We get to learn quite a bit about several of them and then others are just a fleeting glimpse or perhaps may come up again as the story progresses. Kithamar is a centre of trade and wealth, an ancient city with a long, bloody history where countless thousands live and their stories unfold. This is my first experience of reading Abraham’s work but I have been told that this methodical and steady style is typical.

I highlighted all those people’s names when I was reading the prologue, and when reading, I kept asking: where are you? The city of Kithamar is as much a character in this story as any of the people we follow - I feel like I know my way through the streets because it just came to life as I was reading. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Initially, it kind of felt like the author had taken a similar tack to Abercrombie, thinking that you can have a bunch of characters sitting around a fire doing nothing and it’ll be riveting, but that’s not exactly it.

Both girls should be read through these lenses; otherwise, their actions and their relation do not make sense. I came to this in one of those reading deserts where I'd just read a book that blew me away and needed something that at least began to touch the edges of the prose and characterisation. I may not always have liked their choices, but I understood the characters and really felt for them and what they went through. Each member of the group has a job, and they perform those jobs so regularly that they’ve become rote.

That’s how Sammish’s story begins, but when her narrative leads her down some strange paths, people suddenly take notice. I really enjoyed the overall pace and tone of the story, the city of Kithamar is quite a grim place but the author decribes it in a way that makes it very easy to imagine and creates an excellent atmosphere that isn't quite grim dark but you can feel the tension and sweltering oppression of the city lurking in the background. Little by little we learn quite a few things about Alys, however, it is a while before we spend a full chapter on what life was like when it was just her and her mom. Instead, I wasn't wholeheartedly invested in the culmination of this book having not been completely on board through the majority of her journey. Alys, a poor girl from Longhill, gets herself involved in the midst of a pull that can shake the entire city.As the book opens, we learn that the city’s ruler, Prince Byrn a Sal, has died after less than a year on the throne. Throughout Age of Ash, Alys experiences grief in various ways, from denial, to sorrow, to anger and finally to becoming more and more like Darro to keep a part of her brother alive. We also get the POVs of some of the "bad guys" which I honestly really enjoyed and thought added an extra layer of dimension to the story. There are rich people with some kind of agenda, but save some ill-defined darkness, the consequences of them getting what they want or not was never truly addressed.

I would certainly say if you enjoyed The Dagger and the Coin series you're probably going to enjoy this one as well so far. However what I can say is that a large part of the story centres around the Daris Brotherhood, the most predominantly practiced religion by the ruling family in Kithamar.

I only got to know Sammish's hair color and eye color by the end of the book; same with the witch (who, for some reason, I pictured with shaven blonde hair?

When the details of this story are included in the larger story, a lot of these events become important in their own way, but individually, not only do they seem somehow mundane and unimportant, but they’re also completely overshadowed by the details of the central story when it finally comes into play. It takes only a second to realize the world Daniel Abraham has created is rich with history and is well-developed. This book is a really fun ride full of intrigue, backstabbing and self discovery as we follow Alys and her journey.

I didn’t realise until I finished the book that the series was going to be connected through the city rather than the individuals in the novel, but it does make the heightened focus on the setting make more sense. We mainly follow Alys, a young thief from the slums who sets out to avenge the murder of her brother and learn who killed him and why. In fact, it took until about halfway through the book, before I had any idea whatsoever as to what was happening on the larger scale. We have several different districts where the people living there have completely different cultures than the next. And after hearing some things about the big-picture development of the series as a whole, I’m so there for every last word.