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King of Ashes: Book One of The Firemane Saga

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I could not put this book down. The story grabbed me right from the beginning and didn't let up until the climatic cliffhanger. As usual, the worldbuilding is effortlessly done. Rather than providing a massive info dump at the start of the book, which bores most people and makes them want to stop reading, Feist masterly weaves each piece of information into the story at the necessary time. Just when you start to wonder about something, the author provides you with the context you need. The character development of the two main characters, Hatu and Declan, is fantastic. Secondary characters Hava, Donte and Daylon also have a fair amount of character development. Most of the ancillary characters simply react to the main characters, but they are still entertaining to read. Omg. The execution of the story. The basic idea behind the book was actually super interesting. Something I would’ve wanted to read in any other context. The prologue even had me giddy with anticipation, thinking, “this is going to be good.” The narration of King of Ashes takes the form of two perspectives—that of Hatu undergoing his education as a future sicari and through the eyes of Declan as he strives for greatness in his chosen profession of weapon smithing. Initially one may feel as though the changing points of view have no purpose as the young men involved have never been associated. By the end of the story however, it is obvious that each man has his part to play in the restoration of their once great land. This book not only holds up well against any modern standard but goes quite a bit farther in that it has deep, wide-reaching roots and a fantastically enjoyable tone.

Years later, another orphan named Declan earns his Masters rank as a weapons smith in a small section of the continent known as the Covenant. It's been a protected part of the continents for centuries, but that peace is coming to an end. Declan is smart and capable and must use all of his skills to save his life when he is forced to leave the only home he's ever known. He lands in Daylon's provinces and starts his life anew. But with the continents in unrest and mysterious forces making their moves, Declan's life takes another unexpected turn for the worst. For many generations, the five great Kingdom's had enjoyed a time of peace and prosperity. Each realm had its own Monarch and the story begins with a great battle and the betrayal of Steveren Langene, the King of Ithrace. He is known as Firemane because of his bright red hair and his Kingdom was a place of arts, culture, and merriment. His former allies are looking to execute him, his family (not excluding the women and children), and leave his city and legacy in ashes. After the Firemane house's inevitable demise and when the conflict has concluded the powerful Baron Daylon Dumarch finds a mysterious young child in his war tent just before his army is about the return to his freehold of Marquensas. As a former close acquaintance of Firemane's, he believes that this baby is the last of the late King's children and has somehow escaped the rest of his families fate. Hatu’s story line follows his exploits as he serves the Nocusara, the “hidden warriors” of the Kingdom of the Night. As was the case with Stephen R. Donaldson's Seventh Decimate last year, King of Ashes was supposed to be Raymond E. Feist's big return with brand new material. And like the Donaldson, this novel was nothing but a big disappointment. . .It it similar to Brandon Sanderson's book The Way of Kings in that most of the book is setting up the rest of the series and dealing with character development but I found King of Ashes to be a much more satisfying book then The Way of Kings. The characters were depressingly two-dimensional and the overarching story the epitome of convenient contrivance. By the end of the book I’m fairly certain everyone was related to everyone else or had at least arrived at the same location “by happenstance”– the author’s pen strokes blatantly obvious. While Declan’s story was at times intriguing, it was marred by overbearing contrivance and laziness, while Hatu’s story and his character development were simply abysmal. At some point towards the end of the book the narrator explains that Hatu was not prone to introspection – which made me laugh aloud, considering that the majority of his chapters were overburdened with his weirdly ignorant obsession with life around him and the author’s preternatural need to “tell” us everything instead of “showing” us anything.

The first volume in legendary master and New York Times bestselling author Raymond E. Feist’s epic heroic fantasy series, The Firemane Saga—an electrifying tale of two young men whose choices will determine a world’s destiny. Granted, novels focused on politics bore me. Yes, unfortunately, even if the setting is the "fantastical" Middle Ages -- or, wait, exactly like our Middle Ages only in a place not called Earth that happens to have Earth-identical people, flora and fauna, and technological history. I expected little of this story from the first sentence. The opening, set on a quiet battlefield post-war (conveniently avoiding any of the actual fun of the battle itself), only exists to explain to the reader that there was a coup d'état. And then it warns that, in this new season of unrest, others may attempt violence upon the throne!...blah blah blah. No thanks. Raymond Feist is, of course, well known for his lengthy Riftwar Cycle involving many inter-related trilogies, duologies, etc. and totaling nearly 30 books. He is known for telling his stories through his characters and this book continues that tradition. While this entire book serves as the setup for the real meat of what is to come, we do get to know the major characters very well and more importantly, really come to care for them and what the future may hold for them. The world building is so well done that I didn’t even realize how much I was learning about how it was all coming together. The prose is very down-to-earth and easily readable (once again, not like so many of today’s gritty fantasy that tries to be “literary” at the expense of good old fashioned story-telling). There is magic in this world and exotic creatures but these are only briefly touched on in this first volume…teased really. Realizing that the boy must be the remaining heir of the slain King Steveren, Daylon sends him away to be raised on the island of Coaltachin, known as the Kingdom of Night. He bids the lethal force of legendary assassins and spies to raise the boy as their own. The boy, known as Hatu, learns all the skills of an assassin and spy, but when a mission goes terribly wrong, the life he thought he would be living is thrown into chaos.The King of Ashes was the working title for a new series of books, not related to the Riftwar Cycle. There are currently planned 3 books, the titles of which will be made known at a future time. So, when I heard that Feist was starting a new series I jumped at the chance to jump on board, and King of Ashes arrived on my doorstep in all its hardcover glory. Few authors have had the effect that Raymond Feist has had on the fantasy genre. He is as synonymous with grand fantasy novels as Stephen King is with horror. As of right now, Feist has written 30+ books, most notably the Riftwar Cycle. A collection of fantasy stories that revolve around the world of Midkemia and Kelewan. However, Feist's newest series, The Firemane Saga, has the potential to be as widespread and loved as the Riftwar Cycle. Unfortunately – and doubly so when the author in question is fantasy royalty – there is the occasional instance when you read a book, and not only does it not appeal to you, but there are serious flaws with its writing as well.

