Started the book but left it too late to finish and it expired. Thank you to the publisher for the Arc opportunity

This was a classic case where the synopsis of the book was amazing, but the book failed to deliver. The synopsis built this wonderful idea of a medieval fantasy around books and writing, but the book instead delivered a socio-political alternate history. The author's prose could generously be considered well constructed, but was generally just pretentious ramblings with little thought to how ideas should connect. It felt very much like the author had read Joyce Carol Oates, see how effective long beautifully written sentences can be, and then decided to only emulate the "long" part and forget to construct any sense.

The characters in the book and the shifting points of view don't work and don't do anything to make a reader invested in the story. There is too much exposition and yet even given all the exposition the different narrative arcs hardly fit together or relate. If you stick with it, the themes of Cadenza's fall from an intellectual haven into a drunken, abusive, corrupt society becomes clear, but again, by then the reader isn't invested, so it loses all impact.

I sadly had to dnf The Carnival of Ash at about 40%.
I was quite bored and I didn't really care for any of the characters .
I can see other people enjoying this book but I was not one of them.
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was looking forward to read this ARC as the description sounded enticing and I love reading fantasy/ Sci-Fi, especially when it promises a city full of libraries and books inhabited by poets.

The writing style of the auther is dividing. While it is lyrical and descriptive befitting the world in the book, it is hard to get into and frankly annoying at times. I really had to force myself to keep reading and not abandoning the book to de-scale the kettle or do something similarly pointless. However, there will be no doubt readers out there who beg to differ and appreciate the sophisticated use of language.

Whilst the writing is long-winding an descriptive, the characters are strangely underdeveloped and mediocre. I could not even be bothered to dislike them. In fact the most developed „character“ was the city itself. The story was not able to hold my interest, despite the odd bit of sexual content and torture thrown in to spice it up.

Talking about the above, whilst torture, rape, misogyny and violence do not disturb me (in fiction!) too much, others might be put off. A little content warning might not go amiss in this case.

Fazit: Pseudo „Game of thrones“ in a alternate italian literary society (but nowhere near as good as that sounds!).

*I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review*

I really wanted to like this book and truly think it has a lot of potential. The writing was really well done and had some great world building.

I do not like how the female characters in the book are consistently sexually objectified, and many of the male characters in the book are sexually violent and predatory.

Wow, where so I start?

I found the authors style a little hard to get on with to start, it did not flow well for me, though I admit that I soon got over that and let the characters and the stories slip over me.

I did not now what to expect, but the way the book is arranged, and how one story brings you bac to other characters through out the book intrigued me, as I wondered who would show up next. The characters are rich on both feeling and speech, each commanding their own voice, and none sounding like a simple repetition to another.

I would totally recommend this book though, the stories each pull you in, and you can not help but wonder where they will lead. A passionate and desolate look at the period in time, and a horrifying glimpse into the mind of a mob.

What seemed like a cool concept ended up going in an unexpected and unpleasant direction. Content warnings for, among other things, sexual violence, torture, and body horor -- all things I sincerely struggle with in books.. The writing style, while technically lyrical, is all dense and didactic at times, and what I was anticipating this to be a literary fantasy it ended up being more akin to dark historical fiction with a side of horror. Definitely mismarketed - while this story did not find its audience with me, I do feel that there are people who would enjoy this.

In a city run by poets and scholars, many lives intertwine through love intrigue, and politics.
I just want to start by saying I absolutely LOVE how Beckerlegge writes, the style is a poetic prose that rivals the Cadenzan poets of his book. It flows beautifully and is a joy to read.
However for me personally, I found that there were too many changing point of views. I felt like even at the end I still wasn't really sure what was going on because I found it hard to keep track of what happened to who. I think it might be a book that would work better for me reading it a second time (and I will do, the writing style alone is enough to bring me back!) , as now I already have an idea of the characters and subplots.
I think it is a beautifully written book and definitely do recommend it, however it is maybe more geared to someone with a slightly better memory than myself!

I received a free ARC from Netgalley and this is my honest review.

I wsnted to read this book based on the synopsis. The book didn't live up to its premise.

The writing was beautifully done with some exquisite descriptions. Yet overall, i wasn't drawn into the plot and found the book very slow going.

I wanted to like it but it just wasn't for me.

I had to stop reading this at 26%. While the book is very well written and the vocabulary exceptional, I didn't find myself truly hooked and found myself having to reread many passages over again. From what I read, it is a mixture of beautiful writing, comic relief, and a lot of politics between writers. It is interesting, but I kept getting lost and thus, not truly enjoying myself with this read as I wish I would have. I may revisit it in the future.

I received the arc through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

tw: suicidal ideation, gore, violence, sexual violence, physical violence, torture, rape, blood, murder, medical content, ableism, sexism, misogyny, fatphobia, abusive family

I want to preface this review by saying that based on the synopsis and the book being marketed as sff I expect this book to be very different than it ended up being. From the synopsis, I got the impression that I would be reading a story about giant libraries, poetry, that it's gonna be a magical fantastical story of poets and intrigue. However, this was a very dense, political alternate history about pretentious poets and society that threatens to destroy itself. It deals with very heavy topics, and despite being marketed in that way, this wasn't a fantasy story. This by itself isn't an issue, but take this into consideration before reading, and be mindful of the trigger warnings I listed.

