Legacy of Ash: 1 (Legacy Trilogy)

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I think one thing Ward does really well is create a nice balance between high intensity action-heavy moments and those that are more about developing the plot, characters, political tensions, and world-building. Much like the first book, there are a lot of high action events and they do go on for quite a large amount of time sometimes, but they also are written in such a way that there is constant intrigue and scene changes to keep things interesting and worthwhile to read.

Legacy of Ash is a vast story, full of interwoven characters and events. It is, therefore, something of a challenge to give a manageable story recap!

One thing I will point out is that I had a major reading slump while reading this book. As with the first book, Legacy of Ash, for some reason the writing style can be a little bit difficult to follow at times. Mind you, English is not my first language, so that may have something to do with that. It stopped me from really getting "into" the story as battle scenes were happening, for example. No matter how wonderful and good these books are, something keeps me a little separate from them. Which is a shame. Ruling families plot against one another with sharp words and sharper knives, heedless of the threat posed by the invading armies of the Hadari Empire. We all know how it goes; if it’s an epic fantasy debut, the particular book will immediately be advertised as A Song of Ice and Fire or Game of Thrones meets (insert another author/series/book here,) and Legacy of Ash isn’t excluded from that tradition. As much as I often find this kind of advertisement misleading most of the time, Legacy of Ash may have just done justice to this often-misleading claim. Legacy of Ash is an epic fantasy debut with many characters and names to remember, imbued with the hint of huge scope found in A Song of Ice and Fire and action sequences that bear a resemblance to Bernard Cornwell’s. This is definitely one of my top 3 this year's reads and I can say that I wasn't so invested in the series since Malazan Book of The Fallen (which I've read about 5 years ago). Katya kept pace, right hand clamped over the failing left to give it purpose and guide it true. She hammered at Akadra’s guard, summoning forth the lessons of girlhood to the bleak present. The forms of the sword her father had drilled into her until they flowed with the grace of a thrush’s song and the power of a mountain river. Those lessons had kept her alive on the ridge at Zanya. They would not fail her now.

Another aspect of Legacy of Steel that I was really happy about was the evolution of the characters. With Legacy of Ash, Ward does a phenomenal job of introducing and developing the characters initially, and that is saying something because there are a lot of people (and other beings) to get to know. The author successfully accomplishes this through action, dialogue, and inner monologues. Legacy of Steel sees those same characters grow in both expected and unexpected ways that make logical sense based on the world around them. The book also allows the reader to get to know a few characters better than in the first book, and introduces a couple new ones, as well. Not many, though, as I am not sure the story has room for any more (I can just hear Matthew Ward saying “CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!”, even though he is well into it with Book 3, already). The Hadari will treat you better than the Council.” He still had so much to learn, and she no more time in which to teach him. “When enemies are your only recourse, choose the one with the least to gain. Promise me.” Alas, the Hadari army was defeated at Davenwood. Both Melanna and her father were captured, only to be set free by Josiri Trelan. With Kai’s chief rival slain elsewhere, he was now free to return to the Empire and claim his throne. However Melanna, urged on by Ashana, lingered in the Southshires with Malatriant’s Dark overtook it. Joining forces with Josiri Trelan and Roslava Orova, she rescued Viktor Akadra and became instrumental in Malatriant’s defeat. Desperate to find Calenne, Viktor left Tressia ahead of the gathering army, and arrived in a Southshires drowning in primordial darkness. Assailed by Malatriant’s thralls, he was rescued by Calenne and resolved to confront the Tyrant Queen face to face. CIA Statement on "Legacy of Ashes" ". Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 2007-08-06. Archived from the original on 2008-01-09 . Retrieved 2021-03-16.

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About the plot: Legacy of Steel takes place about a year after happenings in the first book. The whole novel is mostly a battlefield between Hadari Empire and Tressiea but it is not for a moment boring. There's also another threat for a Republic and it comes in a form of Crowmarket who is as deathly as foreign Empire.