Hacía ya tiempo que quería leer algo de Django Wexler, pero hasta que no llegó este Ashes of the Sun, no vi la oportunidad perfecta. Un libro de fantasía en un mundo nuevo que no estaba relacionado con sus trabajos anteriores, de forma que podría juzgar su buen hacer como escritor sin verme forzada a leer toda una saga. Este razonamiento sería impecable si no fuera porque Ashes of the Sun FORMA parte de una saga, pero me ha gustado tanto que no me importará seguir leyendo la historia cuando esté disponible.

Los elementos que maneja el autor para contar su historia no son necesariamente originales. Tenemos dos puntos de vista diametralmente opuestos: dos hermanos a los que separaron siendo muy jóvenes, uno de ellos busca venganza y la otra no ha conocido otra vida que la que le ofrecieron sus captores. Esta diferencia en la crianza permite a Wexler ir presentando el mundo en que se desarrollará la historia mediante contraposiciones, de una forma muy elegante e informativa.

La civilización tal y como se conoce en este mundo está cimentada en los restos que una antigua cultura que ya no sobrevive, pero cuyos usos y costumbres son perpetuados por la Orden, encargada también de defender los territorios del acoso de las bestias. Sin embargo, una parte de la población considera que esta logia es corrupta y que sus anquilosadas formas impiden la evolución de la humanidad.

Como ya he dicho antes, todo esto le puede resultar familiar a cualquier lector más o menos avezado en la fantasía. Así que, si lo importante no es tanto lo que cuenta, ¿qué es lo que destaca en Ashes of the Sun? Pues claramente, cómo lo cuenta.

Wexler destaca especialmente en la creación de los personajes, con los que se puede empatizar desde un principio y a los que se acaba cogiendo cariño, aún cuando no se compartan sus puntos de vista. Pero es que además, las escenas de acción, de las que hay muchas, son de esas de dejarte sin respiración, ya sea por lo dinámicas que resultan las luchas con armas de filo, por la presencia de ciertos artilugios alquímicos capaces de inclinar la balanza hacia el lado aparentemente más débil o simplemente, por la diversión que provocan en el lector. También estaría bien añadir que hay un cierto toque «retrotecnológico» que hace aún más apasionante la investigación y uso de estos elementos antiguos.

También he disfrutado mucho de ese toque de intrigas palaciegas que se vislumbra dentro de la Orden, aunque resulte un poco maniqueo en la resolución de los conflictos.

Salvando las distancias, me ha recordado por momentos los libros de Gareth Hanrahan y eso son palabras mayores en este blog.

Lo malo es que como digo, es el primer libro de una saga y aunque es un estupendo comienzo, nos quedamos con las ganas de saber más sobre la historia, a pesar de que el libro no es para nada corto. Me ha gustado mucho y por eso lo recomiendo, pero entiendo perfectamente que haya gente que no le vaya a dar una oportunidad hasta ver cómo se va desarrollando la saga. No os preocupéis, que allí estaré yo para comentarla.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the views expressed in this review are my own.
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I was thrumming with excitement for this one. Having read Wexler's previous work, I had high expectations for his new series and I was NOT disappointed.

Wexler's world-building has been immaculate from the start. He has a way of seamlessly integrating little tidbits about the setting and background into the story without info-dumping or relying on obviously-informative dialogue.

His characters are relatable and admirable and there's a lot to unpack with regards to their relationships.

Suffice to say that I expected amazing work from Wexler and I got more than I bargained for.

I absolutely cannot wait for the next in the series.

Overall rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

3.75? It’s not quite 4 stars for me, but is almost there. The occasional sloppy storytelling at critical moments and lacklustre romance dragged this down for me but overall this is a very funny, action packed romp that also happens to be about the serious subjects of a flawed system and a pair of siblings on two very opposite sides of it.

Firstly, the characters in this are a mixed bag. I found Maya very enjoyable despite her naivety about the Order and it’s clear that her story will be about unlearning the ideas instilled in her, and hopefully one of radicalisation. Gyre, her older brother who lost his eye to the Order when Maya was taken and has harboured hatred for them ever since, is on a path to take them down, regardless of what he loses in the process. I enjoyed Maya’s chapters more than Gyre’s; hers featured really fun and dynamic side characters that Gyre’s lacked. His main companion is Kit, a remorseless mercenary, and frankly.... I couldn’t stand her. Their inevitable romance soured a lot of the more interesting parts of his chapters because her bloodlust and disregard for everyone apart from herself made it really hard for me to understand why Gyre was so enamoured with her. It isn’t out of character for him to go along with her plans; ultimately where they go in the story makes sense for Gyre’s arc about his selfish determination. But if you’re not a fan of the “teehee sarcastic, violent, I don’t give a shit about anyone else” type of character, you’ll really struggle with Kit. She has interesting moments and she and Gyre’s story is bound to go somewhere good, but the novel makes her out to be so uncaring and joyful about violence and others dying because of her and it was extremely offputting.

