Reviews

Ashlords by Scott Reintgen

princesspandoraslibrary's review against another edition

4.0

Ashlords is like The Hunger Games and Hidalgo had a baby, plus add alchemy and horses that are phoenix's and are reborn in fire every day. Riders can use different alchemical components to modify the traits and abilities each reborn horse has. Every year, the Ashlords, who rule over the land of Furia, host a gruelling and deadly phoenix (horse) long distance cross-country race. The race winners are usually Ashlords, but this time a rebel and a lower-class citizen have found their way into the contestant pool. The race is filled with betrayal and danger, and the result of the race just may well start a war.

I enjoyed how fresh and unique the world building and magic system in this book are. It's a light, fun read (for adults like myself). My only dislike was with the writing itself, which switches both POVs and tenses. I personally don't mind the POV switch, but switching tenses was not my favorite.

anna77beth's review against another edition

adventurous

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

roeckitcody's review against another edition

I enjoyed this quite a bit! Fun racing, well built world, and loved the characters!

hellobookbird's review against another edition

3.0

A storm wouldn’t be all that fun without a little noise.
—Gold Man Jones, spoken three minutes before his death at the Battle of Oranges

Every year since the Ashlords were gifted phoenix horses by their gods, they've raced them. First into battle, then on great hunts, and finally for the pure sport of seeing who rode the fastest. Centuries of blood and fire carved their competition into a more modern spectacle: The Races.

Over the course of a multi-day event, elite riders from clashing cultures vie to be crowned champion. But the modern version of the sport requires more than good riding. Competitors must be skilled at creating and controlling phoenix horses made of ash and alchemy, which are summoned back to life each sunrise with uniquely crafted powers to cover impossible distances and challenges before bursting into flames at sunset. But good alchemy only matters if a rider knows how to defend their phoenix horse at night. Murder is outlawed, but breaking bones and poisoning ashes? That's all legal and encouraged.

We reign...in fire and blood.

I'm honestly puzzled at how to rate this. I was expecting more Hidalgo with fiery horses of hell. Madness! Mayhem! That...didn't really happen? Much?

I guess I should probably talk through it. But first, a bit of background:

Every part of the Races is a reminder. Each ceremony is a nod to the gods and the wars your people won with them at your side. The Great Display honors won of their very first gifts: the phoenix horses. [...] It begins with the Dividian ancestors arriving at your shores. [...] The Madness opened the gates of the underworld. The Fury honored your people's blood sacrifices and sent thousands of flaming horses stampeding into battle.

The Ashlords became rulers. The Dividian were defeated, abandoned on foreign soil, and eventually subjugated. Lastly, a group of disgruntled Ashlords headed north after the war, disliking their people's sudden taste for the gods. The town they founded grew into a city, which grew into a state, which blossomed into a country: the Reach.

The book opens from Imelda's perspective: a Dividian girl trying to make a name for herself by showcasing varied rebirth types on what's like our YouTube (under "The Alchemist" because of her knowledge of alchemic ingredient combinations). Her latest video, Trust Fall, is what gets the attention she needs to be chosen for the Races to become the one thing she's always wanted: a Rider, available almost exclusively to Ashlords.

Next, we shift to Adrian. We immediately understand that he has been groomed to enter the Races. By virtue of his birth as a Longhand from the Reach, he is one of the suppressed...and by winning, will be the match that starts the flame to burn the Ashlords and their world down. Supposedly. I'm not actually sure how this is supposed to start a revolution.

Then, we shift to Pippa. The transition is fairly jarring because hers is the only second person perspective rather than first person. Regardless, it's clear Pippa is the pampered and elite Ashlord for the races. Daughter to two past champions, she was made for greatness and she knows it. Calculating, prideful, and beautiful. A deadly combination.

With the introduction of Pippa we find out that the Ashlords are more technologically advanced. They have mannequins and screens in place of seats or walls. The audience is somehow able to project their consciousness to the mannequins...the closest to the front paying for the privilege, of course. This type of spectatorship gave me Hunger Game type vibes...but without the world building that supported it.

And the Race itself? It honestly didn't feel like "a reminder" of their history. I felt like this was a label slapped on it just so that it could be more than just a race. Obviously it would be a big deal if a Dividian or Longhand won the race (they're usually far outclassed) but it doesn't seem like the type of...I dunno...reason to start a revolution?

Back to the riders.

Imelda. She had so much potential to make the Race super interesting. Literally the first day, what she does with her mount is awesome. Seriously. Aside from the fact that Imelda ultimately felt like an extra with no purpose, I really don't understand why Reintgen took the direction he did for her. Where are my cool and unusual variations of phoenixes? I was promised this by virtue of her nickname.

Adrian. I actually really liked his segments because he's clearly driven by his beliefs and it makes for a very interesting read for how he approaches the Race itself and for dealing with the sabotages that happen. He's had a rough life and it shows.

Pippa. Direct contrast of Adrian, she's had a silver spoon. Normally, I wouldn't have found her perspective interesting except for the character growth she goes through during the Race.

I really thought this should have been about the battle of wills between Adrian and Pippa.

The phoenixes. Aside from the history from the info dump I'm not sure why they are phoenixes instead of regular horses. Regardless, I don't really care because I love this concept. However, nothing is really explained about them...and the few facts you get are kinda odd?

Spoiler

The riders kill their horses at the end of the day. Why do they have to be killed?

I'm left wondering how they're bred, what makes them purebred vs not, if the ashes are so important then how the heck are they carried on through generations? If there are such cool combinations for phoenixes (as evidenced by Imelda on the first day) why the heck is the rest of the Race so uncreative? Armor and spikes are all well and good but I need answers. Why didn't Imelda just out-think them all creatively and dust em all?

