I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Django Wexler makes cool worlds in his books that are very easy to see while reading. This is a cool one that has both high tech (leftover from a previous war between the Chosen and the ghouls) and magic in the the forms of deiat and dhaka. Only the centarchs (specially chosen by the Chosen before they fell) can use deiat, but anyone can use dhaka (which is why the Twilight Order, made up of centarchs, has banned it).

This story varies between the viewpoints of Maya (a centarch in training) and Gyre Halfmask who is trying to bring down the Order and the Republic because it is stifling and killing the people living there with its bans and rules against using dhak items. What is cool is that the dhak items are the high tech, like flight motivators, and core analytica. Plus the Chosen had skyships that crashed. Of course the dhakim use the tech to make plaguespawn and those aren't fun at all. They go around looking for more body parts to add to their own.

Between the darks parts of the dhakim and the corruption in the Twilight Order, I wasn't sure who to root for, so I rooted for both Maya and Gyre, who are trying in their separate ways to create a better society.

This is a good book to read and I cannot wait for the next one to come out as this one definitely ends on a cliffhanger!

Ashes of the Sun is a fast-paced, exciting epic fantasy that pits siblings against each other in an epic battle of good and evil. Four hundred years earlier the great civilization of the Chosen defeated the ghouls and their army of constructs, vanquishing them forever. On the ancient ruins of empire, a select few are trained from a young age to be the guardians of the Republic and carry on the traditions of the Chosen, the Twilight Order. They are trained to wield the light of the sun and graduate to become feared Centarchs, hardened to battle and exercising magical powers. Beneath the cities though in hidden tunnels and secret hollows are plague-spawn, Frankenstein like creations that combinations of all kinds of body parts. And, there are more fearsome things (like Tolkien-style Balrogs) that should not be awakened.

Two siblings are separated at a young age. The sister, Maya, is raised to become a Centarch. The brother was struck down trying to protect his five year old sister from being taken away. The brother, Gyere, is now a bandit and a rebel, willing to do anything to take revenge on the Centarchs. Having not heard from each other in twelve years, every reader knows they are on a collision course, a dangerous collision course.

Great world-building background with a lengthy glossary to help those not following everything. Lots of action. Very imaginative creations of plague-spawn and other constructs.

Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.

Great start to a series

I had previously read “The Shadow Campaigns” by Django Wexler and enjoyed the series, so I was optimistic about “Ashes of the Sun”. I wasn’t disappointed. The world-building is excellent, and the story is interesting and well-paced. There is good character development and some great action. I also enjoyed some of the lighter moments in the book and some of the banter between characters. I did find parts of the book confusing, but the glossary at the end of the book was helpful. Indeed, it is more backstory than glossary, with some extensive entries. I think that the glossary should be read first to learn the relevant history of the world created by Wexler.
Overall this is a very good read and I recommend it for fans of the genre. I look forward to reading other books in the series.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley for review purposes.

This will be the third Django Wexler book I've read this year, so I'm definitely on a roll! I had read a book by him before, but I think because it was the first in a long-ish series, I became intimidated and kind of let it slide. But I loved his new YA series and am looking forward to the final one in that coming out soon. Which made me all the more surprised when this, a beginning to a new adult series, suddenly popped up! I'm not sure how long of a series is planned, but based on this first book, I'm all in!

When his little sister, Maya, is taken away at age 5 by the powerful Twilight Order, Gyre's idealic family life is broken. Years of simmering anger build until he comes of age to make is own way. And that way includes spending every resource he has delving into the underworld of the Republic in search of a power strong enough to destroy the organization that stole his sister and, in many ways, controls his world. Maya, raised by the Order and on the bring of becoming independent, is committed to the ideals of her organization. Raised to believe that the Order protects and serves, Maya sees the good that she and her people can do for the common folk who are plagued by dangerous monsters. But as she comes closer and closer to striking out on her own, she begins to see cracks among her people and a corruption that may go deeper than she thought.

The world-building in this story is excellent. It almost seems to be set in a post-apocaptic version of the "Star Wars" universe. Kind of an odd comparison, but once you read the book, you'll totally see it. The author has a great afterward where he even states "Star Wars" as an influence, but it's so subtly done, that at no point does this in any way feel like a "Star Wars" book. So it feels both familiar as well as incredibly unique all at once. I really liked the glimpses we have into the history of this world, and there were a lot of great reveals that game out over the course of the story. Of course, most of these just raised more questions than they answered, but what else can you expect from the first book in a series?