While I would have preferred the story to be faster paced, by the conclusion of this first instalment in the Firemane series, the slow burn allowed so many facets to be explored without skimping on the details. While not full of plot twists and murdery moments, the action within carried the story to a finale which was both fitting and confirmed the readers suspicions. Towards the end, our main characters meet, albeit briefly, and then head their separate ways, a point that may lead to frustration in some and elation in others. A word of warning though – the epilogue turns everything on its head and leads to a revelation the reviewer could never have envisioned. Sometimes, as a reviewer, the job of analysing a book and crafting a review is the simplest job in the world. The author has crafted a beautiful tale and written it wonderfully, fleshed out the characters beyond a two-dimensional stereotype, kept the pace upbeat without being hurried, and told a tale worth telling. Other times, the job is a little more difficult, when an author has told an interesting story, but it was not well written, or a story was well written, but it simply didn’t appeal to me. The world of Garn once boasted five great kingdoms, until the King of Ithrace was defeated and every member of his family executed by Lodavico, the ruthless King of Sandura, a man with ambitions to rule the world. The book opens on a bloody scene as Baron Daylon Dumarch, a Free Lord, watches the execution of every single family member of the royal family of Ithrace. The monarch of what was once one of the five great kingdoms of North and South Tembria had just been betrayed by the other four kings in a brutal and decisive battle, signaling an end to the ancient covenant that had protected the peace and balance for centuries. Now King Lodavico of Sandura, the man at the head of the takeover, is determined to completely destroy the line of King Steveren of Ithrace, putting everyone with Firemane blood to the sword.And yet, with this rather traditional High-Fantasy treatment, I must stress that the devil is truly in the details. It rises and falls with how good the writing is, how invested we get, and how much fun we have. King of Ashes opens with a story of a betrayal. A longstanding alliance between the five Kingdoms of North and South Tembria is broken as the other nations conspire, some reluctantly, to destroy Ithrace, the Kingdom of Flames. King Steveren Langene, known as Firemane, is executed and his entire family slaughtered, or so it is believed. One man, Baron Daylon Dumarch, seeks the aid of the so-called Kingdom of the Night to hide the survival of a single Langene infant. So he had betrayed a man he loved like a brother to spare his people future ravages. As the priests of the One God would say, Daylon had made his pact with the Dark One; he had sold his soul."

In fact, I found that Feist could be downright frank in his writing style, cutting straight to the matter while leaving no room for subtlety. Everything is spelled out for the reader when it comes to his characters’ thoughts and motivations, and there is little finesse or attempt to show instead rather than tell. To be fair, this isn’t always bad; the writing is reminiscent of what I would call a classic or old-school style, in that it is very straightforward and easy to read. However, at times it made his characters feel flat and difficult to connect with, a prime example being Hatu when he was just becoming aware of his attraction to Hava. Their ensuing romance, if you could even call it that, felt awkward and forced, for you had the author laying out Hatu’s feelings with all the emotion of a dry clinical report. There’s a strong sense of “what you see is what you get” when it comes to the characters, placing them behind a layer of detachment which made it hard to feel invested in them. Having read the far majority of all of Feist's works before now, and even doing so recently, I was pretty astounded to learn that he had a NEW fantasy series. One that requires no previous knowledge or the need to rely on vast previous worldbuilding. The other main character, Declan, was a young and talent This is a new series of books not related to the Riftwar Cycle. This series will be known as King of Ashes. The first two books have now been named.Soon, the two young men—an unknowing rightful heir to a throne and a brilliantly talented young swordsmith—will discover that their fates, and that of Garn, are entwined. The legendary, long-ago War of Betrayal has never truly ended . . . and they must discover the secret of who truly threatens their world. Declan said, “One last thing, my lord.” “Yes?” said Daylon, turning to Declan. “My master said that I needed to see you to honor his pledge.” “Who was your master?” “Edvalt Tasman.” Daylon looked at his half brother, who raised an eyebrow and gave him a short nod. Daylon was silent for a moment, then said, “He was as gifted a smith as I’ve ever known. I made him promise he’d send me his best apprentice. So, that would be you?” “He judged me fit to be named master,” said Declan. “I was an orphan and he was like a father to me, and so because of that, I honor his pledge to you, my lord.” Daylon was again silent, then he said, “You tell me this more from duty than from any desire to seek service.” “Truth to tell, my lord, I promised him I would do this, but my ambition is to set up my own forge and be my own man.” The title of the series is yet to be named. See Changes again for King of Ashes - War of Five Crowns It was also very fun to see how how much Feist's writing has developed from Magician to this one, because after +30 works and +30-some years there's gotta be some improvement done. And it definitely has, though he still got lots of his old style left. The reader meets as well his friends Donte and Hava, also training up with the Nocusara. Hatu’s exploits take us to several places within the North Tembria, and we gain hints of major plots on the verge of unfolding. He also encounters several deadly adversaries, and by the end of the novel, he has learned his true lineage, and finds himself pursued by at least two different groups: one bent on killing him, the other supposedly wanting to help him. Meanwhile, another threat, one from much closer, looms large.

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