| Title | : | A Child of Ashes: Volume 1: The False King |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 326 |
| Publication | : | Published April 23, 2022 |
The world began changing in ways no one anticipated. Growing in power and influence, John Hargrove has spent his life collapsing and ridding figures of power around Arlax Realm. And now his sights are set on the thrones of the Six Southern Kingdoms.
Leon Melstorm, the second son of the King of Aithon, has lived a life of isolation; trapped in the royal palace for reasons unknown to him. Leon waited, yearning for a call that will allow him to see the world he was kept from.
The call he got, was not the one he wanted.
When John massacres powerful figures of the Aithonian throne, Leon is forced out of his home and is piled with an immense responsibility to save the Realm that he hardly knows. Seen as incapable, spoiled, and ignorant, Leon is tossed into an epic adventure of challenges and tragedy and is marked as the Realm’s last hope between stability and total chaos.
The adventure that Leon had wished for will transform him into a hero that will bring peace—or into a villain that brings the chaos that he was fighting to prevent.
A Child of Ashes: Volume 1: The False King Reviews
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Good read. Action. Loyalty. Family. Betrayal. War. Can't wait for book 2. What is await for Kenneth and Leon?
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This review was originally published on NetGalley.com. I was given an ebook freely by NetGalley and the book’s publisher in return for a voluntary and honest review.
This book sucks you in immediately with its descriptions and setting and doesn’t let up with the action. Victor Acnam proposes a unique and interesting idea for his main character that hooked me right away.
Acnam created intriguing characters quickly. I would never guess this is a debut novel. Acnam writes his battle scenes engaging and describes them in very interesting ideas.
There are some clunky sentences from time to time but because it is Acnam’s first book I don’t mind as much as if it was his seventh book. -
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I liked the story in general, it was easy to follow its events, it was well written if I've to compare it to some YA fantasy books that I've read and where the writing style was a catastrophe but here the author has a really great style that I hope will be developed and better used in future works.
The fantasy world is quite interesting as much as the characters. I liked Rig, Marcus, Hal, Mariane and Kenneth but the only character that I could not stomach was the MC, Leon. I'm totally team Kenneth, I would have loved him as the main hero of this story and to follow his adventures with The Lost Blades, that would have been more interesting for me. Here, I couldn't care less about Leon and I don't want to follow him while he develop his heroic personality or his skills or his powers as a child of ashes. I wanted for Rig or Marcus to beat his a** at some point of the story when he made some dumb and childish actions.
For Henry/John as a villain, let's say that he was more like a reality bad politician/tyrant than a villain of a fantasy story. I wanted to know what happened to his family and how come Leon's father did what he did, I mean that we needed some background there. -
These warriors aren’t notable because they have no fear. They are notable because they rise against it.
A young man that has never really lived is kept behind the palace walls as he slowly fades from the people’s memory. And that is not what he wants. He sneaks out, joins in battle and…dies... only to be sent back; he has another road he must follow. Escaping from the palace after the king is betrayed, with the help of a group of former mercenaries, he has to learn to lead, fight, survive and choose his side; after all, as a child of ash, his destiny can go into any direction.“Do you fight for freedom?!” … “Then fight with me! Arise, to death!” “AND TO DARKNESS!”
Who doesn’t love some sword fights, deaths that must be avenged, a mad tyrant and a group of companions who have to save the world? I certainly enjoy stories like that, and this is one of them. The book’s name drew me to it, and our main character, Leon, is a child of ash. I did like the concept of that, and there is a chance that he could turn into a tyrant instead of a hero (probably not a massively big chance but still…). The king also has a really good plan, and it seems like it could work, which is actually rare for a mad king.
I liked the companionship between the group of former mercenaries; you can feel they have a great bond, bringing some good humour into the story. Some parts of the story did feel a little slow, where we spent time travelling or learning to fight but not a bad flow overall. We see the story through Leon’s eyes and a few chapters from the newly crowned king’s view (just to tell us what he thinks and his reasoning). There were some surprises in the story (plot twists, but that sounds so formal), there isn’t a lot of magic in this world…yet, but we are being introduced to it slowly. You do get a magical sword, though, and I can see some good potential for the rest of the series—all in all, a good story.
I did find this book through NetGalley, but it is currently offered on Kindle Unlimited. -
Definitely a bit rough. The word choice could be better in some places and there are some grammar and spelling errors. The plot isn't bad but some of the characters feel pretty flat except maybe Rig. I also think there were things that were not explained well or developed enough to be believable, particularly when it came to characters' plans and motivations. I do think that the antagonist, John, has a fresh and unique goal but I wish there was a bit more attention to his line of thinking.