I also really liked both Maya and Gyre. This is one of those rare, great examples of a book where the duel narrators are equally strong and compelling. Especially since they are essentially representing opposing forces. It's quite difficult to write two such characters and maneuver your reader into rooting for them both, a losing battle from the start. Gyre was perhaps a bit less sympathetic to start, but he definitely grew on me. And Maya is just the sort of bad-ass warrior women I gravitate towards. They also each had unique romance arcs that were at times quite unexpected.

The story is also action-packed from start to finish. It did take quite a while to get into the main conflict, with what felt like a bunch of side/mini quests taking up the majority of the first half. But as the main conflict begins to unfold, we see the importance of these early action scenes in setting the stage for the character choices are two leads make and how they end up where they are. Each also came with their own set of side characters, sidekicks, and enemies, so there was a lot of groundwork that needed to be laid out to really set the stage for the grand finale.

And while the grand finale itself was pretty intriguing, it was also clear that this was only the beginning. Sure, the current big bad was dealt with, but Maya and Gyre, while both questioning their own goals, are still clearly on opposing sides of a brewing conflict. I can't wait to find out where their adventures lead them next and how or if they will ever be able to find a middle ground between them.

Also, don't forget to enter to win an ARC copy of this book! I also had an e-book copy, so this is a completely fresh ARC ready and waiting for its first reader! Enter to win!

Rating 8: A rollicking adventure story with two fantastic leads at its heart.

(Link will go live July 10)

I loved this one! I especially liked the dynamic of the two sides being brother and sister and you see their development throughout the story, to the point where you don’t know if there’s a right side or wrong side. They both have good intentions but their views are so different that the struggle is discovering if they can meet in the middle for the sake of family.

I thought all the characters were great and multidimensional and the world building was really good. I can’t wait for the next book!

My experience reading this was one of pure frustration. I have a teething six-month-old and I couldn't figure out between the baby and the book which I wanted to be around less. I adore that little girl so imagine my feelings towards this book! I'm screaming on the inside.

The author notes that this book was inspired or influenced by Star Wars novels by the likes of Timothy Zahn and Chuck Wendig. I can get behind that. I truly felt Star Wars vibes while reading this. There's also an ability a character gains later on which is basically foresight from Mistborn.

This book is enjoyable. It is. You may think I'm crazy then after what I've said already but I am truly deeply torn over this.

I have a feeling that I was reading an uncorrected proof of the book. Aside from the fact that there are general placeholders, the first few chapters have obvious mistakes and there are also word choices that I found odd. One paragraph had a sentence with the world trudged followed by a sentence with the word nudged. Another chapter nearby had a similar rhyme going on. Little things like that pulled me out of the story. Roughly two-thirds of the way through the book I felt it needed an editor. The irony of course is that the author thanks his editor in the acknowledgments. Ouch. The final villain of the book also has an "I can't wait to cut you to shreds" line right before the battle which made me groan. It's not as bad as when James Bond villains reveal their plans but there's no care put into it. I know it's not going to happen by the villain saying it will. The battle, with all the build-up the book gives you in trying to discover what is going on, only last around a page and a half. It's an afterthought in a book with tons of battles.

The characters were great. One of the most important things is to have a great cast and no one disappointed. Every side character was equally fleshed out. I realized while I was reading that this is a world in which I wish I existed so that I could interact with these characters. I haven't felt this way since I read Harry Potter as a kid. I'm in my thirties so this is an extremely weird statement to be typing out but there it is. Kit was the one who did it for me. She was an absolute blast through and through.

