Listeners will delight in this first audiobook in a new fantasy series. This slow-burn, character-driven story follows the lives of several people who are trying to survive the harsh realities of Kithamar, a city with many faces. After suffering a personal tragedy, Alys obsessively pursues answers about who was behind it. Will she push her quest for revenge too far? Narrator Soneela Nankani is a great match for Abraham’s poignant writing. She strikes the perfect balance between infusing personality into the characters while remaining neutral enough to let the author’s beautiful prose shine. Her calm, thoughtful presentation mimics the heads-down, plodding atmosphere of Kithamar’s inhabitants. Through her, the unique vibrancy of the city becomes completely captivating. N.H. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

★ 12/06/2021

Bestseller Abraham, coauthor of the Expanse space opera series, returns to epic fantasy in this outstanding series debut, which instantly hooks readers with dual mysteries. Kithamar has prided itself as “a free city, independent and proud and ruled by princes of its own rather than any distant king” for centuries. But the city’s at a turning point when Prince Byrn a Sal dies after less than a year in power, the circumstances of his demise inviting speculation that he’s been murdered, possibly by his daughter and heir, Elaine. Abraham smartly twines this political intrigue with the consequences of a violent death in the city’s underworld; Alys, part of a successful pickpocket gang, ran afoul of a guard on the day of Byrn a Sal’s coronation, and was rescued by her older brother, Darro, also a thief. Shortly after this misadventure, Darro’s stabbed to death, leading Alys to fear it was a revenge killing by the guard, and thus, her fault. The impressively complex dynamics of Kithamar’s society and rival races are delineated without clunky exposition, making for a smooth, immersive first foray into its streets. Readers will eagerly anticipate the sequel. (Feb.)

An atmospheric and fascinating tapestry, woven with skill and patience.”—Joe Abercrombie, New York Times bestselling author of A Little Hatred

“[An] outstanding series debut, which instantly hooks readers with dual mysteries . . . Readers will eagerly anticipate the sequel.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Abraham is so good at evoking place and tying it inextricably to the people who occupy it . . . An almost perfect book in and of itself. I highly recommend it."—Fantasy & Science Fiction

“This new work bears the hallmark of a great Abraham work.”—Kirkus

“Age of Ash’s Kithamar is a spectacular creation, a city brought to life by dense, intricate worldbuilding and subtle magic. Fans of Scott Lynch or Robert Jackson Bennett will enjoy this one.”—Django Wexler, author of Ashes of the Sun

“Abraham builds this world with all the confident craftsmanship you’d expect from an author with his pedigree . . . . Kithamar is in the hands of a pro.”—SFX

"Everything I look for in a fantasy."—George R.R. Martin on The Dragon's Path

"Abraham builds on The Dragon's Path to create and sustain a rich, satisfyingly complex epic fantasy."—Publishers Weekly on The King's Blood

"Prepare to be shocked, startled, and entertained."—Locus on The Dragon's Path

"It's as if Clint Eastwood went to Narnia...A pleasure for Abraham's legion of fans."—Kirkus on The Dragon's Path

"This smart, absorbing, fascinating military fantasy, exciting and genuinely suspenseful, will keep readers on their toes."—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) on The Tyrant's Law

06/01/2022

Kithamar is an ancient city of blood and secrets. Its citizens make their livelihoods as best they can, some honestly, some not. But one secret at the dark centers of power in the city draws in characters, who will hold the power to make or break the future. Alys was born and bred in Longhill, a slum district, and when her brother is murdered, she sets out on a perilous quest to find who killed him. But what will she lose along the way? Interesting characters and clever worldbuilding help anchor a plot that sometimes seems billowy and unmanageable, and Soneela Nankani provides a smooth, pleasant narration, even if sometimes character voices bleed together without much distinction between them. VERDICT This first in a trilogy from Abraham (The Spider's War; coauthor of "The Expanse" series) is a must-buy for audio collections where grimdark and epic fantasy are popular, and is a solid choice for other collections because of its cross-genre appeal for mystery and sci-fi fans.—Chrystopher Lytal

