Get Your Free Audiobook
-
An Ember in the Ashes
- Narrated by: Aysha Kala, Jack Farrar
- Series: An Ember in the Ashes, Book 1
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure
Add to cart failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with Audible free trial
₹199.00/month
Buy Now for ₹552.00
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, An Ember in the Ashes is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his freedom. It's a story that's literally burning to be told.
What if you were the spark that could ignite a revolution? For years Laia has lived in fear. Fear of the Empire, fear of the Martials, fear of truly living at all. Born as a Scholar, she's never had much of a choice.
For Elias it's the opposite. He has seen too much on his path to becoming a Mask, one of the Empire's elite soldiers. With the Masks' help the Empire has conquered a continent and enslaved thousands, all in the name of power.
When Laia's brother is taken she must force herself to help the Resistance, the only people who have a chance of saving him. She must spy on the Commandant, ruthless overseer of Blackcliff Academy. Blackcliff is the training ground for Masks and the very place that Elias is planning to escape. If he succeeds, he will be named deserter. If found, the punishment will be death.
But once Laia and Elias meet, they will find that their destinies are intertwined and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.
In the ashes of a broken world one person can make a difference. One voice in the dark can be heard. The price of freedom is always high, and this time that price might demand everything, even life itself.
Critic Reviews
More from the same
What listeners say about An Ember in the Ashes
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 24-06-18
Better than average, but not brilliant.
The female character Laia, and her narration annoyed me the most. She was an insecure whinny child. I mean she was written as an insecure whinny child, (why authors think we want to listen to children whine in our off hours is beyond me) but these things work better in written books than in audio books. In a paper book you skip the bits that you don't like, in an audio book you are stuck with them. Also the narrator reading the female part can't pronounce some English words. Honey, here's a hint if you're going to be reading English professionally check a dictionary, ask the guy reading the male part, ask anybody. It's granite.
The male part was not as annoying to listen to, and saved the story.
If I buy the next book, I'll probably buy it as a book though not an audio book, I can't run the risk of the whining not being done yet.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 28-07-18
Loved this book
This book is fast paced and exciting! Couldn’t stop listening! Great book. I recommend it
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mansi
- 18-07-18
It was brilliant. It was epic.
Read this again to refresh the story, before picking up Reaper at the gates.
I just fell in love with this book all over again, the characters and the world building. Tahir's unique writing style and creative imagination is amazing.
It was brilliant. It was epic. Still felt great reading it again. Both Elias and Laia are such strong characters, and I fell in love with them. I was invested and engrossed the whole time that is finished it in a day.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- ldhess
- 19-03-18
good story
good narration.. strong story, nail biting chapter after chapter. suspenseful till the end. must buy
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Christopher
- 23-06-15
Probably the next big thing in YA Fantasy
I picked this up simply due to the fact that I read an article about it getting a 7-figure movie deal already, therefore I am assuming it is going to be as big as Harry Potter and Hunger Games etc.
Story – 4/5
I thought the story was excellent to be honest. It grabbed hold, and wouldn’t let go. The story and prose are simple and concise, as befits a young adult story, but the story is rich with depth and characterisation. There is plenty of action, great character development and a good portion of romance that added to the story, rather than detracting like most tend to for me.
Telling the story from 2 first person viewpoints that alternate, even when the characters cross-over worked extremely well. There was a strong emotional connection with both characters. The setting is supposed to be an alternative fantasy Roman Empire, with familiar styled names, and the format of the soldier’s training/discipline, which also worked very well.
For a young adult story, it is full of brutality; like torture, violence and talk of rape (although no rape actually happens luckily). It seems too much for teenagers, but then the plot and story progression is definitely written with teenagers in mind, therefore probably doesn’t hit either audience properly. Not that it matters too much for big kids like me. I also didn’t find some of what the supporting cast did very realistic at times; but these are both minor issues on the scale of things – easily ironed out in later novels.
Although the novel, including the title, hint towards a spark of revolution, do not be fooled into thinking this is a hunger games rip-off. It is completely different, and clearly the first novel of a series as it barely touches the surface of the overall plot that Sabaa Tahir is clearly working towards. I’m surprised this hasn’t been made a bigger deal on audible to be honest. I only hope this review can spread the word and ensure the whole series gets added.
Performance – 4/5
I think the audiobook production was of a very high quality. Getting 2 narrators to do the story from the 2 viewpoints really helped add to the enjoyment overall. I think both were very good at portraying the strong emotions of their respective characters.
Jack Farrar’s character voice acting was very good, each having a distinctive, believable voice. Aysha Kala, although acted well, didn’t provide much distinction; using similar voices for all characters. It didn’t spoil the book at all, as the story/prose was easy to follow – so I always knew who was speaking anyway, but it could have been just that little bit better.
Overall – 4/5
26 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- PoppyA
- 25-08-16
fantastic story and brilliant narration.
can't wait to read the next book, desperate for audible to provide a version ( preferably with these same narrators)
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rebecca
- 03-02-16
Fab book and interesting for Adults also!
If you could sum up An Ember in the Ashes in three words, what would they be?