One piece of uniqueness that this book presented to me was that there was no clear good side or bad side. I know you're saying that a lot of media covers that. Not like this. See, at its core, it is a book about a brother and sister separated as children. One becomes a thief and underground legend who wants to tear down the Twilight Order because he believes they don't care for the general public. The other ended up working for the Twilight Order, an ancient group that has magic swords and special abilities they channel from within. Similar to the Force. Their purpose is to defend humanity. There are politics and internal struggles within the Order which we learn more about as the story continues. Each chapter flips between the two of them until the end where the stories merge and each takes half a section. Admittedly, Maya's story carried my interest more than Gyre's. If Kit wasn't in it I would probably suffer a lot more. Gyre and his crew don't have the personal connection that Maya's team had with me. They were all good characters but If I had to read a single book about one or the other, I would choose Maya in a heartbeat. Kit is my equivalent to Ahsoka, Gyre to Anakin. I can watch Ahsoka do anything but there's only so much Anakin I can take.

Also, holy LGBT representation Batman!

I don't think there has been any other work I have ever read where there were so many openly gay or bi characters. When you do first find that out it happens very quickly. There are a few chapters where you learn one person is a lesbian, and suddenly this other person is gay as well, and then even a minor character is into women, and then this person goes both ways. It's rapid-fire information but it doesn't feel forced.

The fight scenes are plentiful. The author does a good job of making them descriptive but it was a detriment when the smallest battles of the story go on and on. There is also a lot of repetition. This is where I felt an editor should have stepped in. How often does a battle or event happen and then a character blacks out and wakes up somewhere? How often does Maya alone hit the floor after using up her powers? Does Drowning Pool need to make a song about her?

Like the actual Star Wars movies, this isn't perfect. Will I follow the rest of the story when it comes out? Absolutely. There's that fence that I'm sitting on. I'm throwing all the negative out there so that you look past it when you read this. The mystery, the characters, the dueling stories, the genre-mixing..it makes a compelling read. This is an LGBT friendly Fantasy version of Star Wars without Space. There also are no Ewoks. There are some furry ghouls though.

Thanks to the author, Orbit, and NetGalley for providing an advance copy for review.

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I started reading this book. I mean, yeah, I read the cover blurb and bits and pieces beforehand where the author mentioned working on this project, and I have read his <i>Shadow Campaigns</i> novels, so I had some idea of the kinds of themes and character driven storytelling that I'd probably find.

I didn't expect this to be Django Wexler's take on a <i>Star Wars</i> novel.

But around halfway through the book it clicked for me that that's what this was (Django outright confirmed this later as an inspiration in the Acknowledgments section at the end of the novel; in retrospect it should have been obvious the first time a firearm was referred to as a "blaster").

That aside, <i>Ashes of the Sun</i> is written from the points of view of two siblings, Gyre and Maya, who find themselves on opposite sides of global conflict that has been going in one form or another since the epoch of this world that Django has created. In brief, Maya is a representative of the Twilight Order, an organization that claims the responsibility of defending civilization against the threats of plaguespawn (monsters) and dhakim (arcana, magic) wheras Gyre is on the other end of the spectrum, believing that the Order deliberately suppresses knowledge of power that could be used against them, and is an authoritarian oppressor against the people they claim to protect.

Django weaves the narrative through both points of view in alternating chapters throughout the novel, taking you deep into the mind and motivation of both characters, and in this manner you find yourself rooting for both characters (and thus both sides of the spectrum in the conflict overall) equally. I've said in reviews of other works that I don't tend to like stories with multiple PoVs because I invariably found myself rooting for one story more than another. This isn't an issue here because both sides are always drawing your attention, so you never find yourself craving to get back to one side of the story over another. (I shouldn't be surprised, as Django has already proven his ability to do this with <i>The Shadow Campaigns</i> which had more than two PoVs overall)

Since we're on the subject, don't expect any large scale battles here. This very much is not a military fantasy novel, so we never see any massive engagements here, but don't think the action in this novel is any lesser for it. Django proves here that he is just as adept at sustaining single engagements here as he was massive battles in his previous series. (Although, I confess, there is a noticeable lack of Joe Abercrombie-like curses and invectives in this novel compared to the former, but I am very much nit-picking here and in any case Django has in my opinion accomplished exactly what he set out to do with this novel, that is, introduce us to this world and begin setting the stage for the conflict that will take us through the rest of this series).

So, yes, in a nutshell I think that's the most succinct recommendation I can give right off the bat. If a science-fantasy-esque take on good vs. evil (where both sides are "right" in different ways) then you should pick this one up. If you're a fan of his other works, you should pick this up as well. And, if you've never read a Django Wexler book before, this is a good one to start with as well.

