Book Review of An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1) by Sabaa Tahir
This is the first in a series that has two books published so far, and is the author's debut work.
An Ember in the Ashes is narrated by Elias and Laia, a soldier and a slave respectively. Laia's family has been killed by the ruling Martials. Her parents had been leaders of the Resistance and many years later her brother became a spy for who she assumed was the Resistance. After being raised by her grandparents following her parents' deaths, her brother being a spy causes the Martials to come to her home and kill her family, taking her brother with them. She goes to the Resistance for help and is given a mission to assist them in exchange for her brother's rescue.
They tell her that the mission is one she may not survive: a spy in the Blackcliff Academy where the Martial soldiers are trained. It's considered to be impenetrable and her cover will be to serve as a slave to the head of the school, a cruel and merciless woman who takes pleasure in disfiguring her female slaves who are also often raped by male students. To prove her bravery, she takes the mission.
Elias is a student at Blackcliff Academy and the son of the woman who now owns Laia. He and his mother are nothing alike. His desire is freedom while hers is dominion. Elias was plucked from a happy childhood by seers and had no choice but to enter Blackcliff. He is about to graduate after which he intends to desert when he is one of four selected to endure trials, the winner of which will become Emperor.
All Elias wants is freedom, for which he only can obtain through the trials. All Laia wants is freedom for her brother, which led her into slavery. The two connect in an odd twist of fate where the line between allies and enemies becomes blurred and confused.
I found Elias to be a strong, intelligent character whom I liked very much. His personality and ideals were well-developed, and his voice as a narrator reflected his personality well. His thoughts were clear to me as a reader even when they were muddled in his own mind.
Laia's voice as a narrator also fit her character and was different from Elias's, a quality important in a multi-viewpoint narration such as this book. Laia, as a character, was very naive though strong-willed and loyal to her brother. She assumed who could be trusted and who could not based on the lives of people long dead, even with information to the contrary that she refused to believe. I was often frustrated with her stubborn loyalty to those who had not earned it.
Despite her naive nature, she survived her mission with a lot of what seemed to be well-placed luck. On the other hand, Elias survived his trials through determination and intelligence. Laia seemed to be intended to be the foremost character, but I found Elias to be the stronger of the two.
I look forward to the sequel, A Torch Against the Night, and give this book:
An Ember in the Ashes is narrated by Elias and Laia, a soldier and a slave respectively. Laia's family has been killed by the ruling Martials. Her parents had been leaders of the Resistance and many years later her brother became a spy for who she assumed was the Resistance. After being raised by her grandparents following her parents' deaths, her brother being a spy causes the Martials to come to her home and kill her family, taking her brother with them. She goes to the Resistance for help and is given a mission to assist them in exchange for her brother's rescue.
They tell her that the mission is one she may not survive: a spy in the Blackcliff Academy where the Martial soldiers are trained. It's considered to be impenetrable and her cover will be to serve as a slave to the head of the school, a cruel and merciless woman who takes pleasure in disfiguring her female slaves who are also often raped by male students. To prove her bravery, she takes the mission.
Elias is a student at Blackcliff Academy and the son of the woman who now owns Laia. He and his mother are nothing alike. His desire is freedom while hers is dominion. Elias was plucked from a happy childhood by seers and had no choice but to enter Blackcliff. He is about to graduate after which he intends to desert when he is one of four selected to endure trials, the winner of which will become Emperor.
All Elias wants is freedom, for which he only can obtain through the trials. All Laia wants is freedom for her brother, which led her into slavery. The two connect in an odd twist of fate where the line between allies and enemies becomes blurred and confused.
I found Elias to be a strong, intelligent character whom I liked very much. His personality and ideals were well-developed, and his voice as a narrator reflected his personality well. His thoughts were clear to me as a reader even when they were muddled in his own mind.
Laia's voice as a narrator also fit her character and was different from Elias's, a quality important in a multi-viewpoint narration such as this book. Laia, as a character, was very naive though strong-willed and loyal to her brother. She assumed who could be trusted and who could not based on the lives of people long dead, even with information to the contrary that she refused to believe. I was often frustrated with her stubborn loyalty to those who had not earned it.
Despite her naive nature, she survived her mission with a lot of what seemed to be well-placed luck. On the other hand, Elias survived his trials through determination and intelligence. Laia seemed to be intended to be the foremost character, but I found Elias to be the stronger of the two.
I look forward to the sequel, A Torch Against the Night, and give this book:
Photo Credit: Katherine Elizabeth
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