An Ember In The Ashes-Sabaa Tahir

An ember in the ashes (#1)

TITLE: An Ember In The Ashes
AUTHOR: Sabaa Tahir
GENRE: Fiction
PAGES: 450 Pg
PRICE: 450 INR







ABOUT THE AUTHOR -SABAA TAHIR

Inspired by past work as a foreign news editor at 'Washington Post' ,debut author Sabaa Tahir has crafted a stirring exploration of culturally sanctioned violence and oppression.

    Sabaa grew up in California's Mojave dessert at her family's eighteen- room motel. There she spent her time devouring fantasy novels, raiding her brother's comic book stash, and playing guitar badly. She begun writing An Ember In The Ashes while working nights as a newspaper editor. She likes thunderous indie rock, garish socks,  and all the things nerd. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her family.



PLOT OF THE BOOK

"Life is made up of so many moments which means nothing. Then one day a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after."


The main plot of the story revolves around a scholar girl and a martial boy- Laia & Elias. The story takes place in the Martial Empire, where the scholars are treated as slaves by the martial. Laia lives with her grandparents and brother Darin in the scholars quarter, she lost her parents and sister lis in childhood. She loaths the empire and it oppression against the scholars. The empire took her parents and sister from her. During her childhood she learned that her parents where the resistance leaders. Elias on the other hand was the son of the commandant of Blackcliff Academy, where the masks of the empire is trained. Soon after his birth commandant abonded him in the desert near a tribe in Nur. He was raised there by  Mamie  Rila,  a tribal women, and on one fine day the augurs, the holy men came and took Elias away ,to his maternal grandfather who was the pater of gen veturius one of the high rank family of the empire. From there he is sent to blackcliff to complete his training and become a mask of the empire, the empire which he loathes.

   The story starts from Laia, it's night time and her brother has just returned home. He  has his sketch book with him and Laia inquires about it. Suddenly there is pitch silence outside and the family knows what it is - the raid. There is knock on the door ,they know that the masks have the house surrounded. But still Darin and Laia tries to escape through the back door. The moment they enter outside a mask comes towards them. The soldiers kill Laia's grandparents and takes Darin with them,but she manages to escape. While in the academy Elias is planning to run away from the empire on the day before graduation. Laia runs into the resistance group while her escape from the masks. She requests them to help her release Darin from the jail. The leader first disagrees later on knowing who her parents are they agree to help her only if she agrees to spy on the commandment of blackcliff. It was the deadliest task and Laia agrees to do it. And thus she lands up in the academy as a scholar slave for the resistance. 

 There she learns a lot of truth like the killer of her parents for instance and of the nightbringer. She befriends lzzi and Elias himself. Elias feels pity for Laia as he knows his mother's nature. Even when days are only left for the graduation his mask hasn't got into his skin like that of other masks. 

  It's the day before graduation and he is making his plan for running away when he collides into Cain the augur who brought him to blackcliff. He makes Elias understand that if he runs away now he will not be free from the empire,and if he stays he can achieve true freedom of body and soul. He listens to the augur and stays. It's the day of graduation and the augurs  have news which will leave the whole empire devasted. The TRIALS. The academy was built by the augurs centuries ago because they got a vision that the current empire will fall one day, and to find the new emperor the trails will be conducted between four selected masks who has graduated and two of them will win the trials the first one will be declared as the emperor and the second one as the blood shrike. The rest two will die. And the four aspirants chosen for the trials are Elias ,his best friend  Helene and the twin brothers marcus and zak. 


  Now who will win the trials?? Will the resistance keep its word? Will Laia survive the commandent's torture? Will Elias get the freedom he always wanted? To know about it read the book 'AN EMBER IN THE ASHES'.

REVIEW OF THE BOOK

The book is a full package of friendship, action, loyalty, love, drama, hatred, in short everything a good book is. Each and every part tells us not to lose hope. Laia quotes the following sentence in many parts of the book -"where there is life, there is hope" .it was said to her by her Nan. The book gives us the moral of not giving up even when death is face to face with us. The way she held up the strength to face the torture of the commandent, the way she didn't leave the hope that her brother is still alive. Everything of the characters teach us one thing, 'never think that u are week, never think of failure and never give up hope in life'. 

  I recommend this book to all those who love to read fictions. It is one of the best ones I have come cross  and I recommend  you to read it.

LINK FOR BUYING THE BOOK IN AMAZON:
https://www.amazon.in/gp/f.html?C=PA5GAVK22LXZ&M=urn:rtn:msg:20180908174451adca956684804ca4ba1e15a1c940p0eu&R=1HQYKYPFC3123&T=C&U=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.in%2FEmber-Ashes-Sabaa-Tahir%2Fdp%2F0008154473%2Fref%3Dcm_sw_em_r_dp_dz_v_U_qPaLBbG94CQZQ_tt&H=MECS4BJU6BPTT7DEVHM5UGOMYKKA

READ ONLINE:
https://bookfrom.net/author/sabaa-tahir/3057-an_ember_in_the_ashes.html

Next week I will be back with another book review. Till then , HAPPY READING!!!