointlessly drag the already layed out plot from book 1, just to introduce three more books.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
The ending of An Ember In The Ashes pushed me off the edge and then held me lingering midway in the air, enough to rush to read the second book without wasting a damn breath.
Laia and Elias are on a runaway, a huge bounty in their head, from The Commandent and the newly throned sadistic emperor, Marcus, who is thirsty for their blood.
Helene Aquilla, bound to serve her loathsome majesty, has to capture and behead the traitor of the empire, Elias Venturias, her dearest bestfriend and the hopeless love of her life.
Their paths are intertwined, their feelings tangled, their loyalties divided. Elias faces the cost of freedom, Laia the burden of crucial decisions, Helene the devastating choice between her best friend and her family, her duty, her honor. Ancient demons shadow their steps; the genocide of the Scholars drowns the streets in blood; a mad emperor’s reign of terror stifles every opposing voice; and an overly ambitious Commandant, a mother without love, a soldier serving a dark force, wreaks havoc, tortures and murders for her own agenda. In the Martial Empire, darkness prevails. But somewhere, between hopelessness and frustration, there's a torch against the night, which may be the guide to light.
“You are a torch against the night – if you dare let yourself burn.”
Sounds hot right? Except the fact that it isn't.
Elias and Laia failed to appeal me. Last book, I was bragging about how strong Laia was. Fuck that shit cuz this book consisted of Laia and her over the top emotionally clouded hormonal decisions which doomed us all. Miss girl gets tormented everytime she stabs someone, and then will brood about it for weeks, making everyone's lives miserable. I mean I get her but what was she expecting? That she'll lead a group of rebels and cheerfully break into the most dangerous prison of the empire without shedding a single drop of blood?? Get a grip girl.
I hate love triangles. I hate insta-love. And most of all, I hate instalovetriangles . They are a plague that makes good stories turn sour, and characters you once respected insufferable. While the instalovetriangle was present in the previous book, it didn’t bother me that much because I was certain Laia and Elias were made for each other. In this one, though, I rolled my eyes so many times they still hurt. Laia is so precious, Laia is so brave, Laia is such a special snowflake we should worship the ground her holy feet touch oh my God just stop it already! I didn’t find anything special about her. She was a girl that tried to deal with all those things that went wrong in her life by lusting over every good looking guy she encountered. She forgot how Keenan belittled her or suffocated her because he was so warm and familiar and I couldn’t help but shout YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW HIM DARN IT, GET OVER HIS WARMTH! Who she loved depended on who was physically closer, that thing called brain didn’t function with all those hormones throwing a disco party! And Elias my love had fallen under her spell.
*sigh* In sum, THE ROMANCE WAS BAD.
One girl trying to rescue one boy? One girl dragging down the Empire for one boy? One girl ruining Elias Veturius's life for one boy? And... that's pretty much the foundation for this sequel. I was frustrated by this. I mean i get it, he's her brother and some shit; but the whole group of rebels putting so much on stake for one boy who knows the secret of the serric blade is too weak of a foundation to lean on. {The secret of serric blade ain't even a secret. Elias, Teluman, who's still alive, and lots of other trustworthy masks can still get the secret out...}
HELEN'S CHAPTERS ARE THE SAVOUIR OF THIS BOOK !!!
“Most people, are nothing but glimmers in the great darkness of time. But you, Helene Aquilla, are no swift-burning spark. You are a torch against the night—if you dare to let yourself burn.”
She's an excellently written character. The author is too cruel to her, yet her inner battle, and her eventual, foretold breaking made her a character that shattered your heart, piece by piece. Sometimes I cringed at her choices, but given the circumstances, and what she would lose if she failed the sadistic emperor she served, I couldn’t help but sympathize with her. Her storyline was laced with politics, bloodshed and mistrust, and the horrors she witnessed forged her into a mighty weapon to shatter her enemies.
You are my masterpiece, Helene Aquilla, but I have just begun. If you survive, you shall be a force to be reckoned with in this world. But first you will be unmade. First, you will be broken.”
Hel's so true to her character, unlike stupid Laia having sex with this and flirting with that in stupid times..-oh don't forget, in Laia's defence, she takes the pills after her sex...talk about fucking details and opportunity to add more useless lines-
Hel's relationship with Elias and even Laia is so true. I just loved her scenes with them, also her relation with her family and sister and heartbreaking one with father. The way she tolerated Marcus's physical and mental abuse without a whimper. Her moments with Harper was such a chef kiss.
“I’m going to let go of you,” I say. “If you try to take me down, so be it. But before I do, I want to say something, because we both know I’m not long for this world, and I’d hate myself if I never told you.” Confusion flashes across her face, and I barrel on before she starts asking questions. “I miss you.” I hope she hears what I’m truly saying. I love you. I’m sorry. I wish I could fix it. “I’ll always miss you. Even when I’m a ghost.”
Yes, I'm a Elias-Helene shipper. And my biggest complaint is them not getting any emotionally tormented pining, forbidden yet yearning glances, heart shattering moments together. Despite that being the entire premise and excitement of the book!! They hardly have two scenes together.