This book was so much fun! Ashes of the Sun is up there with Dune mixed in LoTr goodness. You won’t regret picking this one up!
ARC publisher gave me and advanced copy for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher!

I received an uncorrected advance copy of Ashes of the Sun in exchange for an honest review. I'd like to thank Django Wexler and Orbit Books for the opportunity.

The first entry in the Burningblade and Silvereye series begins when Va'aht Thousandcuts - a centarch of the Twilight Order - turns up at a farm dwelling to take away a child from the family that resides there. The youth in question, five-year-old Maya, does not wish to leave the household. Unfortunately, as she suffers frequently from peculiar illnesses, she has no choice and will have to be raised as a member of the Twilight Order. Gyre, her eight-year-old brother, upon seeing his little sister resisting and screaming acts on impulsive and makes a foolhardy mistake in stabbing the centrach. This was a life-altering error to make as Va'aht Thousandcuts retaliates and leaves Gyre scarred for life.

"He was falling backwards, hitting the floor shoulder-first, feeling nothing but the searing agony in his face. He mashed his hand against it, and blood squished, torn skin shifting nauseatingly under his fingers. He only realised he was screaming when he had to stop to take a breath."

Ashes of the Sun follows the point of view perspectives of Maya and Gyre, alternating every chapter. After the prologue, the action recommences twelve years later. The siblings are living very different lives.

Maya is training to be a centrach under the guidance of Jaedia Suddenstorm. The Twilight Order follow the teachings of the Chosen and are the protectors of humanity. Members of the order can use a form of magic known as deiat and weild legendary blades called haken. Haken are akin to element-fused lightsabers. The magic that Maya can display is that of fire. We join her on her travels with her tutor and a fellow student trying to eradicate monstrous oddities called plaguespawn. Plaguespawn are described as "the product of a mad taxidermist, given the run of the contents of a butcher shop and human morgue."

Gyre hasn't seen Maya since the day she was taken away. He is now known as halfmask and operates in a gang of rebels who are extremely anti-state and authority. The mask her wears is to hide the hideous scar from when he lost his eye. Gyre has a seething hatred to authority but the Twilight Order in particular and will do all he can to oppose them and bring them down.

Ashes of the Sun was my first time reading a novel by Django Wexler and I was very impressed by the top-notch writing, quality storytelling, and the fine worldbuilding. In fact, I completely lost myself in Wexler's world. The concept intrigued me from the very start. Two siblings on opposite sides of a looming civil war in a dystopian, futuristic fantasy world. Will their paths cross? What will the consequences be if they do? What will they say when finally reunited?

There is a huge glossary of Burningblade and Silvereye unique words such as cognomen, unmetal, dhakim, panoply field, ghouls, the Chosen etc which may seem confusing initially but soon fit perfectly and make complete sense. If confused at any point though the glossary can be found at the rear of the novel and is extremely detailed and useful.

The members of the supporting cast were a joy to follow too. Most of whom have extremely colourful hair. Personal favourites were rival/soon to be centarch Tanax, love interest and arcanist Beq, rebel influencer Yarrow, and the amusing scout Varo. The latter frequently discusses how his friends have died in humorously horrific fashion on former missions. The mysterious, frivolous and kooky Kit Doomseeker is a belter of a character too.

Ashes of the Sun is a real high-octane, dystopian fantasy thrill-ride. The action throughout is scintillating. There are some extremely exciting showdowns, skirmishes, and fights against grotesque monstrosities. Some scenes are unpredictable and shocking too. There is a large amount of violence and gore but the way I envisaged it was extremely heightened and colourful. Almost like a mix between an ultraviolent anime and a futuristic JRPG like Star Ocean. This might just be the way my mind pictured it and there aren't any other reviews on Goodreads yet to see if anyone else visioned the action in this way too. The finale of Ashes of the Sun is fantastic and was completely thrilling. This novel acts as a complete standalone yet there is still so much to see and explore in Wexler's world and I'll 100% be continuing the adventure of Burningblade and Silvereye when the subsequent books are released. Highly recommended.

*Quotations used in this review are subject to change for the final release.

One of my colleagues who is a big fan will be reviewing this since he knows more about the author. Thanks.