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ARC provided by the publisher—Gollancz—in exchange for an honest review.

Cover art designed and illustrated by: Blacksheep Design

The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Darkwater Legacy (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

Pages: 832 pages (Hardcover edition)

Published: 20th September 2018 by Gollancz

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Wooding strikes a magnificently fine balance between classic epic fantasy and grimdark fantasy, making this an amazing start to a new trilogy.

To be honest, I feel like the love for classic fantasy has started to dwindle these days. It seems like readers thirst for grimdark or fantasy with darker tones more often lately; the fame of Game of Thrones TV show is probably responsible for this. This isn’t actually a bad thing, and I have to say that I kind of feel the same. My reasoning is that classic fantasy is starting to feel too familiar sometimes; many classic fantasy novels followed the same good versus evil structure that’s getting more predictable. Reading classic fantasy now, in my opinion, is like coming home to something incredibly well known; it’s always comfortable, and you’re highly familiar with it. Readers, however, will always want new adventures as well, something unpredictable and fresh, not the same type of adventures they’ve already experienced time and time again. This is where The Ember Blade comes in, and it will change your mind. The Ember Blade is indeed a love letter to classic epic fantasy, but it’s filled with morally grey characters and characterizations that dominate the grimdark sub-genre. Wooding has successfully created a brilliant fusion within this book. Imagine coming home expecting familiar comfort, and pleasant surprises are waiting for you; you open your fridge, then you crack an egg, and you get two egg yolks instead of one. To me, that’s how it felt reading this book.

“Every day, a person should learn something, experience something, do something that left them changed, even in a small way.”

The Ember Blade storyline started as greatly inspired by typical classic fantasy tropes, with two teenage boys—Aren and Cade—encountering an event that would soon change their lives forever. However, I can guarantee you that 10% into the novel, you’ll realize that the story starts to diverge from the norm, and it keeps on getting better. It was gripping, well-paced, and unpredictable. The first half of the novel was full of dangers for the main characters, and honestly speaking, I’m usually not a fan of this kind of storytelling structure. I tend to prefer characterizations first and dangers later. Yes, I don’t mind how slow-paced a book is; I simply need to care about the characters first and foremost. And this is why I’m delightfully surprised by Wooding’s storytelling style. Although he placed his characters in so much danger in the first half of the book, the crucial characterizations that sparked my empathy for the character’s predicament were never neglected. Where the first half focused majorly on Aren and Cade, the second half of the book slowed down the pacing by expanding the cast and introducing a more detailed plus well-executed multi-perspective narration; the result is EVERY single character’s POV became so compelling to read. There were a few scenes—when the characters were in Skavengard—which went a bit too long for me due to the lack of familiarity with the new set of characters introduced there, but the second half of the book made up for this minor issue masterfully.

I haven’t read any of Wooding’s books before this, but if his characterizations were all as good as the one displayed in The Ember Blade, then I’ll have to make sure to read his preceding series. Characterizations always make or break any book for me, and what I’ve read here definitely elevated the book for me. The character’s fluctuating emotions and motivations were palpable; they were realistic, nuanced, and complex. The quality of the plot shines further because the grimdark element ensured that none of the characters were predictable. I mean it, these characters, especially ALL the characters with a POV, were incredibly believable. As good or bad as they may seem, they all have their own problems and agendas that drive their actions. The morally grey characters produced an utterly gripping narrative because it was difficult to guess what the characters would do. The execution of a situation where we—the readers—know a character’s backgrounds, thoughts, and secrets—while the other character didn’t—was sublime.

“To speak from the heart required more bravery than any physical risk. To heal a wound was so much harder than to cause one.”

Although the characters did questionable things at times, this doesn’t mean that it was hard to love them. It felt effortless for me to get attached to the characters. Aren, Cade, Grub, Garric, and more were characters I’m invested in. The way I perceived the themes, Wooding placed the weightiest value on found family, friendship, and honor; the brotherhood between Aren and Cade, for one, was one of the strongest driving strengths of the storyline for me. Wooding undoubtedly knows how to create tensions through dangerous circumstances that constantly keep the reader thinking: “Will they come back from this?” or “Will he/she do it?” His prose was accessible, engaging, cinematic, and immersive; I couldn’t be happier with it.

“A friendship of half a lifetime shouldn’t be broken by a few harsh words.”

Let me say once more The Ember Blade is not a grimdark novel. It’s a classic epic fantasy told in a modern narrative; a relative morally grey characterization aspect from the grimdark subgenre was added to it, but the tone of the book itself was never bleak. The characters do live in a grim and oppressive world, but the themes of hope, kindness, love, friendship, plus the grand adventure often evident in our beloved classic fantasy were always there to balance things out.

“In her lessons, as in life, they’d often find themselves dealt a hand that was less than fair. She’d teach them to overcome a disadvantage any way they could.”

From the excellent characterizations to the relentless chase, from breathtaking set pieces to the intricate world-building, everything was written with finesse. It seriously doesn’t matter whether you’re a fan of classic, epic, or grimdark fantasy (even better if all three), there’s a place for you here. The Ember Blade is a book every fantasy fan will feel right at home with, and yet will find new adventures in it. It’s a book that fantasy readers will love to revisit and inhabit longer and longer with every visit. The Ember Blade is an epic fantasy forged to stand the test of time, and I sincerely hope you’ll wield the blade yourself.

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The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

Official release date: 20th September 2018

You can pre-order the book from: Book Depository (Free shipping)

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