Age of Ash: The Sunday Times bestseller - The Kithamar Trilogy Book 1

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In the UK, trees don’t grow all year round but follow the cycle of the seasons. Tree growth occurs in the spring and summer, slows during the autumn and trees become dormant in winter. Age of Ash is a stunningly written, character driven story, centred on thieves, grief, and dark magic. Abraham certainly knows how to enchant his readers and transport them to the city of Kithamar, a place of beauty and of forbidding secrets

Our tale is set in the illustrious city of Kithamar, a city full of beauty, but with a rich history of blood and war, a city where every person has a story to unfold, a city where a sinister secret has long been kept hidden. It is also a city where two thieves from the slums of Longhill become embroiled in a plot of dark magic and deadly political intrigue. We follow Alys and Sammish, both members of a thieving crew, both skilled in their roles of distraction and going unnoticed. Yet what begins as petty thievery soon turns into so much more. When Alys’s brother Darro is murdered, Alys sets on a journey of discovery and revenge, which leads her down some very treacherous paths. Sammish seeing her beloved Alys suffer and struggle under her grief, tries to help her friend in any way she can, but the more she learns the truth about the murder and the multitude of connections surrounding it, she soon realises she has to try to save more than just her friend. Daniel Abraham builds this world up with all the confident craftsmanship you'd expect from an author of his pedigree . . . So hang on to your cloak and dagger, Kithamar is in the hands of a pro. Now that I have finished Age of Ash not only I am excited to continue with the sequel ( Blade of Dreams, coming out in Summer 2023), I cannot wait to return for an Age of Ash reread. One thing to note about Abraham’s works is that the early volumes in his series (see also The Long Price Quartet and The Dagger and the Coin) always read better in conversation with the later books. Of course, this means that sometimes beginning a new Daniel Abraham series can be a struggle because the importance of characters, events, and themes may not become apparent for another two, three, or even four books. Abraham absolutely loves to plant little plot seeds and nurture their growth over the course of a series. You can see that happening in Age of Ash where things that seem quite prominent (including the mysterious Daris Brotherhood) feel a bit underexplored and underdeveloped, while also feeling like a satisfying reading experience. I absolutely cannot wait to see how Abraham continues to expand the culture, politics, and peoples of Kithamar. Foresters have a clever way of ageing a tree without cutting it down. They use an ‘increment borer’ to take a core sample – about the width of a pencil – from the inside of a living tree. The core is then carefully extracted and the annual rings counted. The hole is then plugged again to protect the tree. This was one of those books I enjoyed so much, I could set aside my over-critical mind and just appreciate the journey. It’s only in retrospect while trying to compose this review where I consider what might not work for other readers. There were no major earth-shattering revelations in this story. Very few what I’d call “action” scenes. And in truth I find it hard to describe exactly why reading it was as wonderful as it was, aside from highlighting broader themes of Abraham’s work. It’s one of those cases where if his writing and unique perspective of subtle, character-driven storytelling works for you, then this book is a grand slam. And after hearing some things about the big-picture development of the series as a whole, I’m so there for every last word.I think that unless you delve into the themes, or the specific character motivations, that is sometimes the conundrum with reviewing a Daniel Abraham book though. I wasn’t quite as gripped by Alys herself as I expected to be; she’s one of those protagonists who can be equal parts enjoyable or frustrating, depending on where she is in her emotional arc. Sammish, on the other hand, totally surprised me. I found myself looking forward to her chapters. Between the two of them, Age of Ashfelt pretty well-balanced on the character front, although I will say that I’m very much looking forward to reading about the groups of characters who will be central to the following entries in the series. This book felt like it was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the series’ larger narrative, and there were enough hints about what those other plotlines might revolve around that I only expect it to get better from here. Abraham’s thematic explorations in this book are resonant, and I really appreciated how he was able to explore the inner lives of his characters without bombastic and over-the-top plot events. Abraham explores the importance of family (biological and found), the various ways that people experience grief, and overarching structures of oppression. These themes are not unique to the fantasy genre (particularly in modern fantasy), but Abraham handles them in a nuanced and character-driven way rather than making them front and center. Fantasy is my favorite genre because it allows commentary on the real world in slanted and skewed ways and this is a quietly political book that examines the relationship between the ruler and ruled, the ties between a nation and the physical space it occupies, and the underhanded and nefarious ways power is transferred.

