An Ember in the Ashes 01

This novel revolutionizes the fantasy genre as you know it! Let the amazing writing style of Tahir take over you and discover a story full of hate, love, betrayal and magic in a breathtaking setting. Fantastic in every way!

'An Ember in the Ashes' is a book about Elias Veturius, a 20 year old "soldier" and Laia, who is about three years younger and comes from the lower class. When her brother gets kidnapped she is forced to run off and seeks help to save him, but in return she has to put her own life at risk. Elias has been at Blackcliff for 14 years. 14 years of training how to kill and survive. But as he passes every exam without failure he realizes that his actions aren't just. Elias wants to leave but if he does that they will find him, torture him and then kill him. Honestly, I have been waiting so long for this book. Finally we have middle-eastern p.o.c. characters as protagonists that aren't exploited due to their religion or culture. In the mainstream culture of the typical "short girl with fiery red hair" this book stands out by the fact that there are a lot more p.o.c. characters than white people. Which is a very important message to little girls all over the world that get disappointed every time they open a book and realize there is no diversity in that story. You can't imagine how happy I was when I saw that my middle name (a very common middle name in the arabic-turkish culture) was also the name of a character (I cried) or that Elias was actually Ilyas before going to Blackcliff. Also the plot! OH MY! Both of our protagonists are constantly in danger and it actually drains the reader because you love at least one of them and you don't want them to die. And as if that isn't enough the tension increases with every chapter until the very last page. There is no way of getting bored throughout this book. It also has a very fitting touch of magic and fantasy. Creatures we know from arabic stories appear and improve the story perfectly. The characters: Elias Veturius is just too pure for this world. A young man that is constantly afraid of himself, because he might become a bad person with too much power. Laia is a little different. She is young and still tries to find herself. Her character is still very fragile since she is a teenager, but she has a very clear sense of what is right and wrong. Most of us can identify better with her than with other heroines that are just brave and courageous by default. Helene Aquilla is the very definition of a smart, independent and strong woman. She has trained along Elias for 14 years and is just as deadly as an opponent as he is. There are two antagonists, whose names I will not tell you because it might spoil some parts for you. One is a very nebulous character. We do not know much about this person at first but we know enough to fear confrontation with said character. The other just repelled me. This was such a horrible person with rape fantasies and a sadist mind that every time the person entered a scene my hands started to shake with fear and hatred. In conclusion! This book is great! It has great characters, a plot that doesn't keep you waiting, a world with magic and violence and a tiny love-story that is only mentioned along the plot, but doesn't interfere with anything else. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a little tension in the plot and a little touch of fantasy.

The whole series got me like few other books. The characters feel so real and authentic, their development is beautifully written. There is no real spice, but so much passion in many different ways. The worldbuilding in general is top notch. Prepare for all the emotions and some jaw-dropping moments. This is one of the best examples of duty vs. loyalty; head vs. heart.

Laias world is turned upside down when Imperial Masks brutally murder her grandparents and arrest her brother for treason. In a quest to save him, she joins the resistance, who order her to spy on the brutal Commandant of Blackcliff Academy. Elias, on the other hand, is a student at the academy, excelling with his ruthlesness. But deep down he harbours a hatred for the academy and the empire and everything it stands for. I've lost myself in the worldbuilding with magical Jinns, Efriths and the mysterious Augurs. Laia and Elias are also well thought-out characters that are faced with tragedy but endure nontheless. I'm really excited to see where this series is going!

Elias, ein Soldat und Laia, eine der unterdrückten ‘Scholars’ könnten nicht auf unterschiedlicheren Seiten stehen - und dennoch ist ihr Schicksal verwoben. Als Laias Familie ermordert wird und ihr Bruder im Gefängnis landet, sucht sie die Rebell*innen um Hilfe auf. Doch diese helfen ihr nicht ohne Gegenleistung. So muss Laia getarnt als Sklavin in die berühmte Blackcliff-Academy eindringen und deren grausame Kommandantin ausspionieren. Elias, der Sohn der Kommandantin leidet schon sein ganzes Leben unter ihr und sucht verzweifelt nach einem Ausweg vor einem Leben voller Blut und Schrecken. Ich habe das Buch mit 14 auf Deutsch gelesen und damals bereits verschlungen. Umso gespannter war ich auf diesen ‘Reread’ in der Originalsprache einige Jahre später. Ich habe es erneut verschlungen und bin nun bereits den zweiten Band am Lesen und auch davon begeistert. Es ist ganz eindeutig ein YA-Buch und ich liebe es. Es erinnert mich an die Hunger Games, Maze Runner und Divergent-Era, die ich (oder mein 14-jähriges-Ich) doch sehr vermisst habe. Ist es anspruchsvoll? Nein. ist es extrem originell? Auch nein (wobei es tatsächlich einige Überraschungen bereithält). Ist es super spannend und toll zum Lesen? JA JA JA! “You are an ember in the ashes, Elias Veturius. You will spark and burn, ravage and destroy. You cannot change it. You cannot stop it.” “The field of battle is my temple. The swordpoint is my priest. The dance of death is my prayer. The killing blow is my release.” “Once, I’d have wanted that. I’d have wanted someone to tell me what to do, to fix everything. Once, I’d have wanted to be saved.”