A Reaper at the Gates

Sabaa Tahir

Book 3 in the Ember in the Ashes series. 

Now we get in to it. Good vs Evil begins to clarify. And the humans and fey alike need to evaluate their own morality. How far along the path to evil are you willing to travel in order to achieve the good? And I love a good prophecy that can be interpreted 3 ways. The character chooses one way (which of course is mostly wrong, but makes sense) so I choose another (slightly more obtuse, but possible, and eventually still wrong) and in hindsight, the prophecy is so clearly manifested that we kick ourselves for not seeing it. The story here follows the characters settling into the prophesied roles as Elias becomes the Soul Catcher, Laia the leader of the resistance, Helene the savior of the empire. Each is continuing to explore the depth of personal character and identity, working out motivation and purpose. The Nightbringer seems to be pulling all strings toward something, and clues to that something are doled out in the smallest of cryptic bits. In the end, we are set up for a grand battle, where all the pieces will fall into place. I look forward to the final chapter, coming in December.

4 stars (out of 4)

A Torch Against the Night

Sabaa Tahir

Book 2 in the Ember in the Ashes series. 

The new emperor has been chosen, Helene is the Blood Shrike (#2 to the emperor and enforcer), Elias and Laia are fugitives. The main story driver is Laia pursuing her quest to free her brother Darin from prison. It turns out that Darin is only one of may layers of subterfuge, and the magical world is largely revealed in this story. We are introduced to a new people (the tribesmen) and the feud between the Helene and the Commandant (Elias' mother) heats up. This is outstanding fantasy storytelling, with both action and clarity and creativity of the world, but also finding the right mix of foreshadow/partial reveal/reveal/twist. Nothing is just "dropped in", and nothing is just obvious. The characters and the readers are simultaneously pursuing understanding and interpretation of events and prophecy. Very engaging.

4 stars (out of 4)

An Ember in the Ashes

Sabaa Tahir

Found on a list of Sci-fi/Fantasy by Muslim/Women authors. Why this has not shown up on any of my lists of good fantasy without the special categorization I cannot figure out. The world created here by Tahir is outstanding. The setting is Serra, a central city of the Scholar peoples, but currently part of the Martial empire. In this city is the Blackcliff, the training facility for Masks, the elite soldiers of the Empire. Elias and Helene are about to graduate. Elias is the son of the commandant, but neither wants anything to do with the other; they operate on diametrically opposed moral foundations. Helene is the sole woman mask of her generation (not class, generation). The two are the top fighters/soldiers of their class. Laia is a young girl forced by desperation into spying for the resistance in order to save her brother. The intertwined relationships between these three and various factions (both physical and mystical) in the empire and resistance is a complex weaving that Tahir has set out. This book is not about magic and mystics, but I am sure that the world is magical and mysticism will weigh heavily in this story. And the slow reveal of the history of the world though personal stories keeps me pushing though to discover more.  

4 stars (out of 4)