In her impressive debut, Sabaa Tahir constructs a novel set in a medieval city surrounded by desert; her plot pulls readers into her grasp and doesn't let go.
First-person narratives alternate between Laia and Elias, both 17. Laia is a Scholar, a faction defeated violently 500 years ago by the Martials, who rule the country of Serra from Blackcliff, a high impenetrable fortress. There the most talented Martials train to be Masks, elite assassins. Laia's parents were killed as leaders of the Resistance. Elias's mother is the Commandant, the leader of Blackcliff Military Academy, and Elias is one of its most gifted students.
Born enemies, Laia and Elias cross paths after the Masks take Laia's brother, Darin, prisoner because of a sketchbook filled with drawings of the forge where the Martials' swords are made. Laia escapes to the catacombs beneath Serra, and begs members of the Resistance to help her free Darin. They agree, in exchange for her services as a spy, and sell her as a slave to the Commandant herself.
Tahir populates her complex tale with jinns and ghuls, shadowy creatures that "feed off sorrow and sadness and the stink of blood." Their history is tied to the Scholars, and though the Scholars deny the jinns' existence, Laia cannot ignore their haunting presence. While spying in the Commandant's office, Laia witnesses the presence of the jinns' one-time leader, Lord Nightbringer, conspiring with the Commandant to fix the trials to determine a new emperor.
Laia, whose parents were betrayed by someone within the Resistance, trusts no one. Elias, who hates his mother and all that the Martials stand for, plans to desert. But both Laia and Elias are visited by Cain, an Augur who can read oracles and minds. Cain tells each of them that they are "an ember in the ashes," full of life, ruled by destiny.
Can Laia trust Keenan, a member of the Resistance who claims he wants to help her? Can Elias trust Helene, "more loyal to the Empire than to her own mother"? Mounting pressures result in two romantic triangles as time runs out for Laia to rescue her brother, and for Elias to decide whether to undertake the four trials that will determine the next Emperor.
Tahir makes a chilling case for the corruption that power brings, whether through knowledge or force. While part of her plot resolves, she leaves plenty of room for the next book to answer the question of what it means to win. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness
Shelf Talker: This debut novel takes readers on a thrill ride through a medieval city situated in the desert, whose future depends upon two 17-year-olds who are born enemies.