An Ember In The Ashes
Rating: ⋆⋆⋆⋆(4.5, though)
Published: 4th June 2015 (UK)
Official 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.
Side note: I talk a little about Blackcliff which is an enclosed academy where they train the elite soldiers called Masks (where Elias is nearing graduation.) The discipline for deserting is a public death, and if you're suspected of sympathising with Scholars (the oppressed) you could be investigated and then whipped or killed. Even looking at the Commandant wrong (or at all!) is punishable by whipping. It's a delightful place.
I cannot remember the last time a book caused me so much STRESS. I had a love-hate relationship with the level of stress throughout the novel and well, I think in the end love won, because the characters in An Ember In The Ashes are now up there with some of my favourites (Elias Veturius, be still my beating heart!) Also, the cover is one of the most beautiful covers I've seen in a long time, especially so in hardback.
That aside, An Ember In The Ashes is a truly, truly stunning debut novel. The world Tahir weaves is vibrant and painful and beautiful. At first, I was a little worried about noticing some familiar dystopian kind of tropes (dead parents, orphan on a mission, evil overlords, an underground resistance group), but I soon totally forgot about them as the story's originality worked its magic on me.
The pacing is unreal in its ferocity, and the alternating points of view of Elias and Laia were so individually beautiful that I never found myself favouring either point of view more – they were both brilliant, and different. Even better, they are two diverse leads in a book which has reached #2 on the New York Times Bestsellers List (congrats, Sabaa!) This is HUGE for me, and for so many others who have campaigned for diverse books.
Back to the book, I woke up the morning after finishing AEITA (after also having a nightmare that I was in Blackcliff, seriously) and I realised that what makes Blackcliff Academy so terrifying (aside from children being trained to be soulless murdering soldiers and a Commandant who carves out her slaves eyes) is that in other books, there is usually a weakness to an institution – an overlooked gap in the armour. Not in Blackcliff. You can either be killed trying to escape, or risk your life on a cliff path they don't bother to patrol because people literally die trying to go down it. So, as you can tell, the stakes are HUGE in AEITA, and I think the reason I was so unbelievably stressed reading the book is that Tahir weaves her words so beautifully that when reading, you feel as trapped as Elias and Laia. Like them, you can't comprehend a way out. One of the things I loved most is that no one is safe from harm, and if something bad can happen, it probably will, but how the characters adapted and dealt with situations was what made this book so completely wonderful.
The characters all shine individually – Helene being the only girl in Blackcliff Academy, who is fierce and vicious and a force to be reckoned with, Elias being conflicted between what he wants and what will keep him alive, and Laia, an initially timid girl being forced into bravery with dangerous missions. The Commandant honestly scared me to death, Elias's grandfather added a great dynamic. I liked Keenan but I'd like to see more of him in order to warm to him more. Izzi is a standout character who I will protect to my last breath, and Cook – I liked her, but my biggest question is why does she stammer when speaking about certain things? I am losing my mind trying to figure it out.
The culture and small details are what bring AEITA vibrantly to life – the festival and the sand dunes and the trials and the attention to detail with scents and sounds. By the end of this novel, and all of the shocking moments towards the end, I felt like I'd aged 10 years due to stress, but a book which is so dark eventually left me feeling strangely uplifted. I think it goes to show how deeply I was invested in the characters and their fates. I'm glad that Tahir gave us enough without satisfying every of our wants for the characters – a victory was, more often that not, double-edged. The Augurs were a fantastic, interesting addition, as was the believable interwoven magic and supernatural creatures.
Now I've sung the highest praises (because AEITA is a favourite book of mine now) a few of the criticisms (though I hate to use that word because they're not intended to be as strong as to be criticism) are probably that sometimes the constant action was eventually draining as a reader. I had to put the book down multiple times for a breather and then return to it. I think there is such thing as an overload of action, but thankfully soon after I thought this, the Moon Festival scene came along and gave a good reprieve. I appreciate this is necessary for such an intense, awful situation, but I would have liked a few additional quieter moments just to give my poor emotions a rest. I felt like I was constantly preparing for the Commandant to appear, which shows how terrifying she is. (I guess this could be a pro because I cared so much!)
Also, a certain character kind of gives a "this was my whole evil plan" explanation towards the end which was a little underwhelming to me (mostly because I had a whole theory about Darin being free the whole time and involved in a spoilery plot point, which ended up being a really long and detailed theory haha!)
But really, the criticism is a tiny part of my overall feelings towards An Ember In The Ashes. I couldn't recommend a book more, and I really can't wait to see the fandom grow because Sabaa Tahir deserves to be up their with the big names of YA. And especially after that ending, I can't wait for book 2! There's so much more I want to say but it's either spoilery or will take me 5 pages to analyse and fangirl over. Also, I would be 100% down for novellas about Laia's parents, or Elias's earlier Blackcliff days, or the Commandant.
