As you know, I'm a big fan of the Expanse. So when it was announced that Daniel Abraham would release a new fantasy trilogy, I was eager to get my hands on it. I was never able to get into the Dagger and the Coin series and stopped after reading the first installment. But nearly a decade later, and with the critical and commercial success of the Expanse under the author's belt, I was curious to see if Age of Ash would work better for me. Alas, it took everything I had in me to simply finish the book.
I nearly quit at least a dozen times, only to persevere in the hope that there would be some sort of payoff in the next chapter. Yet it was not to be. Age of Ash turned out to be the slog of slogs for me.
Here's the blurb:
From New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed author Daniel Abraham, co-author of The Expanse, comes a monumental epic fantasy trilogy that unfolds within the walls of a single great city, over the course of one tumultuous year, where every story matters, and the fate of the city is woven from them all.
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.
It's obvious that a lot of work went into creating a vivid setting. Indeed, Abraham detailed descriptions of Kithamar bring the city alive with an imagery that is seldom seen. Trouble is, I have a feeling that Abraham went overboard with this. We're talking about Tolkienesque descriptions that attempt to capture the excruciating minutia of the city and its inhabitants, high and low, throughout the seasons of a full year. Every new chapter, every new POV change, every new section will begin with multiple paragraphs describing the daily lives of all and sundry. To a certain extent, Kithamar almost becomes a character in its own right. But as is often the case, less is more. Although it's incredibly unfair to compare Daniel Abraham with Carlos Ruiz Zafon, the latter managed to make Barcelona the focal point of his story without spending page after page after page describing every little detail about it. Giving Tolkien a run for his money in that regard was, in my humble opinion, overkill on Abraham's part. I understand that Age of Ash was meant to be an atmospheric novel, but this is just too much.
The characterization was my favorite aspect of this book. Not that it's perfect, mind you. Abraham's depiction of living in poverty and how hard it is to grow up in such a brutal environment was particularly well-done. It helped flesh out the two main protagonists, Alys and Sammish. And yet, no matter how well-drawn both young women turned out to be, there is no denying that they're quite bland and hard to root for. Though you feel for them and their plight, both can be boring for long periods of time and I often found myself losing interest in whatever happened to them. Some will call this novel a slow burn, but others, like me, will find it a veritable slog to go through. There is a story hiding beneath all those endless descriptions, sometimes a very good one. But sifting through all those extraneous details in order to get to the good parts will not appeal to everyone. It also doesn't help that it takes a very long time for the story to truly come together and start to make sense. A lot of effort went into making Alys and Sammish three-dimensional protagonists, yet the same cannot be said of the supporting cast. There is an age-old power struggle between at least two political factions that lies at the heart of this tale. But it's never elaborated on in a way I found satisfactory, nor are its players really that well-realized. Given their importance in the plot, they would have benefited from more depth.
It should come as no surprise that the pace is atrocious. In Age of Ash, Daniel Abraham makes Guy Gavriel Kay look like R. A. Salvatore. It has a lot to do with the interminable descriptions of Kithamar, true, but the plot moves at a snail's pace regardless. As I mentioned, it was extremely hard for me to maintain focus and not lose interest in what was going on. Because every time a new element piqued your curiosity and renewed your interest, you have to go through an extra 50-75 pages or so before it paid off. Weighing in at 436 pages, I wonder if this work wouldn't have worked better as a novelette or novella. Stripped down of everything that truly matters, I doubt that there was enough material for a novel-length project. As things stand, Age of Ash is all filler, no killer.
And sadly, the ending offers very little in terms of resolution. Will I read the next two volumes? Hard to tell. God knows I have little interest in doing so at the moment. The Kithamar trilogy will be comprised of three somewhat standalone novels, with each installment working together to create a bigger and more ambitious story arc. This was Alys' story. Time will tell what the other two books will be about and which characters from Age of Ash will make appearances. We'll have to wait and see. . .
