You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
witchkingreads 's review for:
Thron in Flammen: Roman
by Brian Staveley
5/5
“Blinding light. Perfect black. Ringing like a million mouths, screaming, singing. Body instantly and utterly gone. Gone the rain. Gone the mob. Gone her own mind and will.”
The Providence of Fire is a masterpiece. There. I’ve said it. There’s no need for me to draw out the opening to this review. This book is a complete masterpiece that left me awed and entirely captured by its characters, plot, twists, and prose. Had I known how much I would end up loving this book, I might’ve cherished my first read through more.
The Providence of Fire begins precisely where we were left in the first book. Adare upon learning who killed her father, escapes the Dawn Palace, searching for allies to help her take back the Empire. Unknown to Adare, her brothers are reunited only to be torn apart. Valyn and his Wing must elude their former Kettral brothers and sisters, doing what they can to survive day by day. Kadan, heir to the Unhewn Throne, maintains his goal to travel to the capitol to claim his regency. Through a series of terrible choices and personal tragedy, each sibling carries burdens that threaten to make war between them inevitable. The blood between families is thick but can be spilled all the same.
One of the ways that Staveley entices the reader is through the near-perfect blend of lore and plot weaved into his stories. The world building that was structured in the first book has grown into a labyrinth of myth, legend, history, and religion with The Providence of Fire. The beliefs and historical events in this world matter and directly affect the decisions these characters make. What we knew in the first book is expanded in ways I could not predict, making the stakes rise to the peak of mountains. There is so much that is revealed!
The way Staveley unmasks his true intentions is by gifting the readers slivers of the whole, distracting us from the stark truth right before us. When reading The Emperor’s Blades there were times, I felt a bit disappointed in myself for not having realized certain plot twists sooner. But with this second novel I am entirely dumbfounded at how Staveley was able to surprise me. He predicts what the reader thinks these characters will do and has them do the complete opposite. There is a formula to storytelling. A road of sorts that makes certain stops to adhere to the journey of a plot. The hero confronts a problem, makes a decision, solves the problem to varying degrees, and then proceeds to the next one. With his second installment Staveley shows us the highlights of this road, except at the stop of solves the problem, he crashes the tour bus. These characters make awful decisions and fail at every task they are given. Like a building of pickup sticks, these terrible choices have but to be breathed on to crumble, and fall, crushing our beloved characters.
How Staveley handles the siblings is nothing short of inspiring, and I absolutely love the way he treats each perspective. Adare, Kadan, and Valyn are not the same people at the end of this book as they were in the beginning. Due to their unique circumstances and individual experiences, it’s understandable why each sibling makes the decisions they make. The reader may not agree, but that is because we can see the entire picture while the main characters are only presented with what is right before them.
The only criticism I had with the first book was how little page time I was given with Adare. In The Providence of Fire she had plenty of page time to completely upturn my sanity in the best way possible. Adare, Kadan, and Valyn are those people in your party group to watch someone do something already completely stupid and say “Here. Hold my beer…” The only reason why these decisions have any validity is because they are understandable. The siblings are doing the very best they can with what they are given without knowing anything that is happening to the other. Each of their decisions, based on the intel available to them, have dire consequences. Would these problems have been diverted if they had simply learned to communicate? Sure, but how is one to do that when they are miles apart. When their paths finally cross, there is still a distance far more difficult to trek: time. These siblings haven’t seen each other for almost a decade and so are more strangers than family. It is captivating to read how Staveley writes around these hurtles, and I could go on for hours about that one aspect of the book.
As with my review of the first book, Staveley excels in developing the side characters. We are given a closer look into the mindset of these minor characters with the addition of a brand-new perspective. Gwenna, the demolitions master in Valyn’s Wing, is a red-headed firecracker who is quick to anger and filled with a passion for surviving. We quickly discover her wrathful demeanor is a front for a deeply empathetic young woman whose heart breaks to be unable to save those she was supposed to protect. She was already a favorite of mine, but with her introduction as a point-of-view she became my favorite perspective to read as well. All the other side characters only add more spice to the story and their relationships with Kadan, Adare, and Valyn remain a massive highlight.
Staveley’s prose is a work of art that gave me all the feelings. Each stoke of a sentence matters, and no detail is left to go to waste. He flawlessly blends hilarious commentary between characters with the inner turmoil of impossible decisions. His descriptions made me think and contemplate on the true nature of the siblings choices and why they made those choices. I loved pulling apart these decisions and placing myself in their perspectives, wondering how I might handle their situation without the advantage of what I know that the character doesn’t.
If I could give this book more than five stars, I would. I utterly lost myself in this world and followed the characters with the purest ache in my heart. I cannot wait to finish this series! I truly have no idea how this is all going to end, and I only hope for Staveley to treat my heart gently as he tears it apart.
