This story follows a few different characters in the city of Kithamar we follow Alys a young thief who lost her brother early in this book who takes up the work he was doing before he died. While taking up this work Alys ends up in over her head with rituals and murder. Alys throughout this book is trying to figure out who murdered her brother and what the people she is working for are up to.
I wanted to like this book but I had a very hard time getting into it. This book is very slow paced and character driven. There is a basic straight forward simple plot but the amount of description of the town and the characters made this book hard for me to read. This story is mostly set in the slums of Kithamar and it’s pretty bleak and sad. I will say that I did enjoy the character development but felt that the pacing was just off on this one. I also really liked where the plot is going in this series so I do plan to pick up the next book. I would like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to review this book. I enjoyed it overall. It could be somewhat slow-paced in my opinion with the settings, but that could be a personal thing. Overall, this was a good book that I would recommend. I look forward to any sequels! 3.8 stars!

Quite an interesting overlay to begin a trilogy. The author gets quite a bit of praise for his character development and story line build ups, which arm appropriate!

New trilogy from one half of the James S.A. Corey duo? Definitely interested. Disclaimer: I don’t think I read beyond Leviathan Wakes in The Expanse series, but maybe I’ll go back one day. For now, though, let’s talk about Age of Ash. Abraham sets us up to expect heists, recrimination, and plenty of intrigue. I would say that this book mostly delivers, though I could see how there is room for disappointment depending on the type of expectations one goes in with.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the eARC!

Kithamar is a city on the river. It was a meeting place, though now the two major ethnicities live mostly peaceably side by side. Ruled by a prince (the term is gender neutral in Kithamar), the city has its share of the poor and disadvantaged. Alys and Sammish both fall into this category. They grew up in Longhill, the poorest district. After Alys’s brother Darro dies mysteriously, Alys vows to discover who killed him and why. This leads her down a dangerous path, putting her in the employ of a man and a woman from Green Hill—the richest district—and stretching her morals to their limits. Meanwhile, Sammish’s unrequited love for Alys forces her to confront the dark currents that threaten to sweep up Alys in their wake. And the city of Kithamar does not slumber—it is completely, personally awake.

It took me a while to get into Age of Ash (and a while longer to finish it, but for once that was entirely scheduling and nothing to do with the book!). The plot is a rather slow burn, and Abraham’s writing style is heavy on description. As a result, I was well over a fifth of the way into the book before I started seeing the bigger picture—but what a picture it is.

The main plot might be the least interesting part, and it is still very good. I won’t go into much detail so as to avoid spoilers. Suffice it to say, there is a dark secret at the heart of the city and its leadership. But the people who maintain this secret have enemies who want to see them fall. Abraham implies that these people aren’t very good, but it’s also unclear if their fall would really be all that better than the system that currently exists.

To be honest, though, I cared way more about what was happening to Alys and Sammish. The book starts off with Alys as the viewpoint protagonist. But she becomes an increasingly unsympathetic character, and Sammish more sympathetic, as the story goes on. This is a brilliant piece of storytelling on Abraham’s part. Alys’s obsession with holding on to the memory of her brother at first threatens to mould her into her brother—yet as Sammish points out later in the book, Alys actually goes much further. The changes are subtle and gradual enough that we can see Alys leaving behind her Longhill roots. We can also see her relationship with Sammish faltering.

Never even friends, more colleagues, Alys and Sammish’s relationship is strained for most of this book. Again, I find myself praising Abraham’s decisions here. What could have been a very simple unrequited love story turns into something more nuanced. As Alys grows distant and more cutthroat, Sammish at first tries to convince herself that she doesn’t care. In reality, she cares quite a bit. And so their relationship goes through ups and downs as each learns more about the secret of Kithamar in their own time and own ways. I like that these two are at odds more than they are aligned, and that the book gradually pivots from being wholly Alys’s story to including Sammish too—I think a good argument might be made that Sammish is more the protagonist than Alys even.

So much epic fantasy focuses on the princes of realms. He is present here, kind of, but the book is actually about the most invisible members of Kithamar society. That, too, is not new to fantasy at all—yet Abraham writes it in a way that feels very refreshing. Having read Age of Ash, I feel satiated, like I just had a full and delicious meal. I’m not exactly hungry for the next book, but I would read it just to see where Abraham goes with this world next.