Let's start with the good. Kithamar gave me exactly what I wanted. I love fantasy books that are more confined, instead of a gigantic fantasy world, so this one was right of my alley.. And I enjoyed exploring every part of it, but I also felt like we didn't really explore all of it. Alys is just another nobody from Longhill, a gutter rat relying on ‘pulls’ to survive. Each theft wins her little more than enough to keep a roof over her head and food in her belly, the spoils shared between disparate players, together only for the sake of the job. Her big brother Darro, on the other hand, is running far bigger plays. The high-stakes kind that might help him escape this low-born world. That kind that brings in gold. That gets him killed. Losing the only family she cares about puts Alys on a path of revenge. Desperate to find out who killed him and why, she finds herself playing a very dangerous game with people who know far more about the city than she does. As she starts to lose herself to the chase, Alys must decide how far she’s willing to go to avenge her dead brother, especially when she’s not the only one who’ll be paying the price for her success… Great character work and explorations of grief, family, loyalty, and friendship and I can't wait to see where book 2 goes because I have no clue (though I bet I know who our MC for book 2 is). Really good book I had to sit on and ponder when I was done. Now Age of Ash is a new book by the coauthor of the Expanse. As a huge fan of the series I have always wanted to read his fantasy but this is my first time with it. And now, for the Expanse fans who are thinking 'can this be my new thing?': This is very different from the Expanse. You will not have an Amos or an Avasarala here, though there is a character who may recall you of her. It's not only fantasy but the writing and unraveling of the plot are slower-paced and known to you. There is no found family and, obviously, there is no space nor the Rocinante. That being said, this book has plans within plans within plans. If you enjoyed the character exploration and development in the Expanse, the political intrigue, and how one plan could shake everything (and did), you may certainly enjoy this. Is this going to scratch that The Expanse itch? Probably not, but it is still an insanely good book.Kithamar is a center of trade and wealth, an ancient city with a long, bloody history where countless thousands live and their stories unfold. On the other hand, Sammish was a character I felt the closest to. Not many of us have lived the type of life these girls have. But even with that, what made Sammish’s character more relatable was that her feelings, issues, and vulnerabilities are ones that many people have encountered at some point in their lives. Somewhere we’ve had to work through that feeling of being left out or left behind, that feeling of wanting more from someone than we are being given. And it is working through these and coming to terms with these issues that we become the individuals we are today through. Overall, the exploration of her loneliness and desire to help the friend she knew (and not who she was becoming) was very well done and is why she became my favorite character. Age of Ash is a stunningly written, character driven story, centred on thieves, grief and dark magic. Abraham certainly knows how to enchant his readers and transport them to the city of Kithamar, a place of beauty and of forbidding secrets' Fantasy Hive Moreover, Abraham does a fantastic job introducing the main characters, Alys and Sammish. These characters are complex, troubled and are struggling with grief and their identity. While I didn’t necessarily love how these characters behaved at times, Abraham’s does make an effort in justifying their actions. Consequently, Age of Ash has some fantastic themes about grief, loyalty, family, friendship and overcoming hardships.

newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}}}\) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\) Compete in intense online games ranging and discover the fast-paced gameplay of Century : Age of Ashes! Dive into the arena alone or with friends and fight for your survival in exciting game modes: If you cut a tree trunk, the light spring wood and dark summer wood are clearly visible in bands around the tree. By counting each dark ring of summer wood you can find out how many growth cycles the tree had; giving you its age. Abraham's prose is beautiful and the early chapters where he is building the city for the reader were a joy to readelse, until she didn't know what she was mourning for except all of it. She was overwhelmed by a storm she couldn't see, but felt it beating at her from every direction.” What is the most captivating about the book is that while it is not so much character-driven, it definitely is character-dependent. And one of those characters is the city. It is always in the spotlight. We can see and smell its crooks and nooks, its best and worst; the city itself becomes a protagonist that can help you or kill you if you’re careless. It is also incredibly atmospheric.

Which radioactive isotope or isotopes would you use to date each of the following objects? Explain each of your choices.Grief and the inability to move on are central themes in Age of Ash, largely conveyed through Alys’ struggle to come to grips with her brother’s death. Abraham handles this in a realistic way, exploring these emotions and the effects they can have not only on one person, but everyone around them. While no one really goes into a book thinking, “yes, I shall read this for its thematic depth,” I feel it worth mentioning that the thematic work is stronghere. Being able to move on, to lay the past to rest, is explored not just through Alys but in several other unexpected ways throughout the book. The result is that Age of Ashis a thought-provoking read, perhaps the most thematically consistent book I’ve read since Joe Abercrombie’s The Heroes. The plot was also quite good, though I have to say that it meanders for a bit and sometimes it feels like you are just running around with characters. But there are some chapters that are SO GOOD. It's clear with this first in the Kithamar Trilogy that Abraham is on his way to giving us yet another must-read series Abraham’s latest book, Age of Ash, marks his return to writing epic fantasy novels on his own after his long and successful stint coauthoring The Expanse. It’s the first book in a new series called The Kithamar Trilogy, which explores fantasy in a way we’ve never quite seen before. We’re going to tell you a bit about that, as well as why we loved this book so much below.