Review: An Ember in the Ashes

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: April 28, 2015
Pages: 446
Genre: YA Fantasy and SciFi
Rating: 5/5

Synopsis:

Laia is a slave.



Elias is a soldier.



Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

Review:

Damn. What a great way to kick off the year. An Ember in the Ashes delivers a complicated world filled with action, mystery, intrigue, and of course, attraction between our two main characters. It's the debut novel for Sabaa Tahir, and I can see no wrong in this world that Tahir has created.

First off, the novel is written through the alternating perspectives of two characters: Laia and Elias. I must say that I typically don't like the setup of these types of novels. Some of these stories just drag on and on. I end up enjoying one character far more than the other and so I begin skipping chapters from the second character's perspective and ultimately end up skipping through half of the book. There have been few novels that have used this format to their advantage, and so I've developed a hesitancy in reading them. If not for KV pushing me to read this (as well as it receiving high regards on Goodreads), I may have not picked it up. But I must happily say that I have read it. And I have fallen in love with both Laia and Elias.

Character-wise, Laia is a very likable heroine. She starts off with a heady goal, but she's not immune to the fears that plague her along her journey. Throughout the novel, we see her grow into less of a girl with a sad story and into more of a woman on a mission. Elias, on the other hand, is strong, desirable, and utterly incompatible with the hand he's been dealt with. His story stems more from an internal struggle but suffers the same dire consequences as Laia's if things go wrong. Laia and Elias are good main characters because their stories don't rely on each other -- at least not in this first novel. They are well-rounded enough to have their own desires and troubles, and that's what makes their interactions more captivating.

Worldbuilding plays a big role in this novel's success. Just when I feel like I know how things are, I'm thrown a curveball that could potentially change everything. Tahir throws out just enough to have readers bite, and then complicates matters later by adding more background to the world. I'm left thoroughly intrigued with exactly what kind of setting we're dealing with, and even by the end of the novel, I'm still left questioning some things.

This brings us to the problem. I, thankfully, read An Ember in the Ashes after its sequel (now named! A Torch Against the Night) was announced. For the readers who grabbed Ember hot off the shelves, the unknown possibility of Tahir extending it must've stirred up an intense craving. After finishing all 446 pages in basically one sitting, I realized I was missing one thing: the second half. If the book had been longer, I'd think that Ember ended right at the point where the main chunk of the action would begin. This isn't to say I'm not satisfied with what I got. Not at all. The pace that Tahir sets up bamboozles me into believing that I'm reading the meat of the novel only for me to reach the end and realize I merely got the introduction for what's coming. This speaks to the rich complexity of the plot and also to my despair at finding out that the sequel's release date got pushed back by a few months. 

Basically, Tahir's done it. I'm hooked. I will be eagerly awaiting A Torch Against the Night's release. In the meantime, I can only ponder at what the outcomes will be for all who are involved in Tahir's world.