Age of Ash: The Sunday Times bestseller - The Kithamar Trilogy Book 1

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However, being as I continue to enjoy Daniel Abraham's works and this was our Buddy Read group's April read, I changed my mind and decided to right something up. There are some very interesting magical devices introduced and explored throughout that let me know this wasn't going to continue in the vein that it begun. A series starter, this is supposed to be the beginning of a wide, intricate tapestry of stories that all take place in the same city in the same timeframe – but I think it’s a big ask to expect readers to wait a few books until it all comes together to spot the genius, when each individual book may not in itself be that ambitious or groundbreaking.

It’s only in retrospect while trying to compose this review where I consider what might not work for other readers. Borrowing from Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colours film trilogy, which consisted of three completely independent stories which just take place in the same world, with characters from one film occasionally showing up in the others, Kithamar tells three independent, stand-alone stories which just happen to take place in the same year. He has been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy awards, and won the International Horror Guild Award. However, the main plot takes a while to get started and it isn’t until about half-way in before you start receiving information on what is going on and where the story is taking us. Speaking of malevolent, there is a sinister spirit lurking in Kithamar, a spirit which has been present right back to the time of Kithamar��s creation.Thanks to Netgalley and Orbit for the advanced review copy and opportunity to provide an honest review. Because this review is late in coming, I know from the summary of the next book that it is in fact told from the PoV of one of the “secondary” characters of this novel. Each member of the group has a job, and they perform those jobs so regularly that they’ve become rote.

From Hugo award-winning, and New York Times bestselling co-author of the Expanse, Daniel Abraham, Age of Ash is the first book in an epic fantasy trilogy that unfolds within the walls of a single great city where every story matters --and the fate of the city is woven from them all. I am certain that this will go up once I've read the second book, as that is generally what happens every time I read an Abraham series. I think that unless you delve into the themes, or the specific character motivations, that is sometimes the conundrum with reviewing a Daniel Abraham book though. The story definitely had its moments, with some of those interesting character developments driving the plot forwards in the latter stages of the book. I love fantasy books that are more confined, instead of a gigantic fantasy world, so this one was right of my alley.They are also on the hunt for a knife and young boy of royal blood, two things which they will kill to get. I can read them and enjoy the story and the characters without having to understand the author’s purpose. There are a few offhand mentions of prostitution as a practical part of life in Longhill, but no sexual violence, and the girls are never refused jobs on account of their gender, plus in the glimpses we see of the upper classes, being a woman doesn’t seem to get in the way of inheritance or otherwise holding power. The plot slowed down a little in the middle, but picked up and the book came to an exciting and satisfying ending. Sammish was/is one of those characters who crept into the page and seemed destined always for the bit-roles.

Age of Ash follows the tale of the city of Kithamar during a tumultous time in history with assassinations, rivalling gangs and religous cults abound.I'm Asha and the one constant in my life is that I have always had an enormous, overflowing pile of books to read. Alys’s rough life has forced her to protect herself at whatever the cost and that includes not opening up to others and letting people in.