I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Ashes of the Sun by Django Wexler Series: Burningblade & Silvereye #1
Published by Orbit on July 21 2020
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 592
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
The nitty-gritty: A sprawling, epic fantasy with plenty of exciting action, high stakes, and sparkling characters, Ashes of the Sun is a fantastic start to a new series.
A race to find a powerful magical artifact, heists, deals, doublecrossing characters and much much more, I had a blast with Ashes of the Sun. This is my first time reading Django Wexler, and I’m so happy to finally have one of his books under my belt. I adored Wexler’s worldbuilding and characters and I was pleasantly surprised at how laugh-out-loud funny this story was! I did struggle a bit with the pacing and the length, but not enough for it to hinder my overall enjoyment. Fans of epic fantasy who love solid worldbuilding, humor and engaging characters will love this.
The story takes place long after a terrible war between two powerful entities: the Chosen and the ghouls. In the aftermath of the battle, much of the world’s magic was destroyed, and all that’s left are bits and pieces, strewn over the land and oftentimes hidden underground. But magic still exists if you can find it. When our story begins, young Maya and her older brother Gyre are living contentedly with their parents, but their idyllic life is shattered one day when a member of the Twilight Order takes Maya away to train her to be a centarch, a member of the Order who can wield a magical weapon called a haken. Gyre is distraught and tries to stop her from leaving, but is gravely injured in the scuffle and ends up losing an eye. At that moment, Gyre vows that he will do whatever it takes to destroy the Order and get Maya back.
Twelve years later, Maya has grown accustomed to her life with the Order and is on her way to becoming a talented centarch. Gyre now wears a mask over his ruined eye and has developed a reputation as a mysterious thief called Halfmask. Gyre hasn’t given up his quest of destroying the Order, and he’s closer than ever to his goal when he teams up with an enigmatic woman named Kitsraea Doomseeker. At the same time, Maya is sent on a mission to spy on someone in the Order who may be a threat. As their paths move inexorably closer together, both Maya and Gyre will be forced to either choose a side, or join together to stop a threat that could topple their world.
This is quite a complex story, and so my recap is really just the bare bones. Wexler’s world is vast and intricate, and my head is still spinning, to be honest. Ashes of the Sun is an interesting mix of epic fantasy, steampunk and post apocalyptic elements, which all come together surprisingly well. I loved so many things about this world, like the underground tunnels of Deepfire where the remnants of old magic are hidden, and the Pit, a deep slash in the earth where a piece of arcane magic lies buried that produces heat for the residents of the city. I also adored the ghouls, the mysterious race that was nearly decimated in the war with the Chosen, and who now hide in the tunnels and have powerful magic at their disposal. I pictured the ghouls as big bunny rabbits, because they’re described as having floppy ears and fur! And then there’s the plaguespawn, horrid creatures who are constructed out of the dead bodies and viscera of animals and humans. And I could go on and on, but you get the idea.
Wexler has said in at least one interview that Ashes of the Sun is a homage of sorts to Star Wars, and I think he did a great job of giving a nod to some of the more iconic elements of the franchise, like the Jedi-like organization of the Twilight Order and the centarch’s weapon of choice, the haken, which is a fantasy version of a lightsaber. And at the end of the story we are introduced to some “constructs” that reminded me of the AT-AT Walkers!
This is one of those stories where I loved not only the main characters, but a whole host of side characters as well. My favorites were Kit and Beq. Kit and Gyre end up on a fantastic adventure together looking for a powerful artifact called the Core Analyitca, and I loved their interactions. Kit is a fiery, brazen woman who takes and does whatever she wants, and one of those things is Gyre. They end up in a rather funny “friends with benefits” relationship that had me laughing out loud. I also adored Beq, an arcanist who joins Maya’s team. Beq has a cool pair of spectacles that allow her to see beyond an object’s surface, and she’s a sweet, awkward girl with a quick and inquisitive mind. She and Maya develop an adorable relationship, and I can’t wait to see how it progresses. And there are plenty of bad guys to hate or root for, depending on which side of the fence you fall on. I loved the complex layers Wexler gives to his characters, especially Maya and Gyre, who both go through some big changes during the story.
My only issue with Ashes of the Sun was the plot. And I don’t mean to say that I didn’t enjoy the plot, but it felt fractured and confusing in spots, which made it difficult to keep all of the events straight. Wexler uses the tried and true format of alternating chapters between two different protagonists, a format that I usually love. And both characters—Gyre and Maya—were engaging and had interesting journeys. But the chapters in this book are long, and by long I mean some are 30-40 pages in length. By the time I got to the end of a Gyre chapter, I had completely forgotten what had happened to Maya at the end of her chapter, so it was a struggle to get back into her story. And vice versa. I found myself flipping back to the previous chapter to get my bearings, and unfortunately, this sometimes ruined the flow of the story for me. Also, I know there is a map in the finished copy of the book, but in my ARC the map had not yet been added. I have to admit having a map to reference would have helped a lot while I was reading, especially since there are several groups of characters on different journeys and I was sometimes confused about how their locations related to each other.
But these issues aside, I had so much fun with this book, and I’m happy to say my first foray into Django Wexler territory was a success. I simply loved the ending, which is capped off with plenty of tense, nail-biting action and surprise developments with several of the characters. It was the best kind of ending in my opinion, with most everything resolved and no cliffhangers, but a clear direction of where book two might go. I’m giddy with anticipation for the next book in the series!
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
Good review. I think I’d like Maya (and those ghouls!). It sounds like a complex book (not necessarily a bad thing).
Priscilla Bettis recently posted…3 Non Sequiturs
It was very complex and that’s not a bad thing. But you do have to have your head in that complex space when you read it.
