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Ever since the Ashlords were gifted phoenix horses by their gods, they’ve raced them — into battle, on great hunts, and now in the modern spectacle known as the Races.
The Races consist of several days of grueling riding through an unfamiliar canyon track, but the contestants need to be skilled at more than just riding if they hope to win. Each morning, they’ll have to use alchemy to summon back their mounts and create fire horses with specialized traits to help them over the course of the day. They’ll have to know how to control their phoenix horses until they turn to ash at sundown. And they’ll have to know how to defend themselves and their horses’ ashes during the night. Because even though murder in the races was outlawed long ago, breaking bones and poisoning ashes is not just legal, it is encouraged.
This year, 11 riders are chosen to compete, but three of them have more to lose than the rest.
Pippa, the daughter of two former Ashlord champions, dreams of glory.
The poor Dividian internet sensation known as the Alchemist longs for a better life.
Adrian, the son of a Longhand revolutionary, is determined that his victory will make him the face of a new revolution.
When their cultures clash, it’s anyone’s guess who will win, but, in the end, is it really just a race, or is it a tyrannical statement about the social classes?
Ashlords was a fascinating read, merging the dystopian genre with an American West-inspired fantasy. While it was a little confusing to get into, I quickly became engrossed and couldn’t put it down — especially around the halfway point when the Races began.
However, there were still some things that were hard to overlook. Thrown into the mix of genres was the fantasy element of spirits that grant power if summoned with blood and by aligning oneself with a god. The aspect of the spirits and gods felt out of place and bizarre, but it appears to set the stage for the next book in the series. Also, of the three point-of-view characters, one was written in second tense. Even though it was well done, it felt wrong and distracted me from the story.
Overall, though, Ashlords is an intriguing young adult fantasy book (combined with dystopian) that breaks from the classic mold. I don’t know if it was the intriguing characters, the concept of phoenix horses, or just how vastly different and refreshing the story felt, but I definitely enjoyed it.
Rated: Moderate, though if not for the violence it would probably be mild. Bursts of violence throughout the nights of the race can be brutal, bloody and in some cases a bit gory and detailed, but not over-the-top. Mild language is scattered throughout the story, with at least one use of moderate language. “Gods” is used a lot as an expression. A character also “flicks someone off” at one point. It is hinted that a diva/superstar character once played the part of a playboy-type model. This was only referenced, and the character considers it a mistake as she thinks back on it.
