Tuesday 22 December 2015

Teaser Tuesday: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
To play along just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir.

An Ember in the Ashes –
Razorbill

I don’t need to believe in the supernatural. Not when there’s worse that roams the night.
— Chapter 11

The words are out before I can stop them, but I don’t feel particularly regretful. Multiple attempts on my life have taken a toll on my manners.
— Chapter 30




On the off chance that you haven’t encountered this brilliant book on any of your forays into a bookstore let me warmly recommend this to you. I could have sworn that I already talked about it when it was first published, but my records say otherwise. This is the book for you if you enjoy fabulously crafted story universes with a rich background and multiple layered characters woven into a complex plot of intrigue, betrayal, deadly trials, and questions of trust and what it means to remain human in the face of the inhumane. The dual perspective allows for a very interesting view on the proceedings with sometimes overlapping parts that simultaneously manage to clear things up and confuse them in the best possible way. I especially liked that the author took her time for the two protagonists not only to meet but to actually talk and then trust each other. There is an instant interest, but it still remains wary as the other must prove to be trustworthy first.
The best books for me at least are those that make you feel and this doesn’t mean that that make me cry. I raced through parts of this and didn’t feel that I was reading fast enough because I absolutely had to know what happens next. I haven’t felt so anxious, angry, afraid or agonisingly panicked while reading with many books ... and I think that is a quality only the best writers exhibit. You can’t imagine how happy I am that there will be a second book.

Fantasy with a dystopian feeling is not really a Christmas setting, but then again the story of  expecting parents who have to take shelter in a stable because there wouldn’t fit anywhere else and then have to flee that place as well because they are prosecuted isn’t in itself a happy one. Whether or not you’re celebrating Christmas this week I wish you a peaceful and tranquil couple of days with joy and happiness wherever possible. And as always please share your teasers in the comments.

6 comments:

Karen and Gerard said...

My husband said this was really, really good to but I was just hesitant to start another series when I already had so many ongoing. I will plan to read this next year though after reading your recommendation here.

Kathy Martin said...

I really liked this one too. My YA teaser this week comes from the much talked about Dumplin' by Julie Murphy. Happy reading!

Literary Feline said...

I haven't heard too much about this one, but from your description of it, it sounds like a great read. I will have to look for it. I enjoyed the teasers you shared.

Kristin said...

This one has been in my to-read pile for a while now... I need to get around to reading it!

Here's my teaser:
http://www.pagepilgrims.com/tuesday-teaser-december-22/

Anonymous said...

You must have really enjoyed this one. I'll have to look into it for sure. My teaser is from an Amy Tan book: http://wp.me/p4DMf0-15o

Proxyfish @ Books by Proxy said...

I've had my eye on this for a while! A timely reminder!

My Teaser

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