The Carnival of Ash is a book about Cadenza, the city of words. In the city reside many poets, and we follow a plethora of characters, through whose perspectives we discover the corruption that runs deep in every part of the city. The book is divided into twelve parts (twelve cantos), and while I did enjoy the switching of perspectives in the second half of the book, in the first half it seemed slightly disorienting and confusing. It takes a while to understand how the stories connect, and while it works out well in the end, it made me bored at times and it made the pacing seem uneven. It also didn't help that I was expecting a different story, I might have enjoyed it more had I understood the concept earlier.

The things I liked about this book, were definitely the writing style and the worldbuilding. The writing style was intricate and rich, though maybe a bit too intense at times. I enjoyed the way Cadenza was unveiled, all the wonders and atrocities. I think that part was very well done, and I think there was a perfect amount of information given, and there was no info-dumping. I enjoyed some of the characters, mainly Carlo, and the characters that appear in the second half of the book.

Unfortunately, for every aspect of the book I liked, there were too many I didn't. Mainly the issue I had was how male-centered this book was. I understand that this is very much inspired by the historical period when society was patriarchal and largely misogynistic, but given that this is an alternate history I feel like that's something that the author could've avoided. From the first pages, the way that women were described, as breakable, delicate, frail creatures - to being objectified and described only in terms of body parts, I was uncomfortable. They are presented more like objects, targets of both desire and violence, and not as actual people.

This becomes very clear in the second part of the book, with our first female perspective. Hypatia, the character we follow, is presented in a way that seemed very misogynistic to me. There was sexual content that felt very uncomfortable and in this part in general, consent is very questionable. Hypatia is presented as a very traumatized woman, who the world keeps traumatizing further. And this was not written in a condemning way, and that's what was so uncomfortable. She is constantly forgiving and in my opinion further taken advantage of, despite the book presenting it like she is being done a favor. This part made me incredibly uncomfortable and made me want to stop reading this book entirely.

I pushed on, despite feeling uncomfortable. To give credit where it's due, I think the book gets better the more you read. The stories and the perspectives get more interesting, and the atmosphere of the book is different. While it's still dark, because the city is spiraling into chaos, I like that the characters who we follow are better in the latter parts. They feel less like pretentious poets who you don't want to root for, and more like real people whose motivations you understand. The unrelenting male gaze and the general favoring of men don't disappear, but the female characters we're following in the second half of the book are more well-rounded and well-written than Hypatia.

The book eventually comes together in the last part. Many of the characters' stories are now intertwined and we watch as the city crumbles onto itself no longer being able to sustain the corruption and the depravity that ruled for so long. I actually really enjoyed the ending, I think it was the only possible conclusion to such a story.

All in all, this book had a lot of potential but, unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. Many parts made me very uncomfortable, and the author made choices I truly didn't agree with. Had the author decided not to lean so heavily on "time period appropriate" sexism, this book would have been much better. I do think it's a shame, as I truly enjoyed some aspects of the book. Sometimes, just because something is "historically accurate" (even though this is a made-up Italian city) doesn't mean it's necessary. This might be more suited to someone who is a big fan of alternate history in fiction and can look past the issues I had while reading.

This is a very well written book. The language is beautiful, the descriptions very vivid. Some chapters are very dark, I read them with fright. Some others very amusing. One chapter had even a murder mystery (my favourite chapter). I also like the fact that not anything is as it seems. There are a lot of surprises.
What I did not like is the beginning and the end. The first chapter was very boring. Fortunately others were not. But the real problem was the end. Because there were loose ends. What happened with Silenzio or Lucia? Who was Gianni and what did he want? A lot of anticipation, a lot of guesses rested unanswered.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

Amazingly addictive read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read a digital arc in exchange for my feedback.

I was surprised to realize that I enjoyed this book. The author built an interesting world and characters that kept me turning the pages. However, the story is told from different perspectives like more than ten and it felt like the story of each character is short. But then, Cadenza as the city of poets is worth visiting through this book.

The Carnival Of Ash by Tom Beckerlegge tells the story of a city that never was in Italy. An alternative history about a city of poets and librarians - and I say alternative history instead of fantasy because it's definitely more alt-history with barely any fantasy elements.

Cadenza is a city run by poets with libraries everywhere. Each chapter is told from a different perspective, starting with Carlo Mazzoni who arrives at the city gates intent on redeeming his families name only to find that the poet-leader who could help with that is recently deceased.

What really stuck out with the story is that you never know what was coming next, which is mostly due to how the story is told. With every chapter following a new character (apart from the last), you learn about how the city functions, all the lies, deceit and underhandedness of those ruling the city both in the public eye and those in the background. With so much worldbuilding going on with all the points of view, splitting them down into chapters of their own made it more of an interesting read than having a particular character's arc split over many and getting lost between constantly switching back and forth between multiple characters. Each chapter is split into multiple sections, but you get a story before moving on to the next. It became enjoyable to notice little bits that tie some of the characters together even if it was just through the mention of a name. Every story brings something new to the story and the city of Cadenza.