Literally love any book that has heists, doublecrossing characters and that’s laugh-out-loud funny so it’s like check check check. And I just love that the author said the book is a homage of sorts to Star Wars. Oh my heart! But I gotta say that the long chapters would probably be an issue to me to. I always like to end a chapter before putting it down and when it’s close to 40 pages that’s kinda an issue. But I wouldn’t not pick this book up for that. It does sounds like such a great read. I’m really intrigued (as you can tell by my long ass comment lol)
Yeah, I just don’t like long chapters either. I think shorter chapters make the pacing better, but I know it’s epic fantasy so I should just expect it:-)
Great review, Tammy. I like epic fantasies especially with solid worldbuilding and fleshed out characters. Will check it out for sure.
Debjani recently posted…The Child Who Never Was by Jane Renshaw – Review & Blog Tour
Thanks Debjani! Definitely worth checking out:-)
Great review, Tammy! I’m glad you enjoyed this one too I love your description of the ghouls as bunny rabbits now I can only see a tall version of my lop eared rabbit when I picture them!
Proxyfish @ Books by Proxy recently posted…Review: To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
Thanks! I’m not sure why the ghouls seemed like rabbits to me. I’m sure the author had a completely different creature in mind, lol.
Another author I’d love to try. This appears to have so many elements I’d enjoy. And I think it’s awesome you loved the ending. That doesn’t always happen with early books in a series, but it’s so nice when it does. I enjoyed the review, Tammy!
I’ll admit I got a little teary eyed at the end, which is always a good sign:-)
I’ve never read any of his books but your review makes me think it’s my cup of tea!
Heather @ RandomRedheadedRamblings recently posted…The Sunday Post #70 – 16th August 2020
I will definitely go back and read some of his older books now, I love his characters:-)
Great review! I’m really looking forward to this one!
I hope you enjoy it!
Great review! This is really interesting, I love when fantasy books mix subgenres together. Chapters longer than 30 pages do sound intimidating, though…
Acqua recently posted…Review: The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood
The mix of genres was really good!
Since I never read Wexler before, and after seeing quite positive reviews for this novel, I will probably start my “acquaintance” with his works here: the long chapters might prove problematic, granted, but the premise of the story sounds too good to let myself be worried by that… 😉
Thanks for sharing!
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…THE TRIALS OF KOLI (Rampart Trilogy #2), by M.R. Carey
I have a feeling all his books are long and have long chapters, but I know some readers aren’t bothered by that.
My library just got this in, and I’ve been eyeing it because I’ve been wanting to read a Django Wexler book, but at the same time … this is a freaking BOOK, man. And by that I mean potential murder weapon lol. I’m so curious about the mix of fantasy and steampunk, though. And I’m really getting into books with large, expansive worlds that I can just fall into and stay for a while. If I ever get a small break in my ARCs, I think I’ll need to check this one out. :3
It’s definitely worth reading, I just thought it was a bit long. But hey, that’s epic fantasy for you!
I felt the same way about the plot, and I think that’s why I’ve stalled about the third of the way in. I’m going to continue, but I really need to be in a more focused state of mind when I do.
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…Book Review: Driftwood by Marie Brennan
I had to just sit down and blast through the last half. I was stalled too. Once I stopped reading in small chunks it worked better for me.
I definitely got Star Wars vibes from this, especially with the centarch’s powers and weapons. Cool to see that really was the inspiration.
I had heard about the Star Wars influences before I read the book, so I think I was looking for them while I was reading.
I’m glad to see you enjoyed it! I had fun with it too.
Yes, lots of fun. I love his humor!
Glad you enjoyed it! The world-building is really sold in this one.
Caitlin G. recently posted…Video Games I’m Playing: 08/09/20
I agree, I’m hoping he goes more into depth with the worldbuilding in the next book:-)
You had me at heist and homage to Star Wars! I haven’t been much in the mood for epic fantasy lately, but this definitely needs to go on my TBR.
I think you’d enjoy it, I had fun and loved the humor:-)
So I have read Wexler before, and I sort of wavered on whether or not I wanted to read this- because I had a lot of the same struggles it sounds like you did. I found some of the plot confusing, and wished I had more information about to clarify why the two sides were at war. This sounds great but I think I’ll have to put it off until I’m in a better reading space lol.
Yeah, I know what you mean. I’m having those “being in the right reading space” issues myself these days!
Hmm, I can overlook some messy plot stuff if the characters are great and that looks to be the case here. I might still check this one out if I have time because I remember being excited when it was announced. Thanks for your thoughts and glad you mostly enjoyed this one!
Now that I understand his style and what he’s doing, I think I’ll enjoy starting one of his past series sometime down the road:-)
I’ve read a handful of Wexler’s books and thoroughly enjoyed them – though I’m reminded that I didn’t complete the previous series – so I need to do that first. That said, your lovely review has inspired me to track it down and finish off the series. Thank you, Tammy:))
Thanks Sarah! I will definitely check out more of his work.
This is a book that I would love to read, but I’m playing catch up and trying to be good atm so I didn’t request it – even though I so wanted to. Might wait to see if it come up for audio and give that a shot instead – although the confusing plot might not work well in that version.
Lynn 😀
It’s hard to read everything. No wait, it’s IMPOSSIBLE…
This seems so my cup of tea! And your review is awesome!! I am not a fan of long chapters, either, but all the rest seems amazing!
I’m so glad you reviewed this. I saw it was the Goldsboro pick for Oct, but I’d barely heard anything about it so was a bit unsure. You make it sound great. I do struggle with confusing plots, but hopefully, the forewarning will make me pay more attention.
I have a copy of this one, but have been a little nervous to pick it up because of the length. It sounds so compelling though and I’m super interested in it, so hopefully I can get past my hesitation and just dive in!
I was intimidated too but it was worth it! I say go for it