Tasha Suri follows her debut, the arresting India-inspired epic fantasy Empire of Sand, with another feast of desert magic, palace intrigue, forbidden romance and veiled princesses making all their own hard choices. While enriched by its predecessor, Realm of Ash could work as a standalone, as it concerns the younger sister of the first volume's protagonist, and its empire-shaking events mostly occur half a subcontinent away.
The story picks up with young, traumatized Arwa arriving at a hermitage for noble widows after the slaughter by magical forces of her husband and his entire court. (The mysterious specifics get teased out over several chapters, so new readers need not worry they've missed something.) While Suri excels at depicting the friendships and political maneuverings of women, Realm of Ash comes fully to life once Arwa gets packed off to the Imperial Palace to aid a bastard prince's heretical studies. Arwa's mission: to help Zahir save the teetering empire by taking opium and entering the Realm of Ash, a dreamscape where the thoughts of the dead still live.
The vivid, vital story that follows involves assassinations, secret societies, desperate journeys and the shock of discovering the bloody secrets behind an empire's power. But for all the imaginative scope and fresh worldbuilding, the heart of Suri's series beats in the chests of its indomitable heroines. Their every struggle and sacrifice, triumph and fear, resonate more deeply than the fates of whole worlds in less personal fantasies. --Alan Scherstuhl, freelance writer and editor