The Final Strife
Ratings24
Average rating4.2
The empire is ruled by blood: red-blooded Embers, blue-blooded Dusters and clear-blooded Ghostings. All will be shed in the coming battle for power.
The Aktibar – a set of trials held every ten years to find the next Ember rulers of the Empire – is about to begin.
All Embers can join but it requires great skill to win.
Sylah was destined to become Warden of Strength, forged as a weapon to change the Empire from within. Those dreams of a better future turned to dust when her family were brutally murdered.
But Sylah wasn’t made to sparkle, she was born to burn. And as the trials draw near it’s time for her to decide…will she rule the Empire or destroy it?
Series
Featured Series
3 primary booksThe Ending Fire Trilogy
The Ending Fire Trilogy is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2022 with contributions by Saara El-Arifi.
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
A clever take on racial tensions in a fantasy setting. Racism is often a challenging topic to take on, and this one takes it a step further by making the colour of a persons blood literally the defining characteristic of their social standing. With 3 castes of people living in the empire the tensions between the haves and the have nots are cleverly manipulated by those at the top. The reveals and twists cleverly act to undermine the social order and the basis for the regime, but also the motivations of some of the rebel characters as well, creating a wonderfully murky moral picture despite the obvious bias of the society.
I thoroughly enjoyed this. The very real oppression, the politicking and the hidden agendas all work together to produce a fascinating cocktail. Very much looking forward to see where this series goes
A book full of excellent world building and interesting ideas, I definitely feel like I learnt something. I really enjoyed the two main characters and their developing relationship. The main character swears brilliantly and the dialogue is really fun.
I found the plot of the first half of the book a little prosaic, however the second half of the book really kicks in and I am looking forward to the sequel.
Edit- Just found out that all the violence in this book really took place in history. Which has blown my mind.
I don't know why I keep (accidentally) picking up these ya fantasy books. I didn't even know it's YA. Not sure it is. It feels like YA: The characters are 20ish yrs old, supposedly meant to hold the key to change the world, and acting like such brats...
...at least halfway through the book.
Then that annoyingly caricatured tropey landscape (and don't get me started on the useless love triangle) suddenly chips away and reveals depth and layers, and yes, a lot of this is predictable, but there are also little clever twists.
The last 20% really made the difference for me. I did a lot of eye-rolling and sighing through it, but suddenly I'm left wanting to read the sequel ??? right now.
There's a reveal at the end I'm very excited about and I can't talk about it here (because: no spoilers) and it frustrates me.