Review:
I cannot remember the last time a book caused me so much STRESS. I had a love-hate relationship with the level of stress throughout the novel and well, I think in the end love won, because the characters in An Ember In The Ashes are now up there with some of my favourites (Elias Veturius, be still my beating heart!) Also, the cover is one of the most beautiful covers I've seen in a long time, especially so in hardback.
That aside, An Ember In The Ashes is a truly, truly stunning debut novel. The world Tahir weaves is vibrant and painful and beautiful. At first, I was a little worried about noticing some familiar dystopian kind of tropes (dead parents, orphan on a mission, evil overlords, an underground resistance group), but I soon totally forgot about them as the story's originality worked its magic on me.
The pacing is unreal in its ferocity, and the alternating points of view of Elias and Laia were so individually beautiful that I never found myself favouring either point of view more – they were both brilliant, and different. Even better, they are two diverse leads in a book which has reached #2 on the New York Times Bestsellers List (congrats, Sabaa!) This is HUGE for me, and for so many others who have campaigned for diverse books.
Back to the book, I woke up the morning after finishing AEITA (after also having a nightmare that I was in Blackcliff, seriously) and I realised that what makes Blackcliff Academy so terrifying (aside from children being trained to be soulless murdering soldiers and a Commandant who carves out her slaves eyes) is that in other books, there is usually a weakness to an institution – an overlooked gap in the armour. Not in Blackcliff. You can either be killed trying to escape, or risk your life on a cliff path they don't bother to patrol because people literally die trying to go down it. So, as you can tell, the stakes are HUGE in AEITA, and I think the reason I was so unbelievably stressed reading the book is that Tahir weaves her words so beautifully that when reading, you feel as trapped as Elias and Laia. Like them, you can't comprehend a way out. One of the things I loved most is that no one is safe from harm, and if something bad can happen, it probably will, but how the characters adapted and dealt with situations was what made this book so completely wonderful.
The characters all shine individually – Helene being the only girl in Blackcliff Academy, who is fierce and vicious and a force to be reckoned with, Elias being conflicted between what he wants and what will keep him alive, and Laia, an initially timid girl being forced into bravery with dangerous missions. The Commandant honestly scared me to death, Elias's grandfather added a great dynamic. I liked Keenan but I'd like to see more of him in order to warm to him more. Izzi is a standout character who I will protect to my last breath, and Cook – I liked her, but my biggest question is why does she stammer when speaking about certain things? I am losing my mind trying to figure it out.
The culture and small details are what bring AEITA vibrantly to life – the festival and the sand dunes and the trials and the attention to detail with scents and sounds. By the end of this novel, and all of the shocking moments towards the end, I felt like I'd aged 10 years due to stress, but a book which is so dark eventually left me feeling strangely uplifted. I think it goes to show how deeply I was invested in the characters and their fates. I'm glad that Tahir gave us enough without satisfying every of our wants for the characters – a victory was, more often that not, double-edged. The Augurs were a fantastic, interesting addition, as was the believable interwoven magic and supernatural creatures.
Now I've sung the highest praises (because AEITA is a favourite book of mine now) a few of the criticisms (though I hate to use that word because they're not intended to be as strong as to be criticism) are probably that sometimes the constant action was eventually draining as a reader. I had to put the book down multiple times for a breather and then return to it. I think there is such thing as an overload of action, but thankfully soon after I thought this, the Moon Festival scene came along and gave a good reprieve. I appreciate this is necessary for such an intense, awful situation, but I would have liked a few additional quieter moments just to give my poor emotions a rest. I felt like I was constantly preparing for the Commandant to appear, which shows how terrifying she is. (I guess this could be a pro because I cared so much!)
Also, a certain character kind of gives a "this was my whole evil plan" explanation towards the end which was a little underwhelming to me (mostly because I had a whole theory about Darin being free the whole time and involved in a spoilery plot point, which ended up being a really long and detailed theory haha!)
But really, the criticism is a tiny part of my overall feelings towards An Ember In The Ashes. I couldn't recommend a book more, and I really can't wait to see the fandom grow because Sabaa Tahir deserves to be up their with the big names of YA. And especially after that ending, I can't wait for book 2! There's so much more I want to say but it's either spoilery or will take me 5 pages to analyse and fangirl over. Also, I would be 100% down for novellas about Laia's parents, or Elias's earlier Blackcliff days, or the Commandant.
"There are two kinds of guilt. The kind that's a burden and the kind that gives you purpose. Let your guilt be your fuel. Let it remind you of who you want to be. Draw a line in your mind. Never cross it again. You have a soul. It's damaged but it's there. Don't let them take it from you."
