Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier-and secretly, its most unwilling. 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. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.īut when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. 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.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free. “A worthy novel – and one as brave as its characters.” - The New York Times Book Review ' An Ember in the Ashes glows, burns, and smolders-as beautiful and radiant as it is searing.' - Huffington 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 “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 People's Choice Award winner - Favorite Fantasy One of Time Magazine’s 100 Best YA Books of All Timeįrom #1 New York Times bestselling author Sabaa Tahir One of Time Magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time

BOOK ONE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES

An ember in the ashes cover