A review by perusinghannah
Ashlords by Scott Reintgen
3.0
(6.0/10) - 3 stars
I was barely 5 years old the first time I climbed on top of a horse (and by horse, I mean vicious little pony), and while at age 31 I no longer feel the need to wallpaper my bedroom in equine centerfolds, I am still every bit as much the horse lover today as I was back then. Which means that, in theory, this book was everything I should have loved.
I’m sad to say that this wasn’t the case.
Let me start off with the positive, though – the phoenix horses in Ashlords are extremely cool. Each sunrise, these race horses rise from their ashes anew, and riders can influence these rebirths through alchemy. By adding certain powders to the ashes before the sun hits, alterations can be made to things like agility, speed, strength, and even physical aspects like fangs, spikes and armor. While it’s clear that Reintgen has no idea what actual riding entails, I most likely still would have devoured this book had it solely revolved around the races.
Unfortunately, Reintgen tries to cram in a whole political structure around the races that just never finds its footing, because there isn’t enough page time for careful world building. While he certainly tries to create a well-rounded exploration through Pippa, Adrian, and Imelda (the three points of view in Ashlords that all represent a different social class in this world), there simply wasn’t enough space in 350 pages to have them fully make sense.
Pippa especially was a weird choice all around. For one, her sections are inexplicably written in the second person, and as a member of the ruling class she barely has an influence on the rebellion story line that Reintgen desperately tries to get off the ground. Imelda, too, has a very strange arc that I don’t fully understand the point of, because she more or less finds herself in the races accidentally, is wildly unprepared, and then barely takes part. In my opinion, this book would have benefited from just one point of view, and I think Adrian would have been the best choice here – he has trained for the races for most of his life, he is part of a society that has been severely wronged by the ruling class, and his father is the one aiming for war. Had it been just him, there would have been time for a more elaborate exploration of the history of this world, the phoenix horses, his role in the rebellion, and – most importantly – the actual race.
As it stands, we got the bare bones of everything and only managed to skim the surface of a world that has every potential for being absolutely amazing. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the second book in the duology will offer more in terms of world building, but the ending of Ashlords seems to steer it in a different direction. A girl can dream, right?
I was barely 5 years old the first time I climbed on top of a horse (and by horse, I mean vicious little pony), and while at age 31 I no longer feel the need to wallpaper my bedroom in equine centerfolds, I am still every bit as much the horse lover today as I was back then. Which means that, in theory, this book was everything I should have loved.
I’m sad to say that this wasn’t the case.
Let me start off with the positive, though – the phoenix horses in Ashlords are extremely cool. Each sunrise, these race horses rise from their ashes anew, and riders can influence these rebirths through alchemy. By adding certain powders to the ashes before the sun hits, alterations can be made to things like agility, speed, strength, and even physical aspects like fangs, spikes and armor. While it’s clear that Reintgen has no idea what actual riding entails, I most likely still would have devoured this book had it solely revolved around the races.
Unfortunately, Reintgen tries to cram in a whole political structure around the races that just never finds its footing, because there isn’t enough page time for careful world building. While he certainly tries to create a well-rounded exploration through Pippa, Adrian, and Imelda (the three points of view in Ashlords that all represent a different social class in this world), there simply wasn’t enough space in 350 pages to have them fully make sense.
Pippa especially was a weird choice all around. For one, her sections are inexplicably written in the second person, and as a member of the ruling class she barely has an influence on the rebellion story line that Reintgen desperately tries to get off the ground. Imelda, too, has a very strange arc that I don’t fully understand the point of, because she more or less finds herself in the races accidentally, is wildly unprepared, and then barely takes part. In my opinion, this book would have benefited from just one point of view, and I think Adrian would have been the best choice here – he has trained for the races for most of his life, he is part of a society that has been severely wronged by the ruling class, and his father is the one aiming for war. Had it been just him, there would have been time for a more elaborate exploration of the history of this world, the phoenix horses, his role in the rebellion, and – most importantly – the actual race.
As it stands, we got the bare bones of everything and only managed to skim the surface of a world that has every potential for being absolutely amazing. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the second book in the duology will offer more in terms of world building, but the ending of Ashlords seems to steer it in a different direction. A girl can dream, right?