Gyre hasn’t seen his beloved sister since their parents sold her to the mysterious Twilight Order. Now, twelve years after her disappearance, Gyre’s sole focus is revenge, and he’s willing to risk anything and anyone to claim enough power to destroy the Order.

Chasing rumors of a fabled city protecting a powerful artifact, Gyre comes face-to-face with his lost sister. But she isn’t who she once was. Trained to be a warrior, Maya wields magic for the Twilight Order’s cause. Standing on opposite sides of a looming civil war, the two siblings will learn that not even the ties of blood will keep them from splitting the world in two.

With ARCs I receive, I usually tend to wait until pretty close to the release date to read & review them. Just one of those things, I guess. But there was just something about Django Wexler’s upcoming book, Ashes of the Sun…it must have been calling to me somehow, because I was dying to get started on it.

And goddamn…this one blew me away, completely. I’ve read so many amazing books in 2020 already, but when the (hopefully figurative) dust settles at the end of the year, I know without a doubt Ashes of the Sun is going to be at or near the very top of my best-of list.

In the acknowledgements, Wexler writes “This is not a Star Wars novel…” but goes on to describe how the book was born out of ideas brought up in discussions about Star Wars with other authors & friends. It’s really cool to see authors be so up front about how something may have influenced their work. And Ashes of the Sun is, I think, such a great example of how an author can take inspiration from something extremely well known, and put their own unique spin on it. Like, at the same time that this book is plainly influenced by Star Wars, there are more differences than similarities, and the impact feels completely organic.

The two POV characters in Ashes of the Sun are siblings; Maya and her brother, Gyre. When Maya was five and Gyre was eight, Maya was taken from their family farm by a mysterious centarch of the Twilight Order. Promising to cure Maya of the various illnesses she’s struggled with, the centarch doesn’t get far before Gyre, bereft, attacks the man. The centarch reacts violently, leaving Gyre not only without a sister, but with a vicious scar as well.

The action picks up twelve years later, with Maya now a centarch-in-training, and Gyre part of a rebellion who look upon the centarchs almost as oppressors. Now, this isn’t necessarily a good v. evil kinda setup. But if it helps to think of the Twilight Order as the Jedi, well, ok. It is a big organization with a rich history, and while they ultimately stand for peace & justice, there are inevitably some corrupt & twisted members of the Order.

Maya & Gyre have had no contact at all for twelve years…they may as well be strangers. But their worlds collide in a big way in the first book of the Burningblade & Silvereye trilogy.

There is a LOT going on in this book, way more than I’m able to unpack in a review…but holy fuck, this is clearly the start of something incredibly special. There’s so much history behind everything happening in this world…I mean, it’s kind of crazy this is only going to be a trilogy, because Wexler has laid the groundwork for a much longer series.

Ashes of the Sun walks the line between sci-fi & fantasy, with long-lost artifacts powering magical technology. The haken is the chosen weapon of the centarchs…basically a sword with a blade made of elemental magic, which is fucking radical!

And these characters…oof. My heart. All the cool worldbuilding & epic action scenes in the world don’t much matter without a great cast of characters, and Ashes of the Sun introduces us to some truly memorable characters. I am 100% all-in for Maya…just an incredibly likable & believable & super badass character. And her relationship with a character named Beq is an absolute delight…Beq is an Arcanist with the Twilight Order, so she sort’ve specializes in all the unique gadgetry that’s used in this world. The chemistry & romance between Maya & Beq is just everything…it’s achingly sweet & awkward & beautiful…these two completely stole the show for me in this book….I FUCKING ADORE MAYA & BEQ AND THEY MUST BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS!!!

Ashes of the Sun is literally everything I’d look for in a fantasy book. It’s fun, super heartfelt, and beautifully diverse. It’s original, wildly vivