An Ember in the Ashes - Hardcover

by Sabaa Tahir (Author)

BOOK ONE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES

One of Time Magazine's 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time
One of Time Magazine's 100 Best YA Books of All Time
Instant New York Times bestseller
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Sabaa Tahir
Amazon's Best Young Adult Book of 2015
People's Choice Award winner - Favorite Fantasy
Bustle's Best Young Adult Book of 2015

"This novel is a harrowing, haunting reminder of what it means to be human -- and how hope might be kindled in the midst of oppression and fear." -- The Washington Post

"An Ember in the Ashes could launch Sabaa Tahir into JK Rowling territory...It has the addictive quality of The Hunger Games combined with the fantasy of Harry Potter and the brutality of Game of Thrones."--Public Radio International

"An Ember in the Ashes glows, burns, and smolders--as beautiful and radiant as it is searing."--Huffington Post

"A worthy novel - and one as brave as its characters." --The New York Times Book Review

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire's impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They've seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia's brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire's greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school's finest soldier--and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he's being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined--and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

Author Biography

Sabaa Tahir grew up in California's Mojave Desert at her family's eighteen-room motel. There, she spent her time devouring fantasy novels, listening to thunderous indie rock, and playing guitar and piano badly. She began writing her #1 New York Times bestselling An Ember in the Ashes series while working nights as a newspaper editor. The series has been translated into over thirty-five languages, and the first book in the series was named one of TIME's 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time and one of Entertainment Weekly's 10 Best YA Books of the decade. Tahir's most recent novel, All My Rage, released in March 2022 to widespread critical acclaim. An instant New York Times bestseller, All My Rage has received eight starred reviews and the 2022 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry. It is a Read with Jenna Jr. Book Club selection, an Entertainment Weekly Best Book of the Year so Far, and an Amazon Best Book of the Year So Far. Visit Sabaa online at SabaaTahir.com and follow her on Instagram @SabaaTahir and TikTok @SabaaTahirAuthor.