A positive about the world is the complete lack of homophobia entrenched into the fantasy worldbuilding. Not just a lack of it, but a clear determination to include LGBT+ characters as much as possible. There are multiple references to background characters who are dancing with fellow men or kissing other women in taverns, and multiple main, major and minor side characters are attracted to the same gender. There isn’t as much reference to transgender and non-binary characters as gay, bi and lesbian ones but it’s a world that could deftly include some in a sequel without any issue. It’s so refreshing to see this in an adult fantasy novel, even if the main f/f romance was underwhelming.

I also thought the action in this was incredibly fun, fast paced and visceral. It’s a little bit gory - not unnecessarily so - and paints a powerful picture about the world’s magic and the gritty violence and danger in the world. Fight scenes are fun to read, especially because Maya and Gyre fight differently because Maya has magic that Gyre doesn’t, so I never found myself uninterested in how they’d get out of situations. Stakes in this book are very high so action scenes were important to pay attention to, otherwise you may end up missing the shocking injuries or deaths of characters. Despite these scenes being clear to picture, some actual plot elements were unclear in comparison. It’s possible you’ll be retreading paragraphs to understand. This book sometimes felt like it was just missing simple information, not to the point where it was incomprehensible, just a little bit of “what just happened?”

Overall, it’s a really fun refreshing fantasy that I’d recommend if you want something that’s fast paced, gritty but also very funny and light hearted when it needs to be. That tone is handled well, and the book pulls off a fantasy romp in the middle of gritty, body horror violence and political oppression. Romance is poor, both the m/f and f/f but characters are in for complicated arcs in the rest of this series and I’m looking forward to it.

When I first opened this book, I have to admit I was a little intimidated by its length. I mean, not solely length, because I’ve read longer, but it’s length and the fact I had no idea what I was getting into style-wise, since I’d never read the author before. I needn’t have worried though, because this book pretty much ticked every box for what I want from a fantasy.

Central to the book, and the series overall I would imagine, is a brother-sister relationship. Gyre has hated the Twilight Order since they took his sister and an eye from him when he was a child. Meanwhile, Maya is working her way through the ranks of said Order. With Gyre’s desires to bring down the order, they are on a collision course.

For such a long book, this was a very quick read. It was a combination of an easy writing style and the fact that the plot kept moving at all times. I’ve had a lot of trouble this year finding fantasy novels that I’ve actually enjoyed, particularly first books in series, but I never had a problem like that here. I was sucked in from the first page and never really wanted to put it down after that.

The worldbuilding was also excellent, not least because it was a fantasy world that not only had zero homophobia, but mentioned very casually a number of wlw and mlm relationships. It’s like, having no homophobia in your fantasy world has multiple stages. The first is, obviously, just having no overt homophobia. But it’s all very well doing that and then all your relationships are cishet. The next stage is making it so your society isn’t heteronormative, and that’s what I felt this book did very well. There were numerous instances of non-cishet relationships and no one batted an eyelid. I think it could have done more with regard to gender in general, but it was a nice start.

I think, really, the only thing that I was not so enamoured by was the f/f relationship. It’s just that it felt like a man writing it (because, duh, it was). Like I know people have differing opinions on that, and I’m not saying that it wasn’t written thoughtfully, because it was. But it still gave off that “written by a man” vibe. (I feel like I’m tying myself in knots writing this paragraph, so sorry if it’s not clear.) But that’s a personal complaint, etc etc and in the end didn’t really detract from my enjoyment of the book as a whole.

So, if you’re looking for a fast-paced adult fantasy that centres on an angsty sibling relationship (and, honestly, aren’t we all?), then this should be on your TBR.

Rating: 4 Stars

| TL;DR |

This vibrant, rich and detailed novel tells the tale of two siblings on either side of an ages old war. As Maya, agathios of the Twilight Order, attempts to clear her mentor’s name and Gyre, Maya’s brother, searches for a powerful artefact to help him bring about the the Order’s destruction, their two intertwining narratives dramatically converge in this exciting and action-packed epic.

