How awful, you want to exclaim. The reader literally knows the ending of the plot before s/he knows that the plot exists! What is worse, after reading the book, one still doesn’t know what would happen had a party other than the one won won. Well, yes and no. We see the glimpses, but the mystery is still there. What we got was as much an introduction as it was a teaser. I will probably regret reading it now instead of waiting for the whole series to binge at will, but there are a few writers who are irresistible, and Daniel Abraham is one of them. A huge part of that is the premise. Age of Ashtakes place in the fantasy city of Kithamar, a bustling metropolis filled with thieves, politicians, and stark social divides.Unlike most other fantasy series, which are simply longer stories cut up into multiple books, Kithamartakes a single turbulent year of upheaval in the city and then examines those events from different angles. Age of Ashis told primarily from the point of view of two thieves trying to survive their desperate situation, but future books will explore these same events from vastly different perspectives. It allows the author to tell a complete story that wraps up major character arcs in a very satisfying way. Since we know that the next two books will more or less follow this pattern of being a full story, it seems likely that each book will be satisfying in its own right, but also build into something bigger through the mosaic nature of the series. From New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed author Daniel Abraham, co-author of the Expanse, comes a monumental epic fantasy trilogy that unfolds within the walls of a single great city, over the course of one tumultuous year, where every story matters, and the fate of the city is woven from them all. There's plenty of intrigue and politics, mostly seen through the eyes of people in well over their heads, and Abraham's latest is certainly an intriguing introduction to a series, hinting at plenty of larger events to come

Century: Age of Ashes, the multiplayer dragon battle game is now available for free! Customize your dragon, dive into the arena and compete to become a legendary Dragoneer. Burn your enemies and rule the skies! This felt like a gritty, quite dark and sad story and I really enjoyed it. I feel like there is A LOT of potential for book two, and I'll be here for it. Moreover, the tone of this story was a tad bit too depressing for my taste. Age of Ash is not a story filled with hope, love and happiness. On the contrary, this world is rough and is filled with injustice and adversity. Daniel Abraham builds this world up with all the confident craftsmanship you'd expect from an author of his pedigree . . . So hang on to your cloak and dagger, Kithamar is in the hands of a pro. Daniel Abraham’s books have been on my tbr! I have heard great things about The Expanse, The Long Price Quartet and The Dagger and the Coin series, but for some reason, I have never gotten around to reading any of Abraham’s books. I was very excited when OrbitBooks sent a review copy of Age of Ash! This finally gave me an excuse to read some of Abraham’s work. So what did I think?A note about the audiobook: hard to listen to at times bc of some weird sentence intonations. Hard to describe but if you listen for even a short time, you'll see what I mean. I wasn’t quite as gripped by Alys herself as I expected to be; she’s one of those protagonists who can be equal parts enjoyable or frustrating, depending on where she is in her emotional arc. Sammish, on the other hand, totally surprised me. I found myself looking forward to her chapters. Between the two of them, Age of Ashfelt pretty well-balanced on the character front, although I will say that I’m very much looking forward to reading about the groups of characters who will be central to the following entries in the series. This book felt like it was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the series’ larger narrative, and there were enough hints about what those other plotlines might revolve around that I only expect it to get better from here. Earth’s atmosphere contains three isotopes of carbon. Carbon-12 is stable and accounts for 98.9% of atmospheric carbon. Carbon-13 is also stable and accounts for 1.1% of atmospheric carbon. Carbon-14 is radioactive and is found in tiny amounts. Carbon-14 is produced naturally in the atmosphere when cosmic rays interact with nitrogen atoms. The amount of carbon-14 produced in the atmosphere at any particular time has been relatively stable through time. Swept up in an intrigue as deep as the roots of Kithamar, where the secrets of the lowest born can sometimes topple thrones, the story Alys chooses will have the power to change everything.

This outstanding series debut . . . instantly hooks readers with dual mysteries . . Readers will eagerly anticipate the sequel Alys is not the smartest cookie in the jar. She has wit, but it’s based on honed survival skills, not on intelligence (and definitely not on the emotional one!). My favourite was Sammish. What a wonderful character in how she was introduced and how she developed throughout the story. A respite from Alys on her way to being devoured by her obsession. (It was very difficult for me to read, and I have had my share of grief in my life). While Alys’ fixation on her loss is suffocating and consuming her, closes her to everything outside, Sammish works through the thing(s) she does not have and never will, and somehow it makes how more, not less. It was fascinating to follow her. It was also humbling. What is the most captivating about the book is that while it is not so much character-driven, it definitely is character-dependent. And one of those characters is the city. It is always in the spotlight. We can see and smell its crooks and nooks, its best and worst; the city itself becomes a protagonist that can help you or kill you if you’re careless. It is also incredibly atmospheric. Grief and the inability to move on are central themes in Age of Ash, largely conveyed through Alys’ struggle to come to grips with her brother’s death. Abraham handles this in a realistic way, exploring these emotions and the effects they can have not only on one person, but everyone around them. While no one really goes into a book thinking, “yes, I shall read this for its thematic depth,” I feel it worth mentioning that the thematic work is stronghere. Being able to move on, to lay the past to rest, is explored not just through Alys but in several other unexpected ways throughout the book. The result is that Age of Ashis a thought-provoking read, perhaps the most thematically consistent book I’ve read since Joe Abercrombie’s The Heroes.

