The rough beginnings with the names aside, my investment for the majority of the characters were definitely there. Legacy of Ash has no shortage of well-written flawed characters. The characters and relationship developments between the cast felt believable. Also, I would like to add that Ward writes great female characters. Have I mentioned that Ward has written one of the most despicable—in a good way for the story—evil queen to ever exist on a fantasy book? Seriously, watch out for Ebigal Kiradin. She’s utterly abhorrent, selfish, and manipulative; she pretty much made Cersei Lannister virtuous in comparison. And I love it. Ebigal made the politics in the book so much more engaging and intense, and she has the role of becoming a huge driving factor in the second half of the book. Katya stooped and gathered Calenne. The girl’s chest shook with thin sobs, but she offered no resistance. With a last glance at Elda, Katya set out into the rain once more. The clarion sounded again as she reached Josiri. His eyes were more watchful than ever, his sword ready in his hands. Calenne screamed – not with terror, but in wild joy – and then the danger was past, and the west gate was in sight.

Kai’s chief representative in the days leading to invasion was his daughter, Melanna Saranal. She dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps and becoming the first Empress, but Hadari tradition forbade women the right to bear swords, and thus the right to rule. Following suit of other books released of late, Legacy of Ash is told from multiple points of view. This is a technique that tends to be hit or miss with readers. In this case, it allows Ward to provide perspective about individual characters allowing the reader to glean the best insight about each character. The further into the book you read, you see how different characters are interconnected through their pasts and the changing perspective really helps the connection breadcrumbs come to the surface. Legacy of Ash is a vast story, full of interwoven characters and events. It is, therefore, something of a challenge to give a manageable story recap! By contrast, siblings Josiri and Calenne didn’t seem quite so interesting. While I had hoped they would be front and center as well since it’s Josiri’s people and land that needed both saving from the Hadari and the rest of the Tressian Republic, their causes and personalities felt very bland and one note in comparison to Viktor. I did like that they were quite consistent in their characterizations, but they just felt kind of boring. Viktor gained leverage on the Council by threatening to reveal the existence of his shadow, convincing his father to support the Southshires’ defence. He arrived in the Southshires just in time to save Calenne from ne’er-do-wells, and through her gained introduction to Josiri.So, which characters did I like the best? How long have you got?! There are a lot to mention, so I’ll do my best to keep it short(ish). Josiri, was a character that often wallowed in self pity and bitterness, which made him infuriating to begin with, but as he became stronger, and was able to overcome his narrow mindedness, I began to adore him. His sister, Calenne, in her desperation to step out from behind her mother’s shadow any way she could, did come across as selfish, but you understand her reasons behind it, and I grew to really root for her. Now, Viktor Akadra was one I immediately LOVED. I mean Viktor had heart, he genuinely cared for others, and his only goal was to make amends for his past; but Viktor had a shadow… and I’ll leave it to you find out exactly what that shadow could do! She fell silent as a girl appeared at the head of the staircase, her sapphire eyes alive with suspicion. Barely six years old, and she had the wit to know something was amiss. “Elda, what’s happening?”

She forced herself upright. There was no pain. No weariness. Just calm. Was this how Kevor had felt at the end? Before the creak of the deadman’s drop had set her husband swinging? Trembling fingers closed around a dagger’s hilt. Ravens scattered before Josiri’s straining horse. He glanced down at the girl in his charge. His sister she may have been, but Calenne was a stranger. She sat in silence, not a tear on her cheeks. He didn’t know how she held herself together so. It was all he could do not to fall apart. Everything will be all right.” He hoped the words sounded more convincing to Calenne than they did to him. “Mother will come.” Do you love me so little that you’d make me beg?” She forced herself to meet his gaze. “Accept this last gift and remember me well. Go.”