With strong characters, a unique magic system and a beautifully rendered landscape, Ashes of the Sun straddles the line between good and bad, right and wrong, and paints this broken empire in exquisite shades of grey.

| Review |

The ages old war between the Chosen and the ghouls has obliterated the landscape and left it in ruins. Spearing from the earth and tunnelling under mountains, relics from the past are now home to the ever expanding towns and cities of man, and all that was left behind has either been salvaged, scavenged or stolen.

But more than one war continues in this shattered landscape. From the Forge, the Centarchs of the Twilight Order, powerful champions of the Chosen, are charged with keeping order and fight to eliminate dhakim – those who practice ghoul magic and use it to create the abominable plaguespawn. In the cities, the rebellion fight for freedom and against those who would suppress the tunnelborn, a subjugated people living on the outskirts of society, even if it means taking on the local militia, the Legions of the Dawn Republic, and the Twilight Order itself.

Born to one household but raised apart, Maya and Gyre find themselves on opposite sides of this insurmountable divide. Maya, an agathios – or novice – of the Twilight Order is gifted with a connection to the deiat, and wields the unimaginable power of Creation. Gyre, driven by this troubled past and his burning hatred for the Order, fights for the rebellion under the pseudonym Halfmask. As trouble brews across the realm, Maya and Gyre’s lives converge in an explosive and action packed tale where the line between good and evil are hopelessly blurred.

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Told form two entirely different perspectives: one which champions discovery, order and the power of good and the other that champions vengeance, liberation and, ultimately, destruction; Ashes of the Sun pulls the reader into the midst of a conflict which questions the very nature of good and bad, right and wrong, for a non-stop, whirlwind of a tale. Narrated by two distinct voices and personalities, these two opposing viewpoints work together to paint a vivid picture of a world that, in reality, comprises shades of grey.

With ruined constructs, great metropolises and fallen skyships, this post-apocalyptic and fantastic vision unveils a colourful world with a unique and inventive magic system. The weight of history is woven into the landscape in the ages old struggle between the forces of chaos and order, and in the people and their struggle to survive under such deprivation. The divide between the rich and the poor, between the repressed and their suppressors, is depicted with a clear and direct vision which emphasises Maya’s naivety, her steadfast belief that the Order are solely good, and Gyre’s bitterness, that the world’s ills stem from the likes of the irredeemable Order.

From auxiliaries and legionaries to dogmatics and pragmatics, Wexler has created a strong foundation on which to build his series; the two tangled narratives threatening to derail plans, destroy hope and eliminate what little respect Maya and Gyre had for one another in the first place. This is a tale that thrives on its worldbuilding, that celebrates its diverse characters and that is all the better for its use of politics and intrigue throughout its plot.

Maya and Gyre are two siblings defined by their differing experiences and entirely disparate lives, with Maya’s comfort and innocence contrasting sharply with Gyre’s hardship, anger and resentment. With unique and memorable viewpoints, neither protagonist outdoes the other in either drama, suspense or action, with the endearing qualities of one complementing the bravado of the other.

Similarly, the supporting characters provide an interesting and diverse backdrop to the protagonists. Those of the Order – Bec, Tanax and Varo – show the complex hierarchy of the Order and their devotion to the Inheritance, and those of the rebellion – Yora, Lynnia and Harrow – show a driven and like-minded community who will fight for the rights of their people at almost any cost. Providing plenty of interest, intrigue and diversion throughout the narrative, these characters are only surpassed by the enigmatic and ultimately dangerous Kit Doomseeker who steals more than just the show.

Well written and highly-enjoyable throughout, this series opener succeeds in setting a perfect scene from which to read the remainder of the series. While there may be a lot of new terminology to absorb throughout the novel, the steady pace and the intricacies of the narrative give plenty of time to fully absorb the different terms – in between bouts of plaguespawn, skirmishes and bar fights, of course.

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Ashes of the Sun is a well-written, exciting read that I barely put down over its six hundred pages. While I could have lived without many of the romantic aspects of the storyline, these remained only secondary to the narrative and didn’t inhibit my enjoyment of the story as a whole. With more fights, skirmishes and powerful artefacts than you can shake a stick at, the first in Burningblade & Silvereye promises the start of something quite special.

A great tale well told. Clever new alchemical magic. Good history and political motivations that motivate the story rather than stall it. Great characters and clever motivations that put brother and sister on opposite sides.

