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An Ember in the Ashes - Sabaa Tahir

12/31/2015

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Date Read: December 30, 2015
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Check it out for yourself at BN.com!

Whelp.... It got Better...

           When I started this book I was really excited about it. As a fantasy world purportedly based on ancient Rome, it sounded like my bread and butter. But I was quickly disappointed with the world building. It IS Rome-based. But it's just the bland brutality and bloodlust of it, there's no culture. There's nothing of the high society elegance that Rome prided itself on, there's nothing on the intellectual innovation of the Empire, on their technology or philosophy or eccentricity, there's nothing but blood and ruin. Not only is it an excessively brutal universe, but the separation of Martial and Scholar is one I find rather insulting to the Roman Empire and to the Imperial concept as a whole. And none of the love-ish story lines were very convincing. There were moments of spark and heat and that giddy little flutter of fluff, but only moments, nothing sustained. None of the characters grew or changed very much and what DID evolve within them only happened within the last hundred pages.
               Literally everything in this book that people have said is great about it was done a thousand times better in Winner's Curse than it was here...
               It was alright, over all. It picked up significantly 2/3 through, and by the end I actually enjoyed the read. The first half at least was a slog of this was done better elsewhere and jeez these kids are annoying... None of the characters believes in the Empire, none of them believe in the Stories of the Tribes until well after they're proven true... There's no clash of culture because none of them actually HAVE a culture that they cling to... The most interesting character is a chick from the Tribes who shows up for one dance and one off-stage conversation and then disappears again, presumably to reappear with a more prominent role in the sequel... Honestly, I was very disappointed in this book, but it is nonetheless a decent read. I wouldn't recommend it, but I wouldn't caution firmly against it either.
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    Categories

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    A+ ASTYLE Top Pick
    Author: Jen Calonita
    Author: Marie Rutkoski
    Author: Sabaa Tahir
    Author: Sarah J. Maas
    Category: Adventure
    Category: Romance
    Focus: Boarding School
    Focus: Competition
    Focus: Empire & Imperial Occupation
    Focus: Espionage & Spycraft
    Focus: Political Drama
    Focus: Slavery
    Focus: Star-Crossed Lovers
    Focus: Wealthy Non-Royal
    Series Status: Book 1
    Series Status: Book 2
    Setting: Fairy Tale
    Setting: Medieval Esque
    Setting: Militant Society
    Setting: Roman Esque
    Theme: Freedom
    Theme: Love
    Theme: Loyalty
    Theme: Right & Wrong
    Type: Kids Lit Fiction Series
    Type: YA Fiction Series

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