Now, the real winner of this book is not Alys or any of the other characters, it is Kithamar itself. I didn’t realise until I finished the book that the series was going to be connected through the city rather than the individuals in the novel, but it does make the heightened focus on the setting make more sense. It is clear that the city is sunlight bright in the author’s mind, a place painstakingly developed and offered to the reader with loving enthusiasm. It’s not just that the setting is thoroughly detailed, though it is, but the reader is given a sense of tradition and community that add meaning to the ways in which people live and die, how they celebrate and mourn. For this, the author deserves all the praise. It is a rare talent to be able to create such a truly livid-in place, one that seems worn. Age of Ash is the first in a new epic fantasy trilogy by well-known author Daniel Abraham. Despite owning The Dagger and Coin series for years, this is my first foray into Abraham’s novels, but after being utterly enchanted by his prose, I definitely want to read more.

Mind you, I love the way Abraham writes. Regardless of the book’s design (he can do chapters, too!), it is always so difficult for me to stop. And this book is truly written like you'd write about a walk through a foreign city that is alien and unknown but becomes more friendly as you start to recognize the most important landmarks and get used to the funny accent of the locals. Or perhaps it would be more apt to state that the story flows like the river that cuts through the city. The current is not that rapid, but it is relentless; it ebbs and flows. That’s why personally, I didn't mind that all we got were three big chunks. In the grand scheme of things, it made sense. Age of Ash is a stunningly written, character driven story, centred on thieves, grief, and dark magic. Abraham certainly knows how to enchant his readers and transport them to the city of Kithamar, a place of beauty and of forbidding secrets Kithamar is a spectacular creation, a city brought to life by dance, intricate worldbuilding and subtle magic. Fans of Scott Lynch . . . will enjoy this one' Django Wexler, author of Ashes of the Sun Compete in intense online games ranging and discover the fast-paced gameplay of Century : Age of Ashes! Dive into the arena alone or with friends and fight for your survival in exciting game modes:

If an element decays by losing an alpha particle, it will lose 2 protons and 2 neutrons. If an atom decays by losing a beta particle, it loses just one electron.

An atmospheric and fascinating tapestry, woven with skill and patience.” –Joe Abercrombie, New York Times bestselling author of A Little Hatred Another thing I love is the deep character immersion that only happens when an author isn’t self-conscious about taking his time to really immerse you with his characters. I thrive on that kind of connection and found myself despairing, angry, and a whole myriad of other emotions right alongside them. I talked to the book a couple times, which for me is a sign of true investment. And the cool thing is he probably hasn’t even scratched the surface on what’s planned for this series (with upcoming perspectives for characters we saw only on the periphery here), and that’s incredibly exciting. This is the first novel in Abraham’s new Kithamar Trilogy and is described as ‘a monumental epic fantasy’. Which is accurate, but as the action of Age of Ash takes place entirely within the city walls of the titular Kithamar it is not epic in a traditional traveling across a continent sort of way. Having said that, the city is vast with many districts described in vivid detail, each with their own particularities. Abraham’s prose is beautiful and the early chapters where he is building the city for the reader were a joy to read, almost like a printed version of the exploration phase of a vast computer game.Alys is just another nobody from Longhill, a gutter rat relying on ‘pulls’ to survive. Each theft wins her little more than enough to keep a roof over her head and food in her belly, the spoils shared between disparate players, together only for the sake of the job. Her big brother Darro, on the other hand, is running far bigger plays. The high-stakes kind that might help him escape this low-born world. That kind that brings in gold. That gets him killed. Losing the only family she cares about puts Alys on a path of revenge. Desperate to find out who killed him and why, she finds herself playing a very dangerous game with people who know far more about the city than she does. As she starts to lose herself to the chase, Alys must decide how far she’s willing to go to avenge her dead brother, especially when she’s not the only one who’ll be paying the price for her success… The magic, let's just call it that so we don't spoil anything, was also fascinating, as well as the Brotherhood, which I just wanted to know more of. newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}}}\) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\) I enjoyed this book but I suspect my tempered response will need to be revised after books 2 and 3. As always, Abraham’s writing is beautiful in many places. However Kithamar itself is a fairly standard fantasy city that could fit just as easily in Mistborn, Gentleman Bastards, etc…and the antagonist similarly echoes many other series—I have to wonder if I’ll feel differently after seeing these events from other perspectives. I did feel Alys’ emotional arc in particular was a very rewarding story. The strength of this story lies in its world building. It takes only a second to realize the world Daniel Abraham has created is rich with history and is well-developed. The characters reference that history time and time again. They know which district they have come from and what it means. It means that “Longhill’s always Longhill.” No matter where you go – you’re always a Longhill. It’s the type of story that gives you the distinct impression that the author has not only every street mapped out, but that he also knows every stall and business on the street as well as who runs it.