4.5*

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I hadn’t read any books by Django Wexler, when I saw this pop up on NetGalley. The cover pulled me in straight away and after reading the synopsis I was sold. Luckily, I was granted my request for an ARC. Based on reading Ashes of the Sun, Shadow Campaigns is now firmly on my TBR.

Ashes of the Sun follows two main characters, Gyre and Maya, who are brother and sister. They were very close when they were young, but Maya was taken away by The Twilight Order when she was only 5 years old, Gyre being 8 years old at the time. After this scene, we fast forward 12 years and follow the story of each.
Gyre left home at a young age, hellbent on finding a way to destroy the empire—who he blames for taking away his sister, destroying his family and the oppression of the poor. He stole, cheated and whored his way to Deepfire, in the hope of finding power, that could match The Twilight Order, in the Tomb.

In Deepfire he finds himself running with a crew of people who are a bit like Robin Hood and his merry men. They take from the rich and give to the poor; scavenge tech; fight oppression and help those in need; and aim to bring down the corrupt local leader.

Maya, on the other hand, is firm in her believe and conviction of the good The Twilight Order do in protecting the empire. She is an Agathios, a Centarch in traing. Her master is Jaedia, a Centrach, who she has travelled with for many years. Avoiding politics back at the Forge (home The Twilight Order), preferring to travel, track down plaguespawn, help those in need, and remain undercover—never taking advantage of their power and status.

Fight scenes are really fun, gory well played out, and well-paced. Each Agathios and Centrach possess power, but it manifests in different ways. Maya’s power is fire, which is cool the way Wexler vividly describes scenes where she draws on her power. It’s fair to draw some comparison to Star Wars. Wexler himself said the idea “definitely originated, back at the beginning, in a series of conversations about Star War”. The relationship between an Agathios and Centrach is like a Padawan and Jedi. While members of The Twilight Order don’t fight with lightsabres, their Haken must sure look like them when they ‘light’ them.

There is also another race in this book, but I won’t go into them as it can spoil a little of their reveal. But they too are powerful.

Support characters I Ashes of the Sun are also awesome. Maya travels Jaedia and Marn (Marn is a younger Agathios), until she goes on her first mission without Jaedia. It is her where we are introduced to three other characters, including Beq, who I can’t help but like. She a little bit of a tech geek and history buff. I’ll leave you to discover the others who travel with her, as the more time you are reading this review, you are not reading Ashes of the Sun!

I’ve briefly mentioned Gyre runs with a crew and will leave you to discover those too, but I will touch on people at the Forge. The is the home of The Twilight Order, and where the Council is. This adds some political intrigue to the story. There are three groups with differing beliefs on how The Twilight Order should be run, their goals, and how they should behave out in the field. Two of these are the most dominant and equally divided. These beliefs then filter down from the Council members, to Centarchs and their Agathios.

Ashes of the Sun is a great read and highly recommended. While it’s a fantasy novel, there are aspects of Sci-fi in there… I didn’t even talk about constructs and only briefly mentioned tech. I also, didn’t discuss Plaguespawn and the horrors that control them… there’s plenty for you to discover! It’s thoroughly enjoyable, engaging, and great fun. I highly recommend it and can’t wait for book 2!

The premise of this book is interesting and I found the beginning gripping. I haven't read anything else by Django Wexler, but I felt like this was a really good introduction to his style and work. Gyre loses his little sister and is scarred (blinded in one eye). As someone who is interested in representations of disability in literature, this was of interest to me.

I found Gyre to be a standard, jaded character, but the way that Wexler wove together Gyre and Maya's perspectives nuanced and well balanced. I liked how the siblings were coming to terms with the current events/their history in the narrative, but Gyre felt a little bit less developed than Maya.

As someone who reads a lot of high fantasy, leaning away from the SF in SFF, I found the world building easy to understand and interesting enough to keep me reading. It is a hefty investment though and I didn't read it as quickly as most other books (most likely because of the above reason that I prefer fantasy that's not so SF-orientated), but it was enjoyable enough to keep on going.

I very much enjoyed this author′s Shadow Campaign books, which had a different approach to a fantastical story, weaving more mundane concepts into the plot. This book has the more usual fantasy elements, with a fading order of Knights, a former war before two inhuman empires, and a cunning thief. But he puts these elements together expertly, and with a slightly steampunk aesthetic.

