So, guys, this was one of those binge reading things that I did. I know so many people who are hanging out on the weekend and like, "I binge watched [insert series on Netflix/Hulu/etc. here] all weekend!" I'm over here with my cats and a blanket and some fuzzy socks like, "yeah, I haven't seen it, but have you read [insert series name here] because it's AMAZING!!" That's pretty much what happened with Sabaa Tahir's An Ember in the Ashes series. I sat down and read the first one and could NOT STOP READING! My husband would bring me random plates of food to make sure I was eating and not starving myself into nothing on the couch while I read!
Okay, so enough of that, although seriously if you haven't read this series, do so. Let me tell you why I loved this book series so much. First off, I loved the structure of the society. I am very much into ancient civilizations. I love reading about ancient Egypt, Rome, Greece, all of that. Tahir structures her society after the Roman model and I was definitely able to draw parallels between the society in the book and ancient Rome. It also made it easy for me to understand the structure of the society as well.
In the first couple of books we have three points of view and in this third book we get the three and then at the beginning and the end we get a fourth point of view. I will admit, that most of the time, I do not care for this. It has a tendency to get confusing and that did happen a few times in this series. I did have to go back a few times to make sure that I had gotten all of the vital information. The way these books are set up, though, this type of writing makes the most sense. There is so much going on all over the board that the only way to get everything would be to have three points of view.
Okay, so we have these points of view now let's get into who they are! Laia of Serra is the supposed Savior of the Scholars (the slave class in the books). Her mother and father began the Revolution and according to the prophecies, she is going to be the one to bring them to salvation. Now, her character begins a little bit immature. She's the youngest of her siblings (she has one older brother living; he mother, father, and older sister have died). Until this point she has been protected and hadn't really seen the horrors of what was happening around her. She's heard stories, but none of those compared to what she saw when she had to buck up and actually fight for what she wanted.
Now, books one and two we see this incredible journey where she goes from being a trusting individual who didn't really want to do anything to help the revolution. She just wanted to save her brother, who at this point is the only surviving member of her family. Book three she becomes hardened just a little. She has been tricked too many times and most especially by the people she had trusted the most. She throws herself in harms way a little more. She argues to get her way. And she does it, not for herself but, for her people. For the Scholars who are still dying at the hands of the Masks (the Military class).
The next most significant character is going to be Elias Veturius. He is a mask who hates doing the things he's required to do. His job is to keep order and as the best of his class he has to do it more than he'd like. At the beginning of the series, we find out that he was planning to run away, until his fate turns and he is suddenly competing to be Emperor. When he loses and becomes a fugitive, he bands together with Laia and together they try to save her brother and revive the revolution. Only, something goes wrong and Elias is faced with his own mortality.
Okay, so his character development is quite different than Laia's. From the very beginning we see feeling develop between Elias and Laia, but originally they don't think they can be together. They come from two very different places. Those feelings deepen, but as Elias become closer to death, he finds a way to get saved and tries to become the Soul Catcher. Throughout book number 3 he fights hard to keep his humanity and his feelings, but ultimately he becomes the Soul Catcher and no longer cares for what happens to Laia. Now, having said that, I will say too, that once Elias becomes the Soul Catcher, you do see peeks of the old Elias trying to get through. His character development is one that I hated, only because I liked his character from the beginning. I really wanted to see him end up with Laia, which makes me wonder what's going to happen in the next book.
The last really significant character is Helene Aquilla. She becomes the Blood Shrike, or General of the Emperor's private army. Helene has always been a little hardened. She is one of the few females in her field and her family is very much respected among the elite in society. As the oldest of her family she stood to inherit her father's prestige. This put a lot of weight on her shoulders. She is also best friends with Elias and in love with him.
Now, Helene goes through some extreme changes throughout the series. She starts off being hassled by the guys, just like any other day, and then she begins the trials just like Elias and goes through hell and wins second place and becomes the Blood Shrike, a position of power. You'd think she would be all happy and yay and things for her would get better, but they just get worse. Her family ends up being killed. Her youngest sister ends up married to the deranged Emperor and pregnant with his child and the next ruler. She has to hunt down her best friend because he has suddenly become the enemy. She just gets a lot of crap piled on her and by book three she doesn't even know who or what she's fighting for. It ends up with her saving her sister and nephew along with Laia and her brother and escaping to the mountains where they decide to fight against all that's coming there way.
A few more tidbits, because I know this is really long.
While this book is based off of Ancient Rome, it is also riddled with Islamic Mythology. Jinn and variations of them are included in the story and are very much integral to the plot.
A few of the characters have a few magical abilities that allow them to help others and get around in situations where that may not have happened otherwise.
While there are three books out, there is supposed to be another book coming out in 2019!!
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