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A review by amiascah
A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I loved this, such a great ending but so sad to see it end.
'A Sky Beyond the Storm' is the fourth and final instalment in Sabaa Tahir's An Ember in the Ashes Series. Taking place a few months after the end of 'A Reaper at the Gates' tension is high for everyone as battles are being fought across the Empire. As their numbers dwindle and things look bleak Laia of Serra and the Blood Shrike have banded together for if they have any hope of defeating the powerful Jinn they know they must work as a team. But how to defeat the Nightbringer is something most can not agree upon. The Soul Catcher fights his own battle with the oath he made Mauth, not to go against his duty but he sees now to carry out his work he needs to look beyond his forrest to events that are happening for he needs to discover where the ghosts are going.
spoilers
This is so morbid and weird sounding but what I loved about this series was never being sure who would survive, who dies and how it's all going to fit together. A lot of times books become not so much a formula but it becomes easy to see who will survive if only because fans will revolt at their death. And I understand that, when Harper and Darin died I wanted to revolt but it's also what makes me love the book so much. The not knowing, the tension and high stakes.
One thing that wasn't tense or felt like high stakes was Elias, if there was one major downer it would be him and his boring chapters. I liked the arch of him becoming the soul catcher and me trying to figure out how this would work in book two, then in the third it was downright boring and I was waiting not so patiently for it to get figured out and for Elias' arch to continue but it stayed stopped, he's stuck and its not fun to watch. Then this book its so murky and for lack of a better way to describe it lacklustre. There was not much fun in his anguish and this coming from someone who enjoys the shock and heart ache of characters dying.
I feel almost as though the Rehnamt and Laia bit was a last minute throw in, I guess it made the end poetic but I felt like it came out of nowheres, this sudden eye color magic descendant thing. I liked how she got to be the one because she stood up to the Nightbringer but I felt like it made her too powerful at times that was unbelievably convenient, which made that annoying. I do have to say that I kinda liked how the whole she doesnt listen dives right in and none of her plans work out was a continuing theme all the way through in that if only she had stopped and listened to anyone that maybe she shouldn't kill him and then loads wouldn't have died, but then thinking how else would you stop him then?
A complete flip from the first book but Helene's chapters were my favourite, it wasn't all her though, I loved Harper and Musa and she had the best side hustle of plot out of the three. I get how it makes sense for her to be Empress, especially with the back story of how Keris and the first Emperor did it through being a leader on the battlefield but it felt so off for her character. Which is odd to think considering this all started where she had a 1/4 chance of becoming the Emperor in the trials.
Anyway I can't wait to read Heir.
'A Sky Beyond the Storm' is the fourth and final instalment in Sabaa Tahir's An Ember in the Ashes Series. Taking place a few months after the end of 'A Reaper at the Gates' tension is high for everyone as battles are being fought across the Empire. As their numbers dwindle and things look bleak Laia of Serra and the Blood Shrike have banded together for if they have any hope of defeating the powerful Jinn they know they must work as a team. But how to defeat the Nightbringer is something most can not agree upon. The Soul Catcher fights his own battle with the oath he made Mauth, not to go against his duty but he sees now to carry out his work he needs to look beyond his forrest to events that are happening for he needs to discover where the ghosts are going.
spoilers
This is so morbid and weird sounding but what I loved about this series was never being sure who would survive, who dies and how it's all going to fit together. A lot of times books become not so much a formula but it becomes easy to see who will survive if only because fans will revolt at their death. And I understand that, when Harper and Darin died I wanted to revolt but it's also what makes me love the book so much. The not knowing, the tension and high stakes.
One thing that wasn't tense or felt like high stakes was Elias, if there was one major downer it would be him and his boring chapters. I liked the arch of him becoming the soul catcher and me trying to figure out how this would work in book two, then in the third it was downright boring and I was waiting not so patiently for it to get figured out and for Elias' arch to continue but it stayed stopped, he's stuck and its not fun to watch. Then this book its so murky and for lack of a better way to describe it lacklustre. There was not much fun in his anguish and this coming from someone who enjoys the shock and heart ache of characters dying.
I feel almost as though the Rehnamt and Laia bit was a last minute throw in, I guess it made the end poetic but I felt like it came out of nowheres, this sudden eye color magic descendant thing. I liked how she got to be the one because she stood up to the Nightbringer but I felt like it made her too powerful at times that was unbelievably convenient, which made that annoying. I do have to say that I kinda liked how the whole she doesnt listen dives right in and none of her plans work out was a continuing theme all the way through in that if only she had stopped and listened to anyone that maybe she shouldn't kill him and then loads wouldn't have died, but then thinking how else would you stop him then?
A complete flip from the first book but Helene's chapters were my favourite, it wasn't all her though, I loved Harper and Musa and she had the best side hustle of plot out of the three. I get how it makes sense for her to be Empress, especially with the back story of how Keris and the first Emperor did it through being a leader on the battlefield but it felt so off for her character. Which is odd to think considering this all started where she had a 1/4 chance of becoming the Emperor in the trials.
Anyway I can't wait to read Heir.