Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham – Review

Published: February 15, 2022

Publisher: Orbit Books

Series: Kithamar #1

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 448 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 3.0/5.0

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
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.

“An atmospheric and fascinating tapestry, woven with skill and patience.” –Joe Abercrombie, New York Times bestselling author of A Little Hatred

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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It seems to me that stories about cities (particularly sentient ones) might be a new trend. First we had The City We Became by NK Jemisin and now Age of Ash, though at first glance it seems to be your run of the mill revenge story. 

The story begins with Alys and the group of young thieves she’s running with as they look for a good target. They pick a bad target – a Bluecloak officer – and next thing you know Alys is being chased through the streets until the Bluecloak suddenly has chamber pots being emptied on his head and Alys’ brother Darro helps her slip away. When Darro turns up dead not long after, Alys blames herself and goes looking for her brother’s murderer but ends up wrapped up in something much bigger. She thinks she’s saving the city of Kithamar, but she’s definitely in over her head… but she has money now and a nice cloak and is trying to live up to her image of what her brother was so does it really matter?

Sammish has been Alys’ friend and fellow Thief for many years (and totally has a crush on Alys). When Alys needs her help, Sammish is there and really goes above and beyond. The more she learns about what Alys is involved in, the more she wants to work against it and that means working against Kithamar itself. 

The alternating POVs really helped drive home how much each girl was changing during this year long time span. Their paths grew more distant as their choices differed, but then reconverged later on.  The bits of lore we got regarding the brotherhood and some of the more magical elements were cool, but overall this was a little too slow for me and dare I say it, boring. Not so much so that I put it down, but it won’t be making any favorites lists. 

Overall, not a bad book at all and I can appreciate the scope of the plot and the depth and development of the characters. This ended up not being a favorite of mine, but if you like the sound of it then check it out! At this time I’m not sure I’ll continue on with the series – I may wait to see reviews of the future installments.