Intriguing, Detailed, Gripping.
What does Aysha Kala and Jack Farrar bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
Lovely to listen to two such soothing and animated voices, especially from Jack Farrar.
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tazmin
- 28-06-17
Truely FANTASTIC I honestly cant find the words.
I cant actually find anything to compare its brilliance to. The book says ancient Rome but I dint really get that same vibe. I found myself takeb back to Nazi Germany.
A bloody good book
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Farah Cook - author of the Viking Assassin Series
- 14-08-17
Dangerous World where everything is possible
I enjoyed reading this book. It's brilliant and the characters are emotional and believable. The plot was fantastic and I loved the end. It's wonderful to see how the female protagonist develops and becomes stronger! I'd want to read this book a few more times just because it's written so beautifully
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kelly Tucker
- 07-02-18
Loved it
Loved everything about this story!!! An ember in the ashes pushing these two together!!! Straight to book 2
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Zemap
- 10-12-16
awesome
loved it, can't wait to read the next one. if I had a complaint it's that it all happens so quick the time flies when you're listening.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Annaik M
- 19-11-16
One of my favourites!
What did you like best about this story?
My favorite part about the story was, how well the story line and characters were presented, so it was really easy to build up connections with characters, understand their developments. The world in which the story is set is definitely well though through and therefore makes the whole story very real and makes it easier for the listener to understand the story.
Any additional comments?
Definitely one of my favourite audiobooks so far, I would definitely recommend anyone who is interested in fantasy stories to read it. From strong characters, to an interesting story and plot twists that keep the book interesting, it has everything.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Elinor Dashwood
- 30-05-17
Starts well, then fades
I thought this book started off with excellent writing, but then it lost its way a little. It was a good enough story, but there were a lot of cliches borrowed from other YA books and not a lot that was fresh or original, and I wasn't a fan of the "love square".
I was disturbed by the gratuitous use of violence. There are so many deaths (used as plot devices) that you become numbed to them, and the casual acceptance of rape combined with the endless violent victimisation of the main character begin to feel like sadistic voyeurism.
The narrators brought good expression and characterisation to their readings, BUT there were so many mispronunciations of words. So many. I can't think why the audio producer didn't edit these. Particularly irritating is the way the female narrator pronounces "says" phonetically ("s-ay-z" rather than "sez"), which just kept popping me out of my immersion in the story.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- TAG
- 12-12-16
One narrator out-shines the other
It's difficult not to compare Jack Farrar and Aysha Kala when they are alternating chapters. She's good, but he's brilliant. Both suit their characters well. It can be a bit confusing until you work that out they don't seemed to have agreed pronunciation before they started so are talking about the same people.
I don't want to give any plot points away, but thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone - it has a bit of everything!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 24-01-19
Amazing bar narrator
Loved the story but for a while I couldn't get over how annoying the female narrator was, she didn't change her voice for different characters so it was hard to follow along with who was speaking.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Straight Up Bookish
- 05-05-22
fantastic story and narrator
This story was so good, the narrator's were easy to listen to hooked from the first chapter to the last
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 20-03-22
Epic!
Great storyline, wonderfully developed characters enjoyable performance. Highly recommend! Already looking forward to the second book!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sarah
- 14-03-22
Very engaging
I loved the plot twists and intrigue. Well worth the read. The narrators were excellent.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Cassie Fox
- 15-08-21
So good
Agh this was the perfect book to get me out of my last book series hangover. Utterly captivating. I can’t wait to read the next instalment. There’s 5 or so in this series so I just hope they are all as good and engaging as this one.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Simone Kiem
- 10-04-21
Amazing story, questionable female narration.
This book is so wholesome 🤗
It has all the best tropes
Down trodden civilisation that was overthrown by conqurers taking over the land
Romeo and Juliet vibes of the two different cultures
Magic beasties who've been asleep and are coming alive
Rebels with questionable motives.
A main character who starts off ANNOYING AS HELL but comes into herself and becomes someone you could love.
Everything a girl needs
I love the male Audible narration but the female makes our main character sound like a 5 year old. I actually could not stand it. Usually I will warm to a voice narrator after a few chapters but this was almost story ruining.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 17-01-21
wow
this book only had me hooked during part 2. it was slow to start and not that riveting, even though it was good. but it got better n now, im aching for book 2 haha. a very cool story
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Disco
- 19-03-20
yeah it was alright
good story
characters can be a bit annoying and quite obtuse at times
but I liked the way it uses the fantasy setting to drive characters
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- jasmin
- 05-03-20
Great book
This a great book, I loved the theme and twists and turns. The performance was also great. The only thing with the book was it repeatedly had to tell you what was at stake and why they were on the mission etc. We are listening or reading the book not reading part of it and then picking it up a year latter we don't need to be reminded about the main story line over and over again. I'm still going to get the second book for sure, can't wait to find out what happens.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Melia
- 22-11-19
Very descriptive writing.
Enjoyable narrators. Best part? Incredibly descriptive writing, author has really put SO much effort into setting the scenes and adding the feeling to the reader (listener). That was really memorable. It's a super slow first book. Just started the second book now... it's getting good now!