The rebellion. I just don't get it. Why was this even put in the book? Why did it take such a big chunk away from the Race? Why, why, why?

How I feel this novel should have gone: underdog story of the Dividian girl trumping everyone else because she can think outside of the box with her phoenix creations because she's The Alchemist gosh darnit. More blood, hardship, and mayhem during the race...I want a more Hidalgo feel! And I want more horse, less person. (But I'm just biased on that last one.)

How this novel did go: Imelda was a weird addition that doesn't really do much when the story really should have focused on just Adrian and Pippa and the clashing of their two peoples. Not sure why there was really a Race at all if the whole goal of the novel was to ignite a fight between them and they have literally a couple of pages together.

A++++ on this cover, though.

I dunno. I really don't know who to recommend this for?

elesme99's review against another edition

3.0

Následující recenze je bez spoilerů, takže pokračujte klidně i vy, kdo jste ještě nečetl (ale nebude to asi úplně pozitivní, tak s tím počítejte)!

Koukám, že jdu tentokrát proti proudu. Nemyslím si, že by Vládci popela byla úplně špatná knížka, ale mě to prostě nijak neuchvátilo.

Začalo to dobře, nápad mi přišel zajímavý, těšila jsem se na nový svět a jeho zákonitosti. Z nějakého důvodu mě velmi překvapilo všudypřítomné využívání technologií včetně jakýchsi sociálních sítí (nevím proč, prostě mě to zaskočilo, ale pak mě to nadchlo a byla jsem zvědavá, jak velkou roli bude tahle stránka světa hrát, hlavně, co se týče třeba Pippy).

Kapitoly byly poměrně krátké, styl vyprávění jednoduchý (na mě sice možná až moc), ale zase se to hezky svižně četlo, což knize dle mého opravdu pomohlo. Jinak bych ji možná ani nedočetla. Příběh ani postavy mě prostě nedokázaly zaujmout. Nebylo to špatné, nic mě vyloženě neštvalo, ale nijak jsem se o hlavní hrdiny nebála, ani jim nefandila, necítila jsem k nim prostě nic. Ani k jejich koním a to je, alespoň pro mě, velký nedostatek.

Obálka je nádherná a přiznejme si - koně, kteří znovu a znovu umírají, jen aby se další den znovu zrodili v plamenech zažehnutých vycházejícím sluncem?! Naprosto cool koncept! Bohužel, polovina knihy uběhne a fénixové se na scéně objeví maximalně 2x-3x a ani tehdy nejsou hlavní hvězdou. A o mnoho se to nezlepší ani později. Jako koňačku, která po téhle knize sáhla hlavně kvůli fénixům, mě vážně zklamalo, že příběh vlastně vůbec není o nich. Spíš tam tak nějak jsou, ale stejně dobře by tam mohlo být jakékoli jiné zvíře... nebo i neživý objekt. Vůbec jsme se nedozvěděli, jaký mají jednotliví hrdinové ke svým koním vztah, jaký vztah k nim má společnost, jaký původ tahle fantastická zvířata mají, je pro jezdce těžké nechat je každý den umřít, kolik si toho fénixové pamatují z předchozích životů... Prostě ani po přečtení o nich nevím téměř nic. A je to škoda.

Překvapilo mě, že se cesty hlavních hrdinů příliš neproplétali. Každý měl takovou svou vlastní linku, který sice nebyla sama o sobě marná, ale vzhledem k jejich vzájemným odlišnostem jsem byla zvědavá, co na sebe navzájem budou říkat... ale to jsem se taky v podstatě nedozvěděla.

Já nevím. Celé mi to přišlo jako hodně dlouhý úvod k složitému světu a spoustě dějových linek, které byly spíš naznačené než pořádně prozkoumané a to je na 300 stránek pro mě málo.

Od začátku mi jsem z toho cítila Hunger Games vibes, takže bych to asi doporučila lidem, kterým se líbila tahle série. Asi to bylo hlavně kvůli tématům rebelů a přístupu věřejnosti k Dostihu jako k obrovské drsné show, i když to bylo o dost umírněnější než Hunger Games (ale třeba překvapí druhý díl, rozhodně to vypadá na mnoho krvavých střetů).

Ale pokud si přejete spíš napínavý, originální příběh o koních (a ne jen s koňmi) 100% doporučuju knihu Ve znamení štíra. Mytologie místního plemene koní je nedílnou součástí děje, příběh obestírá atmosféra tajemna, závod je právě díky koním troufám si říct mnohem nebezpečnější než zde a postavy jsem si zamilovala od samého začátku (i když jsem jim občas měla chuť zakroutit krkem - ale v dobrém, takovým tím způsobem, že se o ně bojíte, ale v skrytu je obdivujete a nedočkavě sledujete, co bude dál).

peachypqstry's review against another edition

1.0

I had really high hopes for this book. I really did. I mean, magic horses? Wow!
But the plot just didn't do it for me. It had no spark.
In my opinion, this book could have had a lot of potencial, but the story just wasn't it for me.

There were some parts I enjoyed, but the book itself really disapointed me.
2/5 stars

natalieyanka's review against another edition

adventurous relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.25

bluejaybooks's review against another edition

A fast paced book about magical house racing. Curious to see which direction the sequel takes. I have a feeling it will be very different from book one.

almond's review against another edition

4.5

I especially enjoyed the imagery of the creation of the horses.

teeggzz's review against another edition

3.0

Ngl, kinda bored by the end :/