I try not to judge books based on other works by the author as every title should be able to stand on its own merit, but I found it hard to separate my love of The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey when I was reading Age Of Ash by one half of that writing duo, Daniel Abraham.
Being the first part of a trilogy set in a wholly new fantasy world is always going to come with a lot of hurdles, but having the Kithmar Trilogy be named after the grand city setting is a good indicator that the location is going to be just as important as the characters.

That leads me to what I didn’t like about this book; the characters. I really struggled to care about any of them. I tried, I wanted to, but despite everything I never found them likeable enough to cheer for or despicable enough to root against, they were just there.
Opening salvos often take their time establishing a cast, I didn’t love Locke or Jean immediately in The Gentleman Bastards and it took me nearly half a book to get a feel for Kvothe in The Kingkiller Chronicles. The difference is that by the end of the first book in those series I was completely invested in their journeys. I know their names, I know who they are, despite not having a new entry in either series in the better part of a decade.
The frustrating thing about this is I know for a fact Abraham is capable of not just writing characters I know but ones I absolutely love and did from their very first chapters. I refuse to believe all of that work was done by the other half of his pseudonym, Ty Frank, I have read enough interviews with the pair to know they are equally as responsible for The Expanse’s cast of characters.

It is telling to me that while I couldn’t recall any character names off the top of my head I knew the name of the city of Kithamar without even thinking about it.
It’s a huge cliche that the location is a character unto itself but in this instance I don’t have the vernacular to describe it any better. Kithamar is a vibrant, living city filled with real people who have interesting lives, even if the particular lives we follow I didn’t personally find interesting.
The political and social structure is rich and I really felt like I had a good sense of how the denizens of this cultural hub felt about each other and how a day to day interaction might play out depending on who was involved, where it occurred and at what time of day.

This deep world building was excellent and something I greatly appreciate in fiction, but disconnected from strong character work it left me feeling hollow. I struggled through Age Of Ash after having it high up on my most anticipated for the year.
Normally a disappointment like this would put me off continuing with the trilogy but Daniel Abraham has garnered enough of a good will cache with me that I will read at least the second book. Hopefully with the heavy lifting out of the way I will enjoy it more and it will make this one better retroactively. If not, I will be able to to write it off as simply not for me.

I have some mixed feelings about Age of Ash, but a lot of what Daniel Abraham does well still ended up shining through and I thought this was a solid first entry to the series in the end!

For in-depth thoughts (spoiler free) see my video review, linked below!

Age of Ash
I want to thank the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this book.
The characters and story were very vivid and well formed. The world was very dark and depressing. I don’t normally read and enjoy such distressing books. I continued only because of the promise to review.
I might read the next books in the trilogy if the plot is a bit more upbeat.
I’m currently reading The Expanse (4th book) series and find the stories have the hope of happier prospects.

I honestly didn't know what to expect when I first started Age of Ash. The blurb didn't really explain too much so what I went off was that the author also co wrote The Expanse, that the cover art was kinda cool, and that those two elements combined piqued my interest- and oh boy am I glad that I checked it out. Set in the city if Kithamar we are interoduced to Alys, a young woman living in the poorest parts of the city and making her money through con work and thievery. All in her life is predictable and consistent until the day her older brother's corpse is found in the river that flows through the city. Now wracked with grief and anger, Alys throws herself into the task of finding out how and why her brother was killed, only to find out that what her brother was involved with may have been more dangerous than she could have imagined. Simultaneously, we follow Sammish, a notably unnoticeable young woman who has spent years pining after Alys and throws herself at the opportunity to help her friend (and crush) avenge her brother. But as they both get more and more involved in his past work, Sammish begins to realize just how twisted the path Alys walks down is.
I really enjoyed this book- the characters were engaging and the way they changed and developed over the course of the story felt real to me. Especially Sammish, the way she developed in this book from a shy, love-stricken girl who lives in others shadows to who she finishes the book as had my attention from beginning to end. I loved following her and watching her progress, especially through the lense of her relationship with Alys- who had some very interesting development as well.
The way we see grief and loss blind her to what her actions mean both frustrated me and broke my heart. While I do wish that her actions had some more direct consequences, I appreciate for the most part where her story went and where we left her at the end of the book. The one issue I really had with her is that we had such little time between her and her brother before he was killed that I was a bit confused at times as to why his death impacted her so much. We were never really shown how close they were aside from one specific moment from the beginning and aside from that it felt like I was never really convinced of the love Alys had for him. I wish that we spent more time with her brother (Darro) and Alys together before his death so that this relationship was better established and Alys' late actions felt like they made more sense.
The plot itself was coated with mystery and the ending left me with so many questions in the best eay possible. There are so many questions that I want answered that there's no question over whether or not I'll be reading the sequel. I'm too investing in figuring out why the knife is so important, what the smoke/shadow monster is, and what the truth behind the city and it's history is to just leave it. I also can't wait to see where Sammish's story leads her and how Alys' actions will further impact the story.
While I can't say that this book marks the start of a new favorite series, this is still something that captured my interest and left me wanting more. I genuinely can't wait to see where book 2 takes us and the questions that will be answered then.

