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beyourbestshelf's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
birdjay's review
3.0
For more of my reviews, check out my blog.
Thank you to Orbit Books for providing a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
It took me longer than I'd like to really sink my teeth into Ashes of the Sun. It might be because it's been a bit since I've read an epic fantasy, or it might be because this book is extremely slow to start. Nothing really happens for the first third of the book -- no real insight into what the plot might be, no huge action, nothing like that. It's primarily world-building, which is fine, considering this is the first book in a trilogy. However, y'gotta give me something. Despite that, I never really considered DNFing this, I just muddled through until it got interesting. The world is what kept me reading -- Ashes of the Sun's setting is wildly unique. Set 400 years after a war, the world is broken, with vast differences in how classes live. The poor live deep underground, barely scraping an existence by, while the rich through extravagant parties without a care in the world. There's magic, science, alchemy, and all sorts of fascinating creatures.
The two main characters -- Gyre and Maya -- are brother and sister. Throughout the book, their plotlines weave in and out from each other, which was a really cool way to piece the story together. I think, overall, I liked Maya's storyline better. Maya is an apprentice of sorts, for the Twilight Order. She's close to gaining her title, at the start of the book, and she's doing everything she can to earn that privilege. She's got a more of a welcoming personality, versus her very grumpy brother who just wants to end the Twilight Order. Their relationship was interesting - I truly can't wait to see where it goes in the next books.
My biggest beef with this book is that it wasn't sure what story it wanted to tell for a long time. It's not until like...halfway through the book that the main plotline actually comes into being. Like I said earlier -- setting up for a trilogy takes a lot of work, but maybe this needed to go back to the drawing board a couple more times to really tighten it up. Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, who knows. There was a lot of potential here, but a great deal of it went unused. (Though the plaguespawn and the horrors they represented were extremely cool.) You can tell the author is an enormous fan of Star Wars, and that that particular universe was...how shall we say...borrowed from quite frequently. I have nothing against that, as it was used in very cool ways.
The world and everything set up in Ashes of the Sun will definitely have me picking up the sequel, I just hope Blood of the Chosen is a little more well-rounded.
Thank you to Orbit Books for providing a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
It took me longer than I'd like to really sink my teeth into Ashes of the Sun. It might be because it's been a bit since I've read an epic fantasy, or it might be because this book is extremely slow to start. Nothing really happens for the first third of the book -- no real insight into what the plot might be, no huge action, nothing like that. It's primarily world-building, which is fine, considering this is the first book in a trilogy. However, y'gotta give me something. Despite that, I never really considered DNFing this, I just muddled through until it got interesting. The world is what kept me reading -- Ashes of the Sun's setting is wildly unique. Set 400 years after a war, the world is broken, with vast differences in how classes live. The poor live deep underground, barely scraping an existence by, while the rich through extravagant parties without a care in the world. There's magic, science, alchemy, and all sorts of fascinating creatures.
The two main characters -- Gyre and Maya -- are brother and sister. Throughout the book, their plotlines weave in and out from each other, which was a really cool way to piece the story together. I think, overall, I liked Maya's storyline better. Maya is an apprentice of sorts, for the Twilight Order. She's close to gaining her title, at the start of the book, and she's doing everything she can to earn that privilege. She's got a more of a welcoming personality, versus her very grumpy brother who just wants to end the Twilight Order. Their relationship was interesting - I truly can't wait to see where it goes in the next books.
My biggest beef with this book is that it wasn't sure what story it wanted to tell for a long time. It's not until like...halfway through the book that the main plotline actually comes into being. Like I said earlier -- setting up for a trilogy takes a lot of work, but maybe this needed to go back to the drawing board a couple more times to really tighten it up. Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, who knows. There was a lot of potential here, but a great deal of it went unused. (Though the plaguespawn and the horrors they represented were extremely cool.) You can tell the author is an enormous fan of Star Wars, and that that particular universe was...how shall we say...borrowed from quite frequently. I have nothing against that, as it was used in very cool ways.
The world and everything set up in Ashes of the Sun will definitely have me picking up the sequel, I just hope Blood of the Chosen is a little more well-rounded.
kim_reads87's review
3.0
I really wanted to like this one, I listened to the audio and I think that might have been why I didn’t enjoy it as much as I could have. The audio sounds really young for an adult book. It has pretty good world building and interesting characters with good development. The plot was intriguing and the pacing was ok. I really just think if I read it physically, I could have rated it higher. I’ll might continue the series but physically.
wamboldt_t's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
wickedgrumpy's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Wow. This honestly kind of blew me away. The world building was so robust and compelling. The plot has enough intrigue to make me want to continue reading the series, though there was quite a bit of predictability and convenient/obvious turns of events.
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
spooky_steven's review
4.0
Read this on a whim based on the cover art & a coworker’s recommendation and was pleasantly surprised (I even bought books 2 & 3 before finishing this one lol). It’d get 5 if Maya’s story was the only one…however, the brothers chapters were a slog to read and I really didn’t like one the characters in them. But overall I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it to fantasy fans. It’s kinda like a “M” rated version of RWBY.
midwichtriffid's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
talia012's review
4.0
Epic worldbuilding, siblings divided by empire, and lightsabers on absolute steroids! Basically its Star Wars as high fantasy and I couldn't get enough. I devoured this book. Loved the adventure, the characters, the magic, the setting, the pacing. The constructs were definitely too gory for my taste and reminiscent of other stories (stranger things and the kandra from mistborn come to mind). And, I'm all well and good with a slow build romance, but it did get slightly annoying that Maya was unable to do anything else for more than a page without fawning over Beq. It started to take over her whole character arc and I didn't appreciate that. But also, I love them, so *shrug*