All the chapters eventually come to a head in the final chapter where everything meshes together. As the title and cover allude to, the city turns to ash as all those libraries are great for fires. All the grandiose aspirations of the poor and the rich in Cadenza are ripped apart in flame and destruction. A fitting end for a city that is full of corruption and depravity with there being little room for you to feel pity for any of the characters other than perhaps the gravedigger Ercole who you first meet in the very beginning.

Some characters I could read an entire book on. Not all, some I was glad to move on from. Some provided an interesting insight into why the city is like it is, why characters are like they are. Some I wanted more and was disappointed when the story then moved on to following someone else. The changes of pace with each chapter though kept things interesting to various degrees.

The Carnival Of Ash is a book that will divide readers. It'll either be loved or hated. There's no real character to root for, no one to get you going throughout. With the many points of view, some with seemingly little relevance to what came before it or after, it might become a struggle for some. But stick around for the finale and you can see it all come together. It might not be the ending that people want, but you see where everything was leading, finally. Really, I think that's the main problem - you can't tell where the book is going other than with the slight hint in the title and cover.

There are also some very dubious parts that some people won't like. I'm surprised the book didn't come with some sort of warning. There's not just physical violence, but torture (sexual torture along with things like cutting out tongues), sexual violence, stalking, sexism (which for the time period it's set in is not a surprise), and a lot of other very questionable thoughts and actions. It wasn't a problem for me, but you can definitely see some people not wanting to read further in some parts. Some bits needed less detail and to just be implied. Then it might be a bit more palatable for some.

If you can get through it, the final pay off chapter brings everything together well, closing of the book along with the city of Cadenza. The prose was engaging, the world-building was brilliant, and the premise was incredible. Sure, not all of it landed, but there's enough there to keep me going to the final payoff. It won't be to everyone's tastes and that's okay. It's dark and engaging in a way I wasn't expecting, where the real star of the book is the city rather than the characters.

Rating: 4.5/5

I really tried, but I couldn't. I had to DNF at 10%. The concept of a city of books is fascinating, and was the main reason why I requested an ARC, but the choice to begin the story with the stereotypical "young angsty drunk poet" doesn't help maintain the reader's interest. The focus on that character makes the reading experience tedious and impossible to enjoy.
As others have pointed out, this is not really a fantasy novel. That means the marketing text is misleading.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4183023496

Phenomenal world-building. Cadenza came alive. However I felt like there were too many points of view, and those too were mostly male. A very male-gaze-oriented book. There ought to be a trigger warning as the sexual torture scenes made this highly unlikeable. I almost wanted to stop reading after the torture sections. This book was not for me.

I’ve opted to DNF this book; I made it to 65%. It was difficult to push through as far as I did; I had resolved to finish the book for the purposes of writing a full and complete review, but ultimately some of the body horror content led me to put it down.

What I appreciate about this book: I appreciate when a book’s world-building is so intricate that the city becomes, in a sense, the lead character of the book: Cadenza was developed in this way, and the multiple POV storytelling gave a thorough and multi-faceted portrayal of the city. Beckerlegge’s writing style is, I think, well suited to a book in which many of the characters are poets.

What didn’t work for me: A section which very graphically described a plague quarantine building in which various forms of torture, including sexual torture, were occurring led me to put it down. This book calls for pretty much every content warning one can come up with. It was also not what I expected at all based on the description – maybe I just didn’t read far enough, but in the first 65% there were really no fantasy elements in the book; it was a historical fiction novel focused on the power politics of a fictionalized Italian city. The premise – the politics of a city of poetry – I was very much intrigued by, but ultimately the book didn’t quite live up to my excitement for the premise.
A POV is never returned to as far as I can tell, which was an interesting storytelling strategy; I ultimately thought it worked, giving many angles on the city, though I did think that some of the POVs were far more compelling than others – some I thought could’ve been entire books unto themselves, while others I could’ve done without.

Finally, and most seriously, I have some deep reservations with how gender is depicted in this book. The city depicted is deeply patriarchal and most of the POV characters are men – neither of these factors is necessarily a problem in and of itself; however, these combined with a few other issues do add up to a serious problem as far as I’m concerned. The female characters in the book are consistently sexually objectified, often described in terms of body parts and physical appearance and little else. Women in this book are not developed into multi-faceted individual personalities at all. On top of this, a significant number of the male characters in the book are sexually violent and predatory, with women for the most part only present in the book as victims of male characters’ violence. The result is a pervasive sense that women, in this book / city, exist only to be subject to violence and are described almost exclusively by way of misogynist commentary. On this basis, I cannot recommend this book.

Content warnings: physical violence, sexual violence, torture, rape, body horror, blood, gore, forcible confinement, stalking, medical content, ableism, sexism, misogyny, fatphobia

I had mixed feelings about this book. The writing was lovely, though I could understand how it could be a bit much for some people. It definitely wasn't a "fun" read but the writing style very much fit what I enjoy to read. The premise was interesting but the execution could have been better. If I didn't enjoy the flow of the book as much I probably wouldn't have finished because the storylines just weren't there for me.