09/01/2021

First in the "Kithamar" trilogy, set in an ancient city with a blood-bathed history, Nebula-nominated, Hugo-winning Abraham's Age of Ash tells the story of a thief named Alys whose hunt for her brother's murderer reveals secrets that could bring down rulers (40,000-copy first printing). With Clean Air, award-winning author Blake introduces a postapocalyptic world where trees are so overgrown that pollen chokes the world and people must live in domes that someone is viciously slashing. From Hugo nominee and internationally best-selling Dutch author Heuvelt, sends Nick Grevers and climbing partner Augustin up a remote mountain in the Swiss Alps called the Maudit ("cursed" in French), whose eerie stillness presages the horror to come (150,000-copy first printing). In The Thousand Eyes, a follow-up to Larkwood's LJ-starred debut, The Unspoken Name, Csorwe has defied the wizard she served and disappeared into the unknown to lead a quiet life with her mage-girlfriend—but not for long; bits and pieces of an ancient goddess are arising in the worlds of the Echo Maze, and Csorwe must join with old companions to resist (150,000-copy first printing). Owen, The Boy with the Bird in His Chest in Lund's debut, is hidden away by his mother for years to protect him but decides to risk an outing in the woods that turns catastrophic (60,000-copy first printing). Successful YA author Ross's first adult fantasy, A River Enchanted takes place on an island as magical as Prospero's, where spirits responding only to a bard's music thrive—and the trouble they are stirring up forces just-returned musician Jack and his nemesis, heiress Adaira, to cooperate (50,000-copy first printing).

Listeners will delight in this first audiobook in a new fantasy series. This slow-burn, character-driven story follows the lives of several people who are trying to survive the harsh realities of Kithamar, a city with many faces. After suffering a personal tragedy, Alys obsessively pursues answers about who was behind it. Will she push her quest for revenge too far? Narrator Soneela Nankani is a great match for Abraham’s poignant writing. She strikes the perfect balance between infusing personality into the characters while remaining neutral enough to let the author’s beautiful prose shine. Her calm, thoughtful presentation mimics the heads-down, plodding atmosphere of Kithamar’s inhabitants. Through her, the unique vibrancy of the city becomes completely captivating. N.H. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

2021-12-15
In the first of a trilogy, a city faces a secret crisis of rulership.

The city of Kithamar’s new prince, Byrn a Sal, has died within a year of his coronation. Why and how did he die? The answer involves an ambitious thief seeking revenge for her brother’s murder, the fellow thief who secretly loves her but despises the path she's on, a foreign priestess searching for her missing son, a noblewoman who serves at the head of a religious cult, and the dangerous, centuries-old secret behind the royal succession. Abraham is best known for being one-half of James S.A. Corey, the writing team responsible for The Expanse, the bestselling space opera book series and the source for the fan-favorite TV show. It's a shame that Abraham doesn't gain equal attention for his excellent, delicately barbed political fantasy series, such as The Long Price Quartet and The Dagger and the Coin. This new work bears the hallmarks of a great Abraham work: intricate and dirty schemes enacted by initially sympathetic characters who make self-serving choices that they will eventually come to regret, but often too late to change course. It takes a long while for the broader outlines of the plot to take shape because of the narrow perspective of each of the characters. The fate of a great city is at stake, but the lower-class characters are mostly concerned with getting enough to eat each day and pursuing personal agendas if there’s any time left over. Most of the upper-class ones and their servants are occupied with preserving a magical and social status quo to the exclusion of anything else. The middle class—well, we barely hear from them, so who knows? The secret truth that Prince Byrn a Sal was not the legitimate heir to the throne drives the plot, but we never even find out whether or not he was a good ruler; that doesn’t seem to matter to all parties concerned. The blank spots in the reader’s understanding can feel frustrating at first but ultimately make the society seem real.

A promising, if meandering, start; given the experienced hands we’re in, it will undoubtedly pay off by series’ end.