The story starts off with the older brother Gyre′s point of view, so a reader may side with him to start with especially when he loses his younger sister. But when the narrator switches to his sister Maya, who seems content in what seems to be a good position, sympathy can switch to her. I was surprised that they actually had a meeting during the first two thirds of the book, and not at the climax but it enabled them to state their positions, and perhaps come to terms with them before they meet again at the climax. Because Gyre is so nihilistic, wanting to tear down everything with no thought of what will replace it, I tended to side with Maya, but the Twilight Order that she belongs to is called ′Twilight′ for a reason, it is becoming smaller, fragmenting and open to corruption. To add to everyone′s problem there are the first indications that the two empires which created so much chaos and destruction in their wars may not be so extinct as believed.

The different side plots and the characters. And can I just take a moment to say how much I enjoy the fact that even the smallest character like the guards or ruffians in any fight are given a little bit of description and humanity, not just left as faceless cannon fodder.

The different strands of the story come to a satisfying conclusion, and there are some intriguing changes for some characters going forward, but there is no cliff-hanger. I found this an engrossing read and will be looking out for more in the series.

I had a copy of this book early through Netgalley.

ARC provided by the publisher—Head of Zeus—in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 stars

A captivating start to a series; if you’re worried whether Ashes of the Sun will be as good as The Shadow Campaigns or not, feel free to incinerate those doubts away now.

Almost three years have passed since I finished reading The Shadow Campaigns military fantasy series—a very underrated series—by Django Wexler, and ever since I heard that Ashes of the Sun will mark Wexler’s return to the adult fantasy scene, I was excited, to say the least. My excitement was further increased when I saw the gorgeous cover art by Scott M. Fischer. Now that I’ve finished reading the book, I have to conclude by saying that my excitement was satisfyingly fulfilled.

“This is not a Star Wars novel, but it definitely originated, back at the beginning, in a series of conversations about Star Wars. My list of people to thank therefore needs to start with Star Wars and everyone involved with it…”—Django Wexler


Hundreds of years ago, a magical war destroyed an empire, and a new one was built in its ashes. Ashes of the Sun is the first book in the Burningblade & Silvereye trilogy, and the story follows two main characters, Maya and Gyre, a sibling who were separated from each other since they were young. Fast forward twelve years later to the present timeline, Maya is now in the Twilight Order, while Gyre lives for revenge: to destroy the Order. Truthfully, I was a bit scared with this premise because earlier this year, Orbit released a new novel with a similar premise—The Ranger of Marzanna by Jon Skovron—and that one didn’t work for me; I was scared this would end up the same. But no, what a fool I was that I even felt that way, Ashes of the Sun was one of the recently released SFF novels that manage to thoroughly steal my attention from the beginning until the end. This is a Star Wars inspired fantasy, its influences on the world-building—more on this later—can be found everywhere, and the themes of family, duty, order, freedom, and justice are prevalent throughout the narrative.

“Why, she thought, do I have a bad feeling about this?”


I’m pretty sure that line is a nod to Star Wars.

If you haven’t read The Shadow Campaigns, you probably don’t know about Wexler’s capability in writing superbly-written heroine and f/f relationship. I mean it, Winter from The Shadow Campaigns is still one of my favorite heroines in a fantasy novel. From this promising start alone, Wexler’s characterizations of Maya seems to be on its way to reaching the same quality Wexler exhibited for Winter. There’s a charm in Wexler’s portrayal of f/f relationship that feels well-developed and genuine; the relationship between Maya and Beq was gradually developed, and their development with each other was easy to care for. Maya, on her own, was already a well-written character, but it’s her relationship with Beq, Tanax (her rival), Jaedia (her mentor), and Gyre that made the variety of tones in her story more compelling. More or less, the same level of characterizations can also be said for Gyre. This, of course, doesn’t mean that Gyre has a similar personality to Maya; he’s on a completely different spectrum, the one on the dark side, or at least falling towards it. After what happened in the prologue and the twelve years gap, Gyre’s fury towards the Order is now unstoppable; he detests the notion of being protected by them just because they have deiat (the force in Star Wars) inside them since they were born.

“The Twilight Order defends the Dawn Republic. That’s how it’s always been. But they defend us like a suit of iron armor. It might stop a knife, but it weighs you down until you can barely move.”