Age of Ash
by Daniel Abraham
Published on 02/15/2022
Audiobook Narrator: Soneela Nankani

** I was given this E-Arc copy of Age of Ash by NetGalley and Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review. **

Synopsis: Age of Ash is the first in a new trilogy by Daniel Abrahah, a co-author of The Expanse series. This book is written from the POV of several different characters but finally settles upon two primary POVs: Alys and Sammish, who are two friends that live in one of the poorer neighborhoods of Kithimar. The story begins after Alys' brother Darro is murdered and Alys finds a dagger and some gold coins within Darro's secret apartment. Alys and Sammish then work to understand who murdered Darro and why. As they begin to learn the truth, larger truths about the city they live in begin to unravel as well.

Thoughts: After getting this e-arc, I was incredibly excited to read this one. I had heard so many good things about The Expanse series and I really wanted to try one of their books. I was incredibly disappointed. I appreciated the writing style but that's where my praise ended. The characters were not very interesting and honestly, I found myself apathetic to what they were doing or what would happen to them. I also found the descriptions brought the city to life and created the start of a very atmospheric tale but I do think the author was a bit too detailed. The details drowned out the storyline making the plot slow and for me, ultimately insufferable. At the 50% mark, I realized that I was bored. Although I had traversed over 200 pages into the book, very little had happened and although I recognize this is the first in a series, I still need something that's going to hold my attention and keep me intrigued. This book did not offer that for me. Unfortunately, I did decide to not finish it. Perhaps in the future, if I hear the continuation of the series is worth it, I might pick it back up but for now, I cannot finish it.

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.

I struggled getting into this book mostly because of the long descriptions of the story starting off all of the chapters. I felt like the city was more of a character than any of the people that we were following.

While I do like Daniel Abraham's writing, I was lost trying to find a plot in this story. He has a way with description that is absolutely beautiful, but it was the only part of the book pulling me in. The characters and plot left me wanting more, and I felt very little intrigue to continue on.

This one could be a hit for some people, and I even think I would have loved it in the right mood. But be prepared for a slow start with lots of world dumping.



Thanks to Netgalley and Orbit Books for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the two other series of Daniel Abraham's - The Dagger and Coin and The Long Price Quartet - so was looking forward to his new fantasy series with anticipation. Thanks to Orbit Books and Netgalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To me, Abraham's strength is in his worldbuilding and Age of Ash exhibits that well. The different neighbourhoods that make up the ancient city of Kithamar- Longhill, Green Hill, Newmarket, Riverport, Seepwater, Stonemarket, Riverside etc. are described with care complete with socioeconomic delineations. The alleyways, the extensive temple of the Daris Brotherhood, the grimy river, the butcher, the knife sharpener; all of these are rendered alive in the mind's eye. Having said that, it took awhile before the story sank its addictive claws into me, which occurred around the two thirds mark.

