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A review by siddhi15
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Following a timid yet resillient heroine, Laia, and a strong yet jaded hero, Elias, the book sets us deep into the heart of the tyrannical Martial Empire, the city of Serra. The two factions, Martial and Scholar, have been at war with each other for 500 years, after Taius or "The Masked One" led his own army against the Scholar Empire.
One night as Laia is escaping the Raiders who have now killed her grandparents and arrested her older brother Darin for affiliating with the Resistance (the token rebel group for any young adult fantasy novel), she feels as though she has been cowardly for abandoning her brother in his time of need. She finds The Resistance and it is revealed that Laia is the daughter of past Resistance leaders who are the epitome of Scholar bravery and courage. Drawing on the same, Laia strikes up a deal with the rebels to be a spy at the dreaded Blackcliff Academy, the premier millitary academy where future Emperors and top-ranking military officials are identified, in exchange for their help in breaking her brother out of prison. However all of Laia's fraglie albeit faithful courage will be tested as she becomes a slave to the harrowing Commandant, who enjoys bloody and scarring punishments for all her workers.
In the other voice, Elias speaks to the reader about his life as a Silver Mask in-training at Blackcliff and his wish to leave behind his kind's philosophies, a crime punishable only by death. Elias' fostering outside of the Empire, with tribal parents where he was abandoned by his biological mother (whom we learn to be the Commandant terrorising Laia), lead him to have sympathetic and progressive views on peace between the two main factions. To his dismay, he is chosen to be a participant in the Trials, a series of competitions between the students at the academy to choose the next Emperor, in which he is also a favourite because of the powerful positions his grandfather and mother hold.
What follows is a twisting, dark and sanguinary story of how two people, both vying to escape the clutches of the regime, must find their way while balancing love and revenge in their lives. Laia must fight through her fears to help her brother, while Elias must fight the very system that has captured him in a deadly competition to be on top.
Sabaa Tahir does a wonderful job building the world of the Scholars and Empires. There is only a few moments where the backdrop of Serra seems too thin in terms of context to the plot, however at most points in the book, the deranged nature of the surroundings give meaning to all the actions that the characters take. It doesn't seem that any nature of absurdity would take away from the characters because everything in this world is about finding a way to live. These descriptions of cruelty are beautifully contrasted by the longing portrayals of nights and the environment arond them. There are festivals and surrounding countries with different people. There is a millitary and economic system that is well developed along with a wide range of people, rich in diversity. War, crime, punishments, politics, everything is explored with delicacy and purpose, all the while never dumping information on the reader.
Where the story seems to lack is in balance. The graphic descriptions of Laia and the other workers' punishments happen chapter upon chapter, then suddenly Laia and Izzi are sneaking out and dancing with strangers in the night. At one moment, Laia is thinking about her brother and the torture he must be going through, and the next, Laia is exploring her attraction with her tormentors son. Elias is hung up on a slave girl's beauty and the next he is thinking about kissing Helene. There is little continuity between the emotions that these characters feel chapter to chapter and therefore, when key moments meant to signify growth happen, it feels undeserved and out of the blue. Sabaa Tahir also falters to put as much flesh in her antagonist as in the main ones, leaving the two protagonists to have very predictable personalities. The Commandant is a vile and torturous woman to read on paper, which is the intention, however it very quickly devolves into a repetetive and one-dimensional villain, which is not ideal for a book where the antagonists flaws are what one of the main characters is trying to escape.
The beginning of the book boasted a story about a unique spy, one that isn't as strong as one might hope to be in a world as gory as theirs but still holds her ancestral courage in her heart, and a soldier who is adamant to run away from the shackles of the pedastal his own people want to place him on. However, by the second half, the characters and plot diminish into typical tropes derivative of the books of its kind. However, the tightness of the setting and the politics and power of the Empire, make the reader want to read through the book as fast as one can. The reason why these characters and plots have been done many times before is because they work and make sense in these kind of settings. There is a timelessness to them, so while it is difficult to swallow that this could have been a new take on a highly favoured genre, one cannot fault the author for sticking to a recipe that will work in creating a compelling story. It also helps that the notable moments in the book do not seem forced; they seem to follow with a natural progression.