As the POV continuously (and alternately) shifts between Maya and Gyre, I found Wexler’s writing and the pacing he brought with his narrative to be greatly-paced. Seriously, due to the current world situation, it’s not easy for me to finish a 600 pages novel within three days; it could’ve been done in two days for this book, if I may be honest, I just wanted my time with the novel to last slightly longer. Regarding the Star Wars influences, there’s quite a lot to mention. Some of the most obvious ones are Haken, equivalent to a lightsaber, is a sword hilt and a crossguard with no blade that can be used by manipulating deiat. Then there’s also Centarch—pretty much a Jedi—and Agathios—a padawan training to be a centarch—from the Twilight Order (similar to Order of the Jedi). It’s all very cool and fun, but most importantly, Wexler was skillful enough to incorporate all the Star Wars elements into the world-building and story without making the book feels like it’s a Star Wars rip-off. The post-apocalyptic world, the plaguespawns, constructs, and the combination of sci-fi, technology, and fantasy all contribute to making this an immersive and imaginative world to dive into. With all of these in mind, Wexler’s well-spread action sequences in the book were all exciting; the clash of elemental deiat scenes was vivid and kickass, and one ability reminiscent of Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson or Sharingan from Naruto seriously made me went: “whoa, this is so cool!”

“The Chosen are gone, but as long as their heirs hold their weapons over the rest of us, who can stand up to them? They say they have the right to rule, out of a duty to keep the rest of us safe. As though we were children, inferior, just because we weren’t born with whatever special trick that lets the centarch touch deiat.”


Ashes of the Sun is an insanely fun and engaging Star Wars inspired SFF novel. If the intention of this novel is to entertain, it had succeeded exceedingly; I absolutely enjoyed it. Imbued with well-written characters and relationships, exciting action scenes, and an immersive world-building, Ashes of the Sun is a complete triumph. I have only one regret upon finishing this book, and that’s the next book isn’t available for me to devour yet. I need the sequel last week, Wexler.

You can order the book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository (Free shipping)

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I'm an only child who loves stories about other people's complicated sibling relationships, which is what originally drew me to this book. Ashes of the Sun alternates between Gyre and Maya's POVs, and while we don't see a lot of them interacting with each other in this book, the set up for the broader conflict was fantastic and kept me engaged all the way through. The author notes Star Wars as an inspiration, which is clear in the world-building (in which the Twilight Order, made up of heirs of the former magic-wielding Chosen, is responsible for protecting the Republic) and also the use of lightsaber like weapons, but this book takes the premise to a really interesting moral place - at what point does protection become a form of subjugation in its own right? And how ethical is it for a single group to regulate the use of magic, even if they use it for the greater good? With one sibling on each side of this divide, I look forward to seeing them wrestle with these questions in future books.

In addition, this book features a really sweet f/f romance (and a less sweet, but highly entertaining m/f one) and a begrudging ally (my favourite kind). There are also the plagueborn - mutant, ever-evolving creatures that the Twilight Order defends against, but which I literally pictured as giant, plague-ridden rats. While there are no plagues in this book, it's probably an unfortunate time for your main monsters to have such connotations.

If I have one complaint, it's that this book could have been 50-100 pages shorter - the fight scenes are a little more detailed than they need to be, and some events feel rather drawn out - but overall, I highly recommend this one and am looking forward to the sequel.

It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last as it's brilliant.
I loved the amazing world building, the character development and the storytelling.
The plot is gripping and entertaining, it kept me hooked till the end.
I can't wait to read the next installment.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Synopsis: When they were young children, Maya was separated from her family and from her brother Gyre: one of those single-man-army centarchs of the Twilight Order took her away. Gyre stood ground, but lost an eye, and ever since was called Half-Mask. 

In alternating chapters, the story follows the faith of the siblings twelve years after Maya's kidnapping: 20 years old Gyre in a Robin Hood like behavior steels from the Order and passes some wealth to the forgotten folk of the undercity. 17 years old Maya travels with her mistress solving mysteries of smugglers of forbidden arcanes, showing her cunning sword art, wielding her legendary blade called "haken" and weaving magics spells. They never met since their rough separation and fight on opposing sides: Gyre ultimately seeks revenge, risking anything to wield enough power to destroy the Order, while Maya tries to rise to an accepted member of the Order.  

Review: This is the first entry in the Burningblade and Silvereye fantasy series, but could very well be read as a standalone. It concludes with a few dangling threads but brings the plot to a satisfying ending.

There is a lot of SFional influence drippling down into the fantasy setting: gigantic flying fortresses crashed into the earth generations ago, and many of the magical artifacts are driven by a force I often read as electricity. The "haken" felt like a Star Wars lightsabre. 