“Blinding light. Perfect black. Ringing like a million mouths, screaming, singing. Body instantly and utterly gone. Gone the rain. Gone the mob. Gone her own mind and will.”
The Providence of Fire is a masterpiece. There. I’ve said it. There’s no need for me to draw out the opening to this review. This book is a complete masterpiece that left me awed and entirely captured by its characters, plot, twists, and prose. Had I known how much I would end up loving this book, I might’ve cherished my first read through more.
The Providence of Fire begins precisely where we were left in the first book. Adare upon learning who killed her father, escapes the Dawn Palace, searching for allies to help her take back the Empire. Unknown to Adare, her brothers are reunited only to be torn apart. Valyn and his Wing must elude their former Kettral brothers and sisters, doing what they can to survive day by day. Kadan, heir to the Unhewn Throne, maintains his goal to travel to the capitol to claim his regency. Through a series of terrible choices and personal tragedy, each sibling carries burdens that threaten to make war between them inevitable. The blood between families is thick but can be spilled all the same.
One of the ways that Staveley entices the reader is through the near-perfect blend of lore and plot weaved into his stories. The world building that was structured in the first book has grown into a labyrinth of myth, legend, history, and religion with The Providence of Fire. The beliefs and historical events in this world matter and directly affect the decisions these characters make. What we knew in the first book is expanded in ways I could not predict, making the stakes rise to the peak of mountains. There is so much that is revealed!
The way Staveley unmasks his true intentions is by gifting the readers slivers of the whole, distracting us from the stark truth right before us. When reading The Emperor’s Blades there were times, I felt a bit disappointed in myself for not having realized certain plot twists sooner. But with this second novel I am entirely dumbfounded at how Staveley was able to surprise me. He predicts what the reader thinks these characters will do and has them do the complete opposite. There is a formula to storytelling. A road of sorts that makes certain stops to adhere to the journey of a plot. The hero confronts a problem, makes a decision, solves the problem to varying degrees, and then proceeds to the next one. With his second installment Staveley shows us the highlights of this road, except at the stop of solves the problem, he crashes the tour bus. These characters make awful decisions and fail at every task they are given. Like a building of pickup sticks, these terrible choices have but to be breathed on to crumble, and fall, crushing our beloved characters.
How Staveley handles the siblings is nothing short of inspiring, and I absolutely love the way he treats each perspective. Adare, Kadan, and Valyn are not the same people at the end of this book as they were in the beginning. Due to their unique circumstances and individual experiences, it’s understandable why each sibling makes the decisions they make. The reader may not agree, but that is because we can see the entire picture while the main characters are only presented with what is right before them.
The only criticism I had with the first book was how little page time I was given with Adare. In The Providence of Fire she had plenty of page time to completely upturn my sanity in the best way possible. Adare, Kadan, and Valyn are those people in your party group to watch someone do something already completely stupid and say “Here. Hold my beer…” The only reason why these decisions have any validity is because they are understandable. The siblings are doing the very best they can with what they are given without knowing anything that is happening to the other. Each of their decisions, based on the intel available to them, have dire consequences. Would these problems have been diverted if they had simply learned to communicate? Sure, but how is one to do that when they are miles apart. When their paths finally cross, there is still a distance far more difficult to trek: time. These siblings haven’t seen each other for almost a decade and so are more strangers than family. It is captivating to read how Staveley writes around these hurtles, and I could go on for hours about that one aspect of the book.
As with my review of the first book, Staveley excels in developing the side characters. We are given a closer look into the mindset of these minor characters with the addition of a brand-new perspective. Gwenna, the demolitions master in Valyn’s Wing, is a red-headed firecracker who is quick to anger and filled with a passion for surviving. We quickly discover her wrathful demeanor is a front for a deeply empathetic young woman whose heart breaks to be unable to save those she was supposed to protect. She was already a favorite of mine, but with her introduction as a point-of-view she became my favorite perspective to read as well. All the other side characters only add more spice to the story and their relationships with Kadan, Adare, and Valyn remain a massive highlight.
Staveley’s prose is a work of art that gave me all the feelings. Each stoke of a sentence matters, and no detail is left to go to waste. He flawlessly blends hilarious commentary between characters with the inner turmoil of impossible decisions. His descriptions made me think and contemplate on the true nature of the siblings choices and why they made those choices. I loved pulling apart these decisions and placing myself in their perspectives, wondering how I might handle their situation without the advantage of what I know that the character doesn’t.
If I could give this book more than five stars, I would. I utterly lost myself in this world and followed the characters with the purest ache in my heart. I cannot wait to finish this series! I truly have no idea how this is all going to end, and I only hope for Staveley to treat my heart gently as he tears it apart.