Alys and Sammish are two young girls belonging to a gang that runs 'pulls' in crowds, essentially pickpocketing and petty theft. They live in impoverished Longhill with its own street culture and code of ethics, surviving by their wits. A pull goes wrong and they are pursued by a City Guard, luckily saved by Alys' older brother Darro. Darro's body is later found and Alys attempts to take over his work and lodgings to process her grief. Both Alys and Sammish become entangled in long buried secrets of Kithamar, embroiled in political intrigue and dark magic.

I like how the book pulls no punches when describing the effect of poverty on the Longhill inhabitants. It's intergenerational as shown by Alys' mother Linly as well as a group that grooms generations of orphans and street rats. This is reminiscent of the Gentleman Bastards by Scott Lynch. In this setting, I found some of Alys' capers not quite plausible, such as the time she successfully pulls off a reckless wild bluff when facing ruthless slave smugglers and hardened mercenaries. As always, the characters that captured my interest were the older ones with life experience:- Andomaka, Saffa Rej, Linly, Tregarro <spoiler> the being that can live infinitely via metempsychosis </spoiler>.

Alright alright alright alright.

This was an all-around neat package. Characters well-made, nuanced and evolving. Worldbuilding distinct and present and intricate, but not overwhelming or burdensome. If anything, the story is the slow part, but I didn't mind that.

Kithamar is a harsh city in a harsh world, and the members of its disadvantaged ethnic group live a nasty, brutish, and short existence if they aren't skilled or ruthless enough to make ends meet.

Our first main character is Alys. She starts as the would-be hero, a slum rat and petty thief who sets out to unravel a mysterious shadow plot at the heart of the city and avenge her dead brother.

Our second main character is Sammish. She starts as a nobody, a person with no people and no place who follows Alys as her mindless shadow because she has a crush.

As we go on, the city's shadow plot became more interesting and creepier. Alys became someone I don't like, and then maaaaybe redeemed herself. Sammish went from nameless and faceless to being the strongest, most dynamic person here. Overall, the character arcs were impressive.

The plot mystery really doesn't take hold, in my experience, until more than halfway through the book. Up until then, you're just following the girls as they try to find their way in the world. When I started to see the threads of meaning come together, though, it was good. The creepiness here is compelling, and I really want to see what happens next.

We don't even find out who stole the knife in the first place, or if the prince took the throne knowingly or on accident, or what the (view spoiler). What will it do now!? Clearly the conspiracies here run deeper than we know.

The narrative tied off the girls' story in a way that seems neat, but left plenty of worldbuilding questions open, which I really liked. Making each book in a series feel satisfying enough that it justifies my time as a reader, yet leaves me wanting more is, I think, one of the highest authorly art forms.

I kind of hope the next book picks up with some new characters to take us further into the story.

After reading the Expanse wanted to dive into Abraham's solo work, was not disappointed. Excited to see where this story continues.

I almost have a massive TBR pile in my apartment these days that I'm slowly trying to work my way through, but when a new Daniel Abraham book releases I have to drop whatever I'm reading to pick it up. I've yet to read a book by Daniel Abraham that I didn't fall in love with almost immediately and this book is no exception. I found Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham to be everything I wanted it to be and more. It's been a while since I've read a book that kept me awake till 6 AM when I should have been sleeping before work but this one definitely did that to me.

I've always thought of Daniel Abraham as one of the masters of both world and character building and Age of Ash definitely shows this to be true. Alys is easily one of my favorite new characters of the last few years and her struggle with grief hit me really fucking hard. I honestly don't know that I've seen an author manage to so perfectly describe the grief of losing someone and having to figure out how to survive after they're gone as Abraham has done here. Add to that a fantastically detailed city and the world and you have the makings of an amazing book and series.

Normally I would touch on the things I may not have liked or enjoyed about a book when I'm reviewing it but as I sit here writing this I can't think of anything that really stands out. I loved every moment of this book and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for something to read. It's a wonderful introduction to Daniel Abraham and I think anyone who reads this book will soon follow up with the other series he writes. I burned through Age of Ash way too fast and now I don't know how I'm going to survive the wait for the next book in the series. I'll probably buy and listen to the audiobook in the next day or so

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When a book blends a compelling setting, excellent character growth, a fascinating combination of magic and religion, and leaves me with more (intriguing) questions than answers, it is an easy five stars. Abraham's writing is everything everyone says it is - clear, concise, and very digestible.