But Wexler not only integrated SF into this fantasy novel, but also horror elements: necronomists creating monsters called the "plaguespawn" which range from rat sized up to bear large entities driven by their yearn to destroy anything living and incorporating remains into their own bodies. Both siblings fight against numerous of those beasts, mostly in cellars or labyrinthic tunnel systems fitting to a wonderful Dungeons&Dragons session. 

In fact, a huge part of the novel describes fights very detailed, bordering LitRPG, and very bloody. The first 50 pages was nearly continuous fighting with only small breaks in between. While I liked the diversity of the fights - Gyre mostly with alchemical bombs and weapons, and Maya as sword wielding magician - I could have lived with half the amount of action. In between, I yearned for a chapter just settling down a bit - well, there was one, but it was short. Action oriented fantasy fans will find their needs filled to the fullest, no mercy given. 

Both main characters were relatable and believable in their youthful recklessness and naivety. Some teenage angst drove me nuts when Maya unfolded her virgin lesbian drive to fellow character Beq, taking them nearly half the novel to come to fruition. That was clearly too much romance suspense for my taste. The complete opposite was frivolous and mysterious Kit Doomseeker, acting as a quest giver for Gyre. 

Also, this novel wins the "Most grins" Award. My Kindle counted 100 occurences, and given that its used mostly in the chapters featuring Kit Doomseeker, that's awfully often.

The novel is a really high-octane, mostly underground, thriller fantasy, tending towards YA in some aspects. It shines with character, plot, and setting, and sometimes just has too much in it. I found it very entertaining and recommend it.

Ashes of the Sun revolves around two main characters, in alternating chapters. Maya, a young girl who suffers mysterious bouts of sickness and Gyre her overprotective older brother. One fateful day a Centarch of the Twilight Order arrives at their home offering a cure for Maya and proceeds, despite her screams, to try and take her away. Her older and protective brother Gyre intervenes and loses half his face as a punishment resulting in a serious story of revenge, obsession and an overwhelming desire to see the entire system destroy

The story is told over alternating chapters, which keeps your interest, makes you want to read more. The story is paced excellently as we begin to see each character grow and change from young naive characters to more mature ones, as they begin to experience real life. Both Maya and Gyre are easily relatable characters. It was good to see them develop and start affecting the world around them. The fight scenes are really good, the edge of your seat type fights.

There is some predictability as we know Maya and Gyre will meet again. However, don't let this get in the way of what is an exciting read. However, there were moments I didn't see coming, which again, kept me wanting to read more.

The mains strengths of this book are the believability of the characters and their relationships. A magic system which is fun and exciting, A story which is nicely paced in terms of action.

Thanks to Head of Zeus and Netgalley for a free ebook arc, all opinions expressed are my own.

Ashes of the Sun is one of those books that hooked me at the very start. The introduction to the book, and to our two POV characters packed quite a punch. I will say that the time transition that followed threw me briefly, but the story quickly drew me back in.

The alternating POV format following Maya and Gyre, a brother and sister that were separated at a young age, was skillfully done, and each provided a different viewpoint both on what had happened when they were children, the world around them and the conflict that they found themselves on opposite sides of. Of the two, Maya was my favourite, there was just something about her personality that I liked that little bit more. However, Gyre was still a fascinating character, and his motivations were if anything even more understandable than his sister’s at times. What I really liked was how, as their paths come closer and closer, the opposing approaches to what is happening create an even more vivid picture of what is happening. Showing that there are misconceptions, and a disconnect between certain factions, that are only feeding into the conflict. It made for a very engaging read and left you rooting for characters on both sides.

The supporting cast is wonderful too, each bringing something different and unique to the story and to our main characters. My favourites were Beq, who Maya has a crush on – and I am always happy to see more f/f rep in books, and Kit who was an instant favourite from the moment she was first introduced. The main cast is rather small, but that means there is more of a chance to get to know them, and I look forward to seeing where the characters go in future books.

However, as well done as the characters were, it was the world-building that truly made me fall in love with this book. It’s the one thing I really look for in fantasy, and Ashes from the Sun had such a wonderfully rich world that it pulled me in completely. It’s a world that we’re thrown into from the start and learn about through the story, the world-building is carefully interwoven with the plot, so that there are no real info dumps. What it does is create a world that feels very real and lived in, while still leaving areas to be explored and questions unanswered, especially about things such as the plaguespawn and the Chosen. It would have been nice to learn a little more about them in this book, but certainly didn’t detract from the story, and I am confident that there will be answers to come in the future, and I am more than happy to return to this world to find them as I have spent some happy hours there while reading this book.

