Reviews

The Ashen City by Marshall J. Moore

ethanzo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Ashen City was such a great sequel to an already amazing start of a series! The world that was created is so vibrant and rich, and I found myself wishing that the story would not end. I would love to, after finishing the final book in the series, eventually be able to explore the world further. I find that the characters are all complex and offer a depth that makes it easy to connect with them and truly feel the stakes of their situations. Cassius is a loveable, strong-willed, and ambitious protagonist who embodies loyalty and courage. My favorite character would have to be Bahlanni, I love when a female lead is written immaculately well, as many authors fail to utilize their female characters, and Moore is adept in that sense. Bahlanni is such a beautifully complex character, and it made me smile each time she was spotlighted. Beyond the two main leads, the whole cast of characters were very diverse and well thought out. I loved the inclusion of so many different walks of life, whether that be through the inclusion of queer characters, characters of different races coming together as one, or the acceptance of all through religion as it is used in the story. As someone who knows what it's like to feel excluded from the narrative for reasons not under my control, and often ostracized by religions for those same reasons, I found myself really connecting with the message of the religion of the Ayu'li in the book. Many authors would tokenize these types of characters, but with the Rites of Resurrection, it never felt like diversity was used as a backdrop. I think this was, in its entirety, a step up from the previous book, which is not only hard to do for a middle book in a series, but is hard to do when the original book was also outstanding in its own way. I had so much fun reading this book, and I'm excited to see where the final installment takes the characters and the world in which they live.

angelsays's review

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

tobius_z's review against another edition

5.0

I really don't know what to say other than I'm amazed at how good this book is. I thoroughly enjoyed the first one and sort of expected this one to not be as good, I was wrong.

In fact everything about it is much better. The way that it's laid out in parts. The pacing. The relationship development between characters. How the mystery deepens and how more twists reveal themselves. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. My heart literally racing as I was reading. Wow! What an experience! I cannot wait to start the third and final book of the series!

5 STAR READ!!

carab234's review

adventurous inspiring mysterious medium-paced

4.5