Get pulled into the dangerous mystery of the fantastical Martial Empire (April 2015).
(photo credit: Amazon)
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir is a gorgeously-written escapist’s dream. It’s the type of novel that sucks you in and does not let you go; it’s fast-paced and full of intense action, startling revelations, and, of course, a good dash of romance. Tahir balances poetic language with typical storytelling prose to create a book that’s neither too flowery nor too dry, and her prose exudes magic and mystery.
Tahir’s chapters alternate points of view between the two main characters, Laia and Elias, as they navigate the cutthroat world of the Martial Empire. Laia is a Scholar—an oppressed social class—who seeks to rescue her elder brother from one of the Empire’s prisons. Laia begins the book desperate and alone but soon falls in with a group of rebel fighters named “the Resistance” who ask her to spy as a slave at Blackcliff, an elite military training academy. On the other hand, Elias is a soon-to-be-soldier training at Blackcliff who wishes to desert the Empire. However, his plans to leave have to be put on hold when he gets pulled into a deadly set of trials that determine the next emperor.
From there, Laia and Elias—who start the book in very different situations and have almost polar-opposite personalities—write their own stories, which soon cross into each other’s. The characters and their relationships influence the plot more than the plot drives itself. I personally love books to be character-driven, and I thought Tahir did a great job in this regard.
While both characters are well enough developed, they aren’t quite as complex as I wish they were. Laia’s cowardice and sole focus of rescuing her brother felt realistic, but I was left wanting more from her. I wished that she displayed more personality traits; in other words, I wish she was a more well-rounded character. Elias had more spice than Laia, which I liked—he felt more full than she did. However, he was a very “perfect” male lead, and I felt as if he’d been created for the reader to fall in love with. It works (everyone I know who read this book has a bit of a crush on him), but I wish he didn’t feel so “manufactured” in this sense. In my opinion, the most interesting and complicated character was Elias’ best friend, Helene, and I enjoyed reading about her. I am pleased to say that the next books include her perspective as well.
That said, I did appreciate the almost black-and-white contrast between Laia and Elias’ personalities—she’s extroverted where he’s introverted, she wishes to be stronger where he wishes to be weaker, she’s malleable where he’s not. This makes the switches in narration clear and interesting.
Something that Tahir does very well is write romantic scenes. Her writing style lends itself well to tension, and this results in beautiful moments like, “the alchemy between us twist[s] and burn[s] and melt[s] until it feels like gold” and “my breath comes in short, shallow bursts, and my skin tingles in wild impatience.” Tahir’s magic-infused writing brings the characters to life in these scenes, resulting in romance readers will root for until the end of time.
However, while Tahir’s building blocks—her individual romantic scenes—are magical, the overarching structure is lacking. I am a sucker for slow-burn relationships and I need romantic moments to make sense. To a point, I think Tahir’s romantic scenes were out-of-place—they needed more build-up. As is, her romances feel more like lust than love; I would be okay with this if certain couples weren’t made out to be “great loves” later on. This issue is partially rectified by the fact that the characters are in mortal danger—because death is almost constantly imminent, there isn’t much time for “soft” romantic development.
As a setting, Blackcliff is well developed as violent and bloody, which brings a constant sense of urgency to the book, part of what makes it such a page-turner. I loved Tahir’s worldbuilding as a whole—her rich descriptions define the Martial Empire as mysterious, dangerous, and uniquely beautiful. If one of your favorite things about fantasy is the world-building and resulting escapism, you’ll love this book.
An Ember in the Ashes is fast-moving, intense, and very well written. Although I think it has a few flaws, Sabaa Tahir still managed to pull me in deep and write one of my favorite books of all time. It made me wait with bated breath for each sequel (A Sky Beyond the Storm, the fourth and final book, comes out in December 2020!). Overall, I think that An Ember in the Ashes is one of the best YA fantasy books and kicks off an incredibly action-packed series.
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