One night as Laia is escaping the Raiders who have now killed her grandparents and arrested her older brother Darin for affiliating with the Resistance (the token rebel group for any young adult fantasy novel), she feels as though she has been cowardly for abandoning her brother in his time of need. She finds The Resistance and it is revealed that Laia is the daughter of past Resistance leaders who are the epitome of Scholar bravery and courage. Drawing on the same, Laia strikes up a deal with the rebels to be a spy at the dreaded Blackcliff Academy, the premier millitary academy where future Emperors and top-ranking military officials are identified, in exchange for their help in breaking her brother out of prison. However all of Laia's fraglie albeit faithful courage will be tested as she becomes a slave to the harrowing Commandant, who enjoys bloody and scarring punishments for all her workers.
In the other voice, Elias speaks to the reader about his life as a Silver Mask in-training at Blackcliff and his wish to leave behind his kind's philosophies, a crime punishable only by death. Elias' fostering outside of the Empire, with tribal parents where he was abandoned by his biological mother (whom we learn to be the Commandant terrorising Laia), lead him to have sympathetic and progressive views on peace between the two main factions. To his dismay, he is chosen to be a participant in the Trials, a series of competitions between the students at the academy to choose the next Emperor, in which he is also a favourite because of the powerful positions his grandfather and mother hold.
What follows is a twisting, dark and sanguinary story of how two people, both vying to escape the clutches of the regime, must find their way while balancing love and revenge in their lives. Laia must fight through her fears to help her brother, while Elias must fight the very system that has captured him in a deadly competition to be on top.
Sabaa Tahir does a wonderful job building the world of the Scholars and Empires. There is only a few moments where the backdrop of Serra seems too thin in terms of context to the plot, however at most points in the book, the deranged nature of the surroundings give meaning to all the actions that the characters take. It doesn't seem that any nature of absurdity would take away from the characters because everything in this world is about finding a way to live. These descriptions of cruelty are beautifully contrasted by the longing portrayals of nights and the environment arond them. There are festivals and surrounding countries with different people. There is a millitary and economic system that is well developed along with a wide range of people, rich in diversity. War, crime, punishments, politics, everything is explored with delicacy and purpose, all the while never dumping information on the reader.
Where the story seems to lack is in balance. The graphic descriptions of Laia and the other workers' punishments happen chapter upon chapter, then suddenly Laia and Izzi are sneaking out and dancing with strangers in the night. At one moment, Laia is thinking about her brother and the torture he must be going through, and the next, Laia is exploring her attraction with her tormentors son. Elias is hung up on a slave girl's beauty and the next he is thinking about kissing Helene. There is little continuity between the emotions that these characters feel chapter to chapter and therefore, when key moments meant to signify growth happen, it feels undeserved and out of the blue. Sabaa Tahir also falters to put as much flesh in her antagonist as in the main ones, leaving the two protagonists to have very predictable personalities. The Commandant is a vile and torturous woman to read on paper, which is the intention, however it very quickly devolves into a repetetive and one-dimensional villain, which is not ideal for a book where the antagonists flaws are what one of the main characters is trying to escape.
The beginning of the book boasted a story about a unique spy, one that isn't as strong as one might hope to be in a world as gory as theirs but still holds her ancestral courage in her heart, and a soldier who is adamant to run away from the shackles of the pedastal his own people want to place him on. However, by the second half, the characters and plot diminish into typical tropes derivative of the books of its kind. However, the tightness of the setting and the politics and power of the Empire, make the reader want to read through the book as fast as one can. The reason why these characters and plots have been done many times before is because they work and make sense in these kind of settings. There is a timelessness to them, so while it is difficult to swallow that this could have been a new take on a highly favoured genre, one cannot fault the author for sticking to a recipe that will work in creating a compelling story. It also helps that the notable moments in the book do not seem forced; they seem to follow with a natural progression.