An Ember in the Ashes

By: Sabaa Tahir

Narrated by: Aysha Kala, Jack Farrar

Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, An Ember in the Ashes is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his freedom. It's a story that's literally burning to be told.

What if you were the spark that could ignite a revolution? For years Laia has lived in fear. Fear of the Empire, fear of the Martials, fear of truly living at all. Born as a Scholar, she's never had much of a choice.

For Elias it's the opposite. He has seen too much on his path to becoming a Mask, one of the Empire's elite soldiers. With the Masks' help the Empire has conquered a continent and enslaved thousands, all in the name of power.

When Laia's brother is taken she must force herself to help the Resistance, the only people who have a chance of saving him. She must spy on the Commandant, ruthless overseer of Blackcliff Academy. Blackcliff is the training ground for Masks and the very place that Elias is planning to escape. If he succeeds, he will be named deserter. If found, the punishment will be death.

But once Laia and Elias meet, they will find that their destinies are intertwined and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

In the ashes of a broken world one person can make a difference. One voice in the dark can be heard. The price of freedom is always high, and this time that price might demand everything, even life itself.

©2015 HarperCollins Publishers Limited (P)2015 Sabaa Tahir

Critic reviews

"With An Ember in the Ashes, Sabaa Tahir shows us light in darkness, hope in a world of despair, and the human spirit reaching for greatness in difficult times." (Brandon Sanderson, number-one New York Times best-selling author)

"A heart-pounding story of love and loss, with the most original world-building I've read all year. Deeply felt and deeply moving, I could not put it down." (Margaret Stohl, New York Times best-selling author of Beautiful Creatures)

"This electric debut is a pulse-pounding, action-packed Romeo and Juliet story in a richly imagined world with a great twist and heroic characters you'll root for and won't stop thinking about." (Melissa de la Cruz, New York Times best-selling author of Frozen and The Ring and the Crown)

" An Ember in the Ashes is a spectacular page turner that asks readers to consider how far they'd go to save the ones they love. Sabaa Tahir is the next superstar in young adult fiction and her debut is as cinematic as Gladiator and as high-stakes as Game of Thrones." (Holly Goldberg Sloan, New York Times best-selling author of Counting by 7S and I'll be There)

Better than average, but not brilliant.

The female character Laia, and her narration annoyed me the most. She was an insecure whinny child. I mean she was written as an insecure whinny child, (why authors think we want to listen to children whine in our off hours is beyond me) but these things work better in written books than in audio books. In a paper book you skip the bits that you don't like, in an audio book you are stuck with them. Also the narrator reading the female part can't pronounce some English words. Honey, here's a hint if you're going to be reading English professionally check a dictionary, ask the guy reading the male part, ask anybody. It's granite.
The male part was not as annoying to listen to, and saved the story.
If I buy the next book, I'll probably buy it as a book though not an audio book, I can't run the risk of the whining not being done yet.

Loved this book

This book is fast paced and exciting! Couldn’t stop listening! Great book. I recommend it

good story

good narration.. strong story, nail biting chapter after chapter. suspenseful till the end. must buy

It was brilliant. It was epic.

Read this again to refresh the story, before picking up Reaper at the gates.
I just fell in love with this book all over again, the characters and the world building. Tahir's unique writing style and creative imagination is amazing.
It was brilliant. It was epic. Still felt great reading it again. Both Elias and Laia are such strong characters, and I fell in love with them. I was invested and engrossed the whole time that is finished it in a day.