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

Product Information

The opening to this book reminded me of The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, another fantasy book set in a single city, revolving around a band of thieves. The general handling of queerness could have been a little bit more inclusive; one of the main characters is sapphic, and it’s not a problem for her, but it’s also just sort of… ignored? Abraham describes each ward of the city in some detail, with the close but poor community of Longhill standing in contrast to the rich, privileged nobility living west of the river. If you’re after something with a plucky thief uncovering secrets in a wonderfully complex and textured city, I’d recommend picking up The Gutter Prayer for something truly original!

The city of Kithamar is as much a character in this story as any of the people we follow - I feel like I know my way through the streets because it just came to life as I was reading. Originally a part of the same pick pocket crew as Alys, Sammish’s unrequited love for the main character is what draws her in to the conspiracies surrounding Darro’s death.

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. This was a satisfying book that would work as a standalone but I would want to spend more time in this world. However, as the book develops, other POV characters appear with varying degrees of prominence, which feels like it does mix up the flow at times.

Sometimes it is impossible to pin down when one ends, and another begins because the grand change is merely an effect of small things that add up.

To give a little background the book starts with the murder of the brother of one of the two main characters who live the large city, and only setting of the book, Kithamar. I love fantasy books that are more confined, instead of a gigantic fantasy world, so this one was right of my alley.

Some cool concepts were hinted at or introduced, but we didn't really get enough information to get me really invested. Initially, it kind of felt like the author had taken a similar tack to Abercrombie, thinking that you can have a bunch of characters sitting around a fire doing nothing and it’ll be riveting, but that’s not exactly it. Our other main characters, Adomanka and Tregarro, are it’s foremost members and although I wouldn’t class either characters as the “villains'' in this story, (their motives are far more complex than that), their powers dabble in the use of dark magic, sacrifices and blood, which I found unnervingly creepy. Meanwhile, Sammish’s unrequited love for Alys forces her to confront the dark currents that threaten to sweep up A 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.You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

I had a massive TBR in between me and this book, but kept finding myself opening it to read a couple pages at a time. Age of Ash is the first book in a fantasy trilogy set in the city of Kithomar with a plot setup centering around gangs of orphans who set about pickpocketing the populace, mysterious witches, and a knife of power. That’s how Sammish’s story begins, but when her narrative leads her down some strange paths, people suddenly take notice. The three novels of the Kithamar Trilogy take place in the same year, but are told from different characters’ perspectives.This smart, absorbing, fascinating military fantasy, exciting and genuinely suspenseful, will keep readers on their toes. Also I don't think this book is super action packed/battle heavy but rather is more about the intrigue and mystery - I actually prefer this but I just wanted to raise it so you know what to expect! I am going to add a bit under my review in case anyone who was an Expanse fan wants to know if this is for them.