Here comes, just ashes, The Curse of Book Two,where nothing happens..probably just to expand it to more than 3 books
A runaway, a riot, a tribal help, and eventually a prison break... All that been expected just from Book One ending.
No new with those we have already, the tyrant Emperor, devious Commandant & the helpless Blood Shrikh torn between love and loyalty.
Well, just a spot on the Nightbringer's backstory, and jinns which serve the twist here, which is the only thing that may matter.
Otherwise the news here are just an unnecessary death, sex, a twist, another death and strange bargain, mass murder, almost another sex -to complete the cliché of YA Love Triangle-. In a very typical YA tedious rant.. funny way of wrapping a scene in vagueness as if that makes us "burning" to understand whatever the rant's about.
That's it.
It's nothing like book one where every element perfectly measured.
What was the significance of Izzi's death?? Nothing. Poor girl, nobody even mourned for her. What an amazing character, wasted.
Isn't the deal between Elias and The Soul Catcher the most useless thing ever?? Such an unnecessary random bargain to make his character more pathetic.
The Commandant was an interesting character of book one, who -like Elias- turned just as a shadow of the stronger character they were in book one.
And as for Afya Nur, well talk about change of heart, then another change but crowded with more unnecessary additional characters for nothing, then another change... she's just on, off, on, off annoyingly.
Most of the book was the same extended version of book 1's plot, travelling long distances to break Darin out of kauf prison. Nothing worth happens in between. Heck, we didn't even get to see much of Hel and Elias's emotional scenes, something which I expected a lot from this book due to its premise. The only things worth the plot conisisted the last 1/3rd of the book.
This book didn't bore me. I, surprisingly, finished this book without a single whine. Despite it's flaws, I never wanted to put the book down. But did it leave me deeply underwhelmed? Yes. Thus the three stars.
-------------------------------------------------------------
THE EMBER QUARTET
rated and reviewed by me:-
An Ember in the Ashes
A Torch Against the Night
A Reaper at the Gates
A Sky Beyond the Storm
-------------------------------------------------------------
THE EMBER QUARTET
ranked from most to least favourite by me:-
1. A Reaper at the Gates (Love of my life)
2. An Ember in the Ashes
3. A Sky Beyond the Storm
4. A Torch Against the Night (Least favourite)
I loved An Ember in the Ashes with all my heart. It was intense, brutal, cruel, forbidden, and passionate. Beautiful and ugly, heartbreaking and heartmending.
And what can I say about A Torch Against the Night?
I'm deeply and truly underwhelmed.
What in the burning skies was the point of writing this book? Except to pointlessly drag the already layed out plot from book 1, just to introduce three more books.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
The ending of An Ember In The Ashes pushed me off the edge and then held me lingering midway in the air, enough to rush to read the second book without wasting a damn breath.
Laia and Elias are on a runaway, a huge bounty in their head, from The Commandent and the newly throned sadistic emperor, Marcus, who is thirsty for their blood.
Helene Aquilla, bound to serve her loathsome majesty, has to capture and behead the traitor of the empire, Elias Venturias, her dearest bestfriend and the hopeless love of her life.
Their paths are intertwined, their feelings tangled, their loyalties divided. Elias faces the cost of freedom, Laia the burden of crucial decisions, Helene the devastating choice between her best friend and her family, her duty, her honor. Ancient demons shadow their steps; the genocide of the Scholars drowns the streets in blood; a mad emperor’s reign of terror stifles every opposing voice; and an overly ambitious Commandant, a mother without love, a soldier serving a dark force, wreaks havoc, tortures and murders for her own agenda. In the Martial Empire, darkness prevails. But somewhere, between hopelessness and frustration, there's a torch against the night, which may be the guide to light.
“You are a torch against the night – if you dare let yourself burn.”
Sounds hot right? Except the fact that it isn't.
Elias and Laia failed to appeal me. Last book, I was bragging about how strong Laia was. Fuck that shit cuz this book consisted of Laia and her over the top emotionally clouded hormonal decisions which doomed us all. Miss girl gets tormented everytime she stabs someone, and then will brood about it for weeks, making everyone's lives miserable. I mean I get her but what was she expecting? That she'll lead a group of rebels and cheerfully break into the most dangerous prison of the empire without shedding a single drop of blood?? Get a grip girl.
I hate love triangles. I hate insta-love. And most of all, I hate instalovetriangles . They are a plague that makes good stories turn sour, and characters you once respected insufferable. While the instalovetriangle was present in the previous book, it didn’t bother me that much because I was certain Laia and Elias were made for each other. In this one, though, I rolled my eyes so many times they still hurt. Laia is so precious, Laia is so brave, Laia is such a special snowflake we should worship the ground her holy feet touch oh my God just stop it already! I didn’t find anything special about her. She was a girl that tried to deal with all those things that went wrong in her life by lusting over every good looking guy she encountered. She forgot how Keenan belittled her or suffocated her because he was so warm and familiar and I couldn’t help but shout YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW HIM DARN IT, GET OVER HIS WARMTH! Who she loved depended on who was physically closer, that thing called brain didn’t function with all those hormones throwing a disco party! And Elias my love had fallen under her spell.