It has dawned upon me that perhaps Ty Franck brings the best out of Daniel Abraham. That together they come up with plotlines and characters that scratch my itch and make be beg for more. Maybe on his own, for this is the second series that fails to really capture my interest, Daniel Abraham simply isn't for me. Food for thought.
The final verdict: 5/10
For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.
I nearly quit at least a dozen times, only to persevere in the hope that there would be some sort of payoff in the next chapter. Yet it was not to be. Age of Ash turned out to be the slog of slogs for me.
Here's the blurb:
From New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed author Daniel Abraham, co-author of The Expanse, comes a monumental epic fantasy trilogy that unfolds within the walls of a single great city, over the course of one tumultuous year, where every story matters, and the fate of the city is woven from them all.
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.
It's obvious that a lot of work went into creating a vivid setting. Indeed, Abraham detailed descriptions of Kithamar bring the city alive with an imagery that is seldom seen. Trouble is, I have a feeling that Abraham went overboard with this. We're talking about Tolkienesque descriptions that attempt to capture the excruciating minutia of the city and its inhabitants, high and low, throughout the seasons of a full year. Every new chapter, every new POV change, every new section will begin with multiple paragraphs describing the daily lives of all and sundry. To a certain extent, Kithamar almost becomes a character in its own right. But as is often the case, less is more. Although it's incredibly unfair to compare Daniel Abraham with Carlos Ruiz Zafon, the latter managed to make Barcelona the focal point of his story without spending page after page after page describing every little detail about it. Giving Tolkien a run for his money in that regard was, in my humble opinion, overkill on Abraham's part. I understand that Age of Ash was meant to be an atmospheric novel, but this is just too much.
The characterization was my favorite aspect of this book. Not that it's perfect, mind you. Abraham's depiction of living in poverty and how hard it is to grow up in such a brutal environment was particularly well-done. It helped flesh out the two main protagonists, Alys and Sammish. And yet, no matter how well-drawn both young women turned out to be, there is no denying that they're quite bland and hard to root for. Though you feel for them and their plight, both can be boring for long periods of time and I often found myself losing interest in whatever happened to them. Some will call this novel a slow burn, but others, like me, will find it a veritable slog to go through. There is a story hiding beneath all those endless descriptions, sometimes a very good one. But sifting through all those extraneous details in order to get to the good parts will not appeal to everyone. It also doesn't help that it takes a very long time for the story to truly come together and start to make sense. A lot of effort went into making Alys and Sammish three-dimensional protagonists, yet the same cannot be said of the supporting cast. There is an age-old power struggle between at least two political factions that lies at the heart of this tale. But it's never elaborated on in a way I found satisfactory, nor are its players really that well-realized. Given their importance in the plot, they would have benefited from more depth.
It should come as no surprise that the pace is atrocious. In Age of Ash, Daniel Abraham makes Guy Gavriel Kay look like R. A. Salvatore. It has a lot to do with the interminable descriptions of Kithamar, true, but the plot moves at a snail's pace regardless. As I mentioned, it was extremely hard for me to maintain focus and not lose interest in what was going on. Because every time a new element piqued your curiosity and renewed your interest, you have to go through an extra 50-75 pages or so before it paid off. Weighing in at 436 pages, I wonder if this work wouldn't have worked better as a novelette or novella. Stripped down of everything that truly matters, I doubt that there was enough material for a novel-length project. As things stand, Age of Ash is all filler, no killer.
And sadly, the ending offers very little in terms of resolution. Will I read the next two volumes? Hard to tell. God knows I have little interest in doing so at the moment. The Kithamar trilogy will be comprised of three somewhat standalone novels, with each installment working together to create a bigger and more ambitious story arc. This was Alys' story. Time will tell what the other two books will be about and which characters from Age of Ash will make appearances. We'll have to wait and see. . .
It has dawned upon me that perhaps Ty Franck brings the best out of Daniel Abraham. That together they come up with plotlines and characters that scratch my itch and make be beg for more. Maybe on his own, for this is the second series that fails to really capture my interest, Daniel Abraham simply isn't for me. Food for thought.
The final verdict: 5/10
For more info about this title, follow this Amazon Associate link.