This rich world-building, creating a vibrant, interesting dystopian world, was paired with a fantastic writing style. It was fast-paced, and there was a lot packed into this book, particularly towards the end. I really enjoyed the prose and the humour, but what really stood out for me was the fight scenes – which can be so hard to get right, but these ones were that right balance of information and action, which combined with the various fighting styles made for dynamic, engaging fight scenes.

This was my first venture into Django Wexler’s work, but I will certainly be continuing with this series, and once my TBR is at a slightly more manageable level (or more likely when I give in to temptation), I will be checking out his earlier works. It was a wonderfully immersive read, particularly with the world-building and was a much needed and very enjoyable escape from the recent chaos. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting a fast-paced adventure with engaging characters and fantastic world-building.

Though I had never read anything by this author before, I dont know why had a bit of high expectations from this one and I guess that’s the main reason it didn’t seem to wow me.

Maya was definitely a standout character with both her badass as well as vulnerable moments whereas Gyre felt a little one dimensional with just wanting to burn everything down. I really didn’t connect much to any other characters and I never got the emotional payoff I always expect from a good fantasy novel. I was also not a particular fan of the writing style, which kinda made it hard for me to read quickly. The world building was okay but nothing really stood out as very different from other fantasy worlds.

I still think this is a fun novel, especially if you like the writing style and the extremely fast pacing of the plot which doesn’t leave a lot of time to explore the nuances of the characters. And I definitely appreciate the queer rep and it’s always exciting to see more f/f main couples in fantasy. I still haven’t decided if am gonna continue the series but I’m keeping an open mind.

"Ashes of the Sun" started out brilliantly. It grabbed me instantly, but then there was a downhill slide. I think it's me, rather than the book itself as I felt like it was aimed more at late teen/early 20s readers rather than a broader age-range. That said, the writing is very good and the story is interesting. I lost all connection with the characters after the first chapter, but I think that's down to me being too old!

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advance copy to review. This review is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

It appears that my opinion is going to be an unpopular one.

I was anticipating "Ashes of Sun", but was quite disappointed. My eARC didn't come with a cover, map or glossary, but I've found that other reviewers copies did come with a glossary. I had a hard time imagining the creatures and world and I found some names extremely cringy - "Suddenstorm" and "Thousandcuts" and "unmetal" to name a few made me roll my eyes.

The writing felt more YA to me than the epic adult fantasy I expected.

The plot is loose and we get mission after mission with no real goal in mind (except Gyre wanting to take down everyone). It doesn't feel tied together enough.
Maya was the most interesting character and all the side characters never felt fleshed out enough for me to care if they lived or died (and die they did).

I believe that many people will enjoy this book as the ideas altogether are very good, but I'd urge the publishers to add maps and maybe some illustrations to make sure readers aren't as confused as I was and this ultimately didn't make for a good reading experience.

Thank you Head of Zeus and Netgalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another great contribution to the fantasy genre from Wrexler, always guaranteed to entertain and wow me. I love the amazing world building the author brings to every book and such brilliant characters, fully developed and three dimensional, it’s a completely immersive experience reading a book by Django Wrexler, beautiful imagery and wonderfully written. Just amazing fantasy

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

3.5/5

Ashes of the sun was simply a book that didn’t completely wow me. There’s nothing really wrong with it, the story is fine for the most part, the world is interesting and the characters weren’t bad but the it was just missing something to get me excited to read it.

The story focuses on two siblings: Gyre and Maya who are separated as children. Maya is raised to be a Centarch, a magical warrior, and Gyre hates the Centarch because he believes they stole his sister and he wants to destroy them. It was interesting to read a story about siblings being on different sides and it drives the story along well enough.

The world and its society are very well created and described. It’s dark and there’s a lot of danger to be had as well as a lot of action scenes. I find this is where the story is its strongest.

As for the characters, I did like them for the most part. Gyre was fine and I liked his burning hatred. I liked Maya on the whole but at one point Wexler pulled the whole “you’re going to be the strongest of us all” trope with her and as soon as those words came out of the character’s mouth I actually groaned. Nothing kills my enjoyment quite like that particular trope.

On the whole there’s nothing really wrong with Ashes of the Sun. It does spend a little too long introducing everything and the end feels a little bit rushed but there aren’t a lot of things in particular, apart from a few niggles, that are really wrong. I just didn’t love it. Maybe it’s because I haven’t engaged in many books before I read it but it just didn’t quite hit the spot for me. Maybe it’ll be the perfect thing for someone else.