An Ember in the Ashes (Ember Quartet, #1)

by Sabaa Tahir

[jnikkir]

This review can also be found at my blog, There were books involved...

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If I had to choose two words to describe An Ember in the Ashes, they'd be: compelling and intense.

The good thing about both of those words is that I don't think they're really positive or negative on their own. Something can be compelling or intense without being enjoyable, right? I usually use those words as a positive thing, true, but I have to use them in a more neutral way when describing Ember, because that's how it felt for me. Compelling, intense -- but I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say Ember was hugely enjoyable, for me.

There were elements I thought were very well done, though. Namely, the worldbuilding, the writing, and (for the most part) the main characters.

The Worldbuilding

The worldbuilding was a bit basic, with the Martials (the military types) having taken control of the city/nation where the Scholars (you guessed it, scholarly types) used to be in power. But it was still very believable and interesting. The Scholars have been totally conquered, except for some pockets of resistance. The Martials keep their power by training elite fighters at a super horrible military academy, run by a sadistic commandant who does not have a single good bone in her body. (Seriously, I like villains, but this woman was terrifying. In a not-entertaining sort of way.) The world was great, though, because it was gritty, interesting, very well-fleshed-out and detailed; and I could clearly see the Roman inspiration, which I always like.

The Writing

Sabaa Tahir's writing is really solid, as well, and often beautiful. I would honestly not have pegged this as a debut if I hadn't known it was. Tahir has a way with words that, once you're into the story, serves to keep you pinned there, and it often offers an interestingly beautiful counterpoint to the brutality of the world. I think the writing was part of the reason I found this book so compelling and easy to get lost in, despite its brutality.

The Main Characters

After her grandparents are killed in a raid on their house, Laia is saved by her brother, but he's taken captive by the Martials as a result. Laia's only purpose is to save him in return. He's all she has left, and you feel that desperation from her, that drive for her to hold onto someone she cares about and can't lose.

Elias has been a student at Blackwell Military Academy since he was 6 years old, and he's finally nearing graduation -- and freedom. He's hated the school from the start, and only wants to graduate so he can escape and finally be free from it. But something happens, and he's forced to stay and participate in four brutal trials that will determine the next Emperor. He goes through some horrific things, but somehow always finds the will to carry on, which I liked.

Laia and Elias are both complex, easy to sympathize with, and are driven by goals that seem too huge by far, but are the sorts of things you just need them to succeed at. I had absolutely no problem cheering for them and hoping they'd succeed, even when things were at their bleakest.

But...

All those things I mentioned above -- those are the reasons I totally understand why people are loving this book. It's compelling, it's easy to root for the main characters, and honestly, Ember is just super intense and really gripping. However... I had issues. Mainly with certain things that the characters are forced into.

Because, you see...

This book really upset me.

Up until a certain point, the violence and brutality of this world didn't bother me. It's super brutal and "gritty," yes, probably more than what's seen in a lot of YA -- but it didn't cross many lines that I had a huge problem with. ...Until a certain scene.

There are things that I can handle a main character doing, and things that I can handle when a main character is forced to do something, like when he's forced to choose the lesser of two evils... But there's something that a character is forced to do, about 2/3rds of the way into Ember, that I just... I don't even have words for it. It's horrific. It is not something I wanted to read, it is not something I wanted this character to have to deal with, and it really, genuinely angered me. It was so bad that I felt sick reading it, and I cannot understand how this character was able to move past what they did / what they were forced to do. And it's not that I'm upset over a bad thing happening in a book -- I'm used to books causing pain, I like pain, feels are wonderful -- but I am not okay with this situation happening at all in this book. I felt like it wasn't even a choice between bad and worse, it was a choice of equally horrible things, and this character made a choice that required them to do a horrible thing, and I am not okay with that. It felt like something done for the sake of being horrible, and just... nope. I did not like it.

Ugh, I'm sorry. I could get into more details, but they'd be super spoilery.

But also...

The love triangles were unnecessary.

(When are they ever NOT?)

There's Laia and Elias, who are our main couple, just judging by the synopsis above -- but, we really don't get that sense until a significant way into the book, after we also meet Laia and Elias's other love interests.

For Laia, there's Keenan, a red-headed rebel Scholar fighting against the Martials. And for Elias, there's Helene, Elias's fellow student and the only girl at Blackcliff Military Academy.

Helene, thankfully, is a well-developed character. She's Elias's best friend, but even so, she's not immune to Blackcliff's ideals and notions of their superiority to the Scholars. Keenan, on the other hand, wasn't very well-developed at all. I really got the feeling he was there just to serve two purposes: one, to be Laia's contact with the Rebels; and two, to be Laia's Other Love Interest. Because she never interacted with him enough for me to believe her feelings for him.

And it was the same with Elias. Other than Elias looking out for Laia in a few ways (which rarely involved much time spent with Laia), she had no reason (or time) to fall for him. And apparently Elias has more feelings for Laia than he does for his best friend whom he grew up with and constantly moons over (Helene). Maybe this was to show how Elias's mind worked, how he would lust over Helene but not do anything about it (though they came close), but he had different sorts of "truer" feelings for Laia...? That's all well and good, but when his feelings for Laia were based on so little, it really doesn't give me any sort of confidence at all in the relationship.

 
In conclusion...

DO YOU SEE WHY I AM SO TORN ABOUT THIS BOOK?! I just... There was so much going for it. Individually, the characters were great. I had no problem getting engrossed in this world and this story, and the writing was fantastic. It was a very intense sort of read. But throw in a situation that angered me so much, and the awful love triangles... and I am one very confused reader.

After mulling over this for weeks (literally, weeks -- I cannot stop thinking about this book), I think I will probably read the sequel (if there is one), because the things that I didn't like about Ember should be fixed in the second book, and I'm really curious about what will happen to these characters.

However, even after all my pondering, I am still torn about a rating. I definitely wouldn't call my personal experience with the book "enjoyable", but it was good, but it upset me, but... but... but...

*cheats*

Final rating: 3 - 3.5

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There were books involved...