*sigh* In sum, THE ROMANCE WAS BAD.
One girl trying to rescue one boy? One girl dragging down the Empire for one boy? One girl ruining Elias Veturius's life for one boy? And... that's pretty much the foundation for this sequel. I was frustrated by this. I mean i get it, he's her brother and some shit; but the whole group of rebels putting so much on stake for one boy who knows the secret of the serric blade is too weak of a foundation to lean on. {The secret of serric blade ain't even a secret. Elias, Teluman, who's still alive, and lots of other trustworthy masks can still get the secret out...}
HELEN'S CHAPTERS ARE THE SAVOUIR OF THIS BOOK !!!
“Most people, are nothing but glimmers in the great darkness of time. But you, Helene Aquilla, are no swift-burning spark. You are a torch against the night—if you dare to let yourself burn.”
She's an excellently written character. The author is too cruel to her, yet her inner battle, and her eventual, foretold breaking made her a character that shattered your heart, piece by piece. Sometimes I cringed at her choices, but given the circumstances, and what she would lose if she failed the sadistic emperor she served, I couldn’t help but sympathize with her. Her storyline was laced with politics, bloodshed and mistrust, and the horrors she witnessed forged her into a mighty weapon to shatter her enemies.
You are my masterpiece, Helene Aquilla, but I have just begun. If you survive, you shall be a force to be reckoned with in this world. But first you will be unmade. First, you will be broken.”
Hel's so true to her character, unlike stupid Laia having sex with this and flirting with that in stupid times..-oh don't forget, in Laia's defence, she takes the pills after her sex...talk about fucking details and opportunity to add more useless lines-
Hel's relationship with Elias and even Laia is so true. I just loved her scenes with them, also her relation with her family and sister and heartbreaking one with father. The way she tolerated Marcus's physical and mental abuse without a whimper. Her moments with Harper was such a chef kiss.
“I’m going to let go of you,” I say. “If you try to take me down, so be it. But before I do, I want to say something, because we both know I’m not long for this world, and I’d hate myself if I never told you.” Confusion flashes across her face, and I barrel on before she starts asking questions. “I miss you.” I hope she hears what I’m truly saying. I love you. I’m sorry. I wish I could fix it. “I’ll always miss you. Even when I’m a ghost.”
Yes, I'm a Elias-Helene shipper. And my biggest complaint is them not getting any emotionally tormented pining, forbidden yet yearning glances, heart shattering moments together. Despite that being the entire premise and excitement of the book!! They hardly have two scenes together.
Here comes, just ashes, The Curse of Book Two,where nothing happens..probably just to expand it to more than 3 books
A runaway, a riot, a tribal help, and eventually a prison break... All that been expected just from Book One ending.
No new with those we have already, the tyrant Emperor, devious Commandant & the helpless Blood Shrikh torn between love and loyalty.
Well, just a spot on the Nightbringer's backstory, and jinns which serve the twist here, which is the only thing that may matter.
Otherwise the news here are just an unnecessary death, sex, a twist, another death and strange bargain, mass murder, almost another sex -to complete the cliché of YA Love Triangle-. In a very typical YA tedious rant.. funny way of wrapping a scene in vagueness as if that makes us "burning" to understand whatever the rant's about.
That's it.
It's nothing like book one where every element perfectly measured.
What was the significance of Izzi's death?? Nothing. Poor girl, nobody even mourned for her. What an amazing character, wasted.
Isn't the deal between Elias and The Soul Catcher the most useless thing ever?? Such an unnecessary random bargain to make his character more pathetic.
The Commandant was an interesting character of book one, who -like Elias- turned just as a shadow of the stronger character they were in book one.
And as for Afya Nur, well talk about change of heart, then another change but crowded with more unnecessary additional characters for nothing, then another change... she's just on, off, on, off annoyingly.
Most of the book was the same extended version of book 1's plot, travelling long distances to break Darin out of kauf prison. Nothing worth happens in between. Heck, we didn't even get to see much of Hel and Elias's emotional scenes, something which I expected a lot from this book due to its premise. The only things worth the plot conisisted the last 1/3rd of the book.
This book didn't bore me. I, surprisingly, finished this book without a single whine. Despite it's flaws, I never wanted to put the book down. But did it leave me deeply underwhelmed? Yes. Thus the three stars.
-------------------------------------------------------------
THE EMBER QUARTET
rated and reviewed by me:-
An Ember in the Ashes
A Torch Against the Night
A Reaper at the Gates
A Sky Beyond the Storm
-------------------------------------------------------------
THE EMBER QUARTET
ranked from most to least favourite by me:-
1. A Reaper at the Gates (Love of my life)
2. An Ember in the Ashes
3. A Sky Beyond the Storm
4. A Torch Against the Night (Least favourite)