Alys is a thief in the city of Kithamar, along with her friend, Sammish. When her brother is violently killed, she quickly finds herself in over her head as she explores magical and political forces alike. Alys must process her grief while determining exactly who she would like to be and where she draws the line in her pursuit of revenge.

I loved the portraits here, and was engaged even when we had brief vignettes that led us to consider the impact of political machinations on the everyday life of people in Kithamar. The number of small character appearances and their purpose in telling the story became clearer over the course of the book, to the point that everything felt extremely well plotted and intentional, another element I love in any story.

This is my first Daniel Abraham novel and it won't be my last.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for a honest, fair review.

As a lover of science fiction, I can appreciate the breaking of the status quo. Every so often, genres like cyberpunk or post-apocalyptic fiction came in to stir shit up and make it messier, so to say. But fantasy, I’ve found, is much more comfortable resting on its laurels—challenges to foundational fantasy conventions have been slower, and few and far between. In the last decade or so, though, the intention from authors to actively challenge fantasy’s history has been growing.

Daniel Abraham’s newest novel Age of Ash, book one in The Kithamar Trilogy, seems to do just that. It tackles the notion of “epic fantasy,” questioning the epic-ness of it all and how big battles and a fast pace have come to dominate that landscape. But beyond that, Age of Ash is a heartfelt story that grounds itself in genuine characters in grim circumstances. What follows is a novel that is epic in its ideas and execution, but relatable in its perspectives and emotions.

At the center of it all are the main point-of-view characters: Alys and Sammish. They live in a destitute neighborhood in the sprawling city of Kithamar. The city is seemingly endless in its alleyways and architectural styles, but it also has divisions and complexities born from cultural and economic differences. Discrimination runs deep, and Alys and Sammish live on the unfortunate shit end of the stick. As a result, they and the people around them in their neighborhood run “pulls,” robbing people to survive. These aren’t thieves by nature, but rather by necessity. The only other option? Work small hustles for greedy folks, like collecting cans of piss at night for a tanner.

What is great about Age of Ash though, is that it was so down-to-earth in its approach to perspective. Alys and Sammish are scrounging at the bottom, and so too are we as readers—it gives a real bottom-up view of Kithamar. On top of that, both Alys and Sammish have unique personalities and, while both of them were dealt crappy cards in life, they navigate things in different ways.

This is where grief comes into play. Grief is central to their lives, stemming from different sources but hitting just as hard emotionally. I won’t spoil anything there, as it provides the main thrust of the novel for both Alys and Sammish, but this believable portrayal of grief made me empathize and connect with the characters in a meaningful manner. I wanted to see how their traumatic spirals played out and I wanted to feel their pain, in a strange way.

On that note, I will say that Alys’ descent into grief was frustrating at times. She is straight up an asshole for a portion of the book, and my empathy for her floundered. It was during those sections that I leaned harder into Sammish. But thinking back on it, I realized that my disdain for what Alys had become was purposeful, and it represented something a lot of people go through when they are grieving: they are detached, unpredictable and often shitty to those who love them most.

Beyond Alys and Sammish, there are a ton of wonderful characters in Age of Ash, but the standout for me is the city of Kithamar itself. The city feels alive, with a rich texture to its organization and districts, cultures and commerce, food and drink. Then there are the politics and history of the matter, with those feeding into the city in a fantastic narrative feedback loop. It is also vital to the plot, which Abraham has deftly woven into the fabric of Alys’ and Sammish’s lives. There are political maneuvers, shady characters, assassination attempts, shadowy rituals and all manner of appetizing storytelling goodies to savor.

But that brings me to my biggest criticism, which is pacing. The story carries a heavy load, for sure, laying the foundation for an entire trilogy. Yes, Alys and Sammish are front and center, and the characters revolving around them fit well in their orbit, but there are noticeable lags in the flow. I felt myself plodding along during some sections, like the meandering river that flows through Kithamar’s heart. But other times I would be thrust along in a beautiful rush of excitement. There was just something off at times with how the story progressed, but thankfully it didn’t pull me out of the book or take away entirely from Age of Ash’s true successes.