The battle cry fed Josiri’s resolve. The widening of the nearest wayfarer’s eyes gave him more. They were as afraid of him as he of them. Maybe more, for was his mother not the Phoenix of prophecy? Viktor Akadra.” Katya made no attempt to hide her bitterness. “Did your father not tell you? I do not recognise the Council’s authority.” Worse, upon arriving in Tressia, it became apparent that Ebigail’s political machinations afflicted more than the Southshires. Having reduced the Council almost to nothing through assassination, she framed Viktor for practising witchcraft and set about seizing control of the city – and the Republic – by force. Alas, the Hadari army was defeated at Davenwood. Both Melanna and her father were captured, only to be set free by Josiri Trelan. With Kai’s chief rival slain elsewhere, he was now free to return to the Empire and claim his throne. However Melanna, urged on by Ashana, lingered in the Southshires with Malatriant’s Dark overtook it. Joining forces with Josiri Trelan and Roslava Orova, she rescued Viktor Akadra and became instrumental in Malatriant’s defeat.

A slap to her horse’s haunch sent it whinnying into the oncoming wayfarers. They scattered, fighting for control over startled steeds. A blue-garbed wayfarer cantered through the crowd, rain scattering from leather pauldrons. Behind, another set a buccina to his lips. A brash rising triad hammered out through the rain and found answer in the streets beyond. The pursuit’s vanguard had reached Eskavord. Lightly armoured riders to harry and delay while heavy knights closed the distance. Katya drew her sword and wheeled her horse about. “Make for the west gate!” A knight’s promise is not what it was, and the Council nothing if not persuasive.” Katya closed her eyes, lost in the shuddering ground and brash clarions of recent memory. And the screams, most of all. “One charge, and we were lost.”

The wayfarer was half her age, little more than a boy and eager for the glory that might earn a knight’s crest. Townsfolk scattered from his path. He goaded his horse to the gallop, sword held high in anticipation of the killing blow to come. He’d not yet learned that the first blow seldom mattered as much as the last. Josiri Trelan is Viktor's sworn enemy. A political prisoner, he dreams of reigniting his mother's failed rebellion. Second, Legacy of Ash by Matthew Ward could have benefited from a glossary or appendix of some sort. Ward drops his readers into a story with little explanation. There’s no steady build-up. No defining some of his imaginary vocabulary. He expects those experiencing the novel to…figure things out according to context, which can be very difficult. And at times, to be honest, I’d forget what things meant, and I had no easy way to remind myself of their definitions.

Legacy of Ash is an unmissable fantasy debut--an epic tale of intrigue and revolution, soldiers and assassins, ancient magic and the eternal clash of empires. Katya dared not watch as her children galloped away, fearful that Josiri would read the gesture as a change of heart. Thunder roared, its fury echoing through the hole where Josiri’s heart should have been. He’d failed. Perhaps he’d never had a chance. I’ll start by saying Legacy of Ash is the very embodiment of an epic fantasy. There is a quest for freedom, there are legendary knights, characters who can wield magic, ethereal beings, and there is the age-old war between light and dark, although this book does give a somewhat fresh perspective on that! I know this book has been compared to Game of Thrones (what fantasy book hasn’t these days?) but I find this misleading. This is not a dark and gritty book, and if I had to compare it to any other series, I would say it’s more akin to The Faithful and the Fallen by John Gwynne. As Viktor Akadra rallied forces against the coup, Malachi realised that there was no hope of victory unless the Crowmarket abandoned Ebigail. Offering a sympathetic ear on the Council, he convinced the shadowy guild to release their prisoners, freeing others from Ebigail’s control and altering the course of the final battle. Meanwhile, Rosa freed herself from the pyre and saved Sevaka’s life.

Matthew Ward’s The Legacy Trilogy opens with Legacy of Ash, a 240k word behemoth of a novel which sets out Ward’s stall for the series and emphasises the epic in epic fantasy. Fifteen years after a failed Southshire rebellion, the Republic of Tressia is still mired in internecine conflict, its ruling Council divided on how to deal with their troublesome southern subjects. When the looming threat of the neighbouring Hadari Empire becomes too much to ignore, it falls to the Council’s champion Viktor Akadra to rally the Southshires in defence of the Republic, while siblings Josiri and Calenne Trelan – whose mother led the failed rebellion – face difficult choices as they confront both the lasting implications of their mother’s actions, and Viktor’s role in her death.