A pair of petty thieves struggle to survive in the big city, and get swept up in the schemes of the powerful. I found the middle of the story to be very slow-paced, and one of the viewpoint characters was especially unlikable, which made it hard for me to keep going. But the world setting was quite good, and the story picked up pace in the third act, making for a decent ending. ( )

DNF at 45%. The story just dragged on for me. ( )

first in a trilogy by an author i've been enjoying. Kithamar is a city in this medieval fantasy, and also Kithamar is something else. a quite unconventional setup, once you get into it, with a standard save-the-city plot, but written around character studies in which small changes over time in a few ordinary citizens act to change the city they walk. ( )

I'll definitely have to re-read this when the rest of the series comes out. Complex plot, as well as character development. ( )

Age of Ash
Author: Daniel Abraham
Publisher: Orbit Books
Publishing Date: 2022
Pgs: 432
Dewey: F ABR
Disposition: Irving Public Library - South Campus - Irving, TX
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REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Summary:
Kithamar is a center of trade and wealth, an ancient city with a long, bloody history where countless thousands live and their stories unfold.

This is Alys's.

When her brother is murdered, a petty thief from the slums of Longhill sets out to discover who killed him and why. But the more she discovers about him, the more she learns about herself, and the truths she finds are more dangerous than knives.

Swept up in an intrigue as deep as the roots of Kithamar, where the secrets of the lowest born can sometimes topple thrones, the story Alys chooses will have the power to change everything.
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Genre:
Fantasy
Dark Fantasy
Action Adventure
Epic Fantasy
Sword and Sorcery
Palace Intrigue

Why this book:
It was in the New Arrivals section at the library and it fell into my to-read pile.
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Favorite Character:
Alys started as a likable character but as you progress she becomes less so.

Sammish comes across as sweet. And grows tremendously in the course of the story.

Favorite Scene:
When Andromaka dies and she sees the thing that awaits her soul beneath the city as it rises and snatches her like a fish rising for bait. Andromaka being aware that she has sacrificed herself to something dark swimming in the waters of chaos that tears her soul asunder rather than simply replacing her in the flesh.

Hmm Moments:
There's a good story here. Not sure that there is a trilogy here. I hate it when I get this feeling about what seems a good book.

I like Sammish laying her cards on the table and telling Alys the whole truth even if she doesn't want to hear it. Maybe Sammish is the hero of the story. Of course, the last time I thought someone was the hero of the story he was dead a few pages later.

Was the thing in the dark Darro's spirit or was it another thing from the greater dark...or some manifestation of the Chthulian horror that is Kithamar? IDK. And that's probably not a point that will be brought back up, but it does make an interesting thought.

Uhm Moments:
Deciding to trust the people using black candle smoke magic and blood magic rituals isn't something you'd expect from street kids.

Really don't like Alys and Sammish lining up on different sides. Sammish's siding with who she seems to be siding with makes sense...provided they aren't lying to her. Alys hiding in her grief and rage ad not seeing what's in front of her is off-putting. Of course, they are both punching way, WAY, above their weight class.

Calling the Ball:
Darro trying to double cross both these groups of people rings as foolish and way out of his depth. Curses and all.

Meh / PFFT Moments:
Alys is masking her pain and throwing herself into whatever is in front of her. You expect more from your protagonist.

Turd in the Punchbowl:
I prefer trilogies that are three connected stories, maybe with an underlying through point, rather than one story padded and stretched to 1200 pages. Hopeful that this doesn't end in a cliffhanger.

Juxtaposition:
I wanted Tregarro to stand up and say no at the last minute. But he didn't, he let his love for the real Andromaka die as surely as her flesh did as the thing that is within the boy rose again in her flesh. Still think he might turn on the Brotherhood.

The Unexpected:
I'm deep in the book and it just dawned on me that all the major characters are female. And there hasn't been any frilly BS misogyny, pretty damned cool. No gratuitous sex either. No swooning either. That's badasses.

Missed Opportunity:
Where's the other team at? Where are the ones who stole the dagger the first time? Sammish shouldn't be alone in this.

I expected more palace intrigue. While it is here, it is subsumed as a C-plot behind the scenes largely, moving the other characters about but never claiming center stage.

Get Off My Lawn:
Getting on my soapbox about all trilogies, not just this one. Every story doesn't need to be a trilogy. The end is coming. The pages are running down. And it doesn't feel like the author is setting up an end, more like a "come back next week for another 350+ pages that won't end the story either". Some of it is publishers wanting books stretched out to trilogies and such. Some of it is authors who want to pad and fluff their story into a bigger page count, books worth. It's the idea that streaming services are both getting and not getting. Binge-watching to see the whole story in a short period of time, vs dropping a single episode a week...and then still not finishing the story and leaving it for next time. Watching/reading about paint drying with brief instances where stuff happens isn't a good experience. Sacrificing flow and pace for page count is rubbish. For this reason, the author who really wants to write a trilogy finds themselves in a sea of crap that most readers aren't wading into. The best modern trilogies are three interconnected, complete stories.

Alys's awakening took too long. the payoff for it will probably end up in the second book that based on my feelings about trilogy for trilogy's sake may or may not be read. I like the story. Just wish it had more meat on the bones like a Green Hill steak rather than sucking the marrow from an overused old Longhill bone.
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Last Page Sound:
The story may be Alys's, but Sammish is the star as far as I'm concerned. Good story.

Not the ending I was expecting, but a real ending. Very nice.

Conclusions I’ve Drawn:
And so, Samish was the hero of the story. Even though Alys was probably supposed to be.

Author Assessment:
I will definitely look at more of this author’s work.
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