And what a success it is. After more than a decade co-writing the truly epic Expanse series with Ty Franck, Daniel Abraham delivers a powerful new solo work that redefines what epic can mean in the realm of fantasy. The stakes are more localized, and the perspectives intimate, but the potency of them rings true in the legacy of this genre. With a gorgeous and vivid setting, a history layered with darkness and mystery, main characters whose dirty, cold shoes I can and want to put myself in, as well as consequential moments of cutthroat action or violence, Age of Ash marks the start of something special. If Abraham’s newest trilogy aims to twist some of the tried-and-true tropes in the fantasy genre, then it’s off to a damn good start.

The new novel from Daniel Abraham proves the enduring appeal of magical feudal times. As one of the creators of The Expanse and a frequent collaborator with George R.R. Martin of Game of Thrones — often adapting him for graphic format—Abraham has both hard science fiction and feudal fantasy in his locker and it’s the latter that he whips out for his new trilogy.

https://bookandfilmglobe.com/fiction/book-review-age-of-ash/

As a big fan of The Expanse series, which is co-authored by Daniel Abraham, I was excited for this new release fantasy solo project of his. The premise sounded very intriguing so when the chance to get an arc came up I jumped on it. It sounded like a murder mystery intertwined with fantasy and that is something I love. In fact the way that was executed in The Justice of Kings was almost perfect. However, what I got with Age of Ash left quite a bit to be desired.

First of all let me say that I don't think this is a bad book or poorly written. I think it has a lot of things that just didn't appeal to my personal taste and maybe one or two strange character choices. I know Abraham books start slow, but honestly this never kicked into gear in my opinion. Some cool concepts were hinted at or introduced, but we didn't really get enough information to get me really invested. Things are kept so mysterious it's hard to get a grasp on what the stakes are or why things are important. We know there are at least a couple factions at play, but what the consequences are for each side is not really explored.

I will however give credit where credit is due. Even if his characters and storytelling in this particular book weren't to my taste there is no doubt that Abraham can write. There were many passages and sentences that I thought were extremely well crafted. Additionally I think its very gutsy to set a fantasy story like this in a single city state without an expansive world and cultures for world building depth. Abraham gets plenty of depth out if Kithamar and it feels very real with different cultures and norms among its inhabitants. Also he is very adept at introducing us to these things naturally without any info dumps. And finally, despite wanting to know more about the magic and the lore since it was kept at arms length, I will say I thought it was a very cool idea that I hadn't seen in a lot of fantasy books. Overall 3.5 stars

Thank you so much to Orbit and NetGalley for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book! Alys and Sammish were interesting POV characters and it was so interesting to see the different paths each took out of love for someone. Alys definitely was frustrating to me for a large part of the story but it was still fascinating to see her evolution throughout the plot, and was definitely a prime example of someone doing the wrong things because they're under the impression that it was right or for a good cause. Her ending kind of came full circle and I loved where she ended up.

Sammish was such a sweet character, and was my favorite of the two. The things that she went through out of love, first for someone else and then for herself, were great. Her ending was honestly perfect, and I hope to see her in future installments of the series.

The worldbuilding did kind of feel like it was on the backburner. I can't say I came out of this story with a good idea of the world, the people in it, or the magic system, but I did end up loving the characters themselves which was why I enjoyed it as much as I did. The "bad guy" also didn't feel particularly fleshed out, but I expect that to change in later books as we find out what it's motivations are and where it will end up next.

I definitely enjoyed this and gave it a 4 out of 5 stars! I love the writing of the author duo James SA Corey, of which Daniel Abraham is half, so I'm excited to say that I enjoy his writing alone, as well, and look forward to the rest of the series.

Abraham wrote a wonderful entry to his Kithamar trilogy. I enjoyed the characters and the plot was interesting enough that I found myself unable to put the book down.

Do I recommend it? Yes! But if you're the type of person who strives for more action than a slow burner character driven plot, then I would definitely pass this

As for me, I'll certainly be picking up the second book since the world was just so captivating and I'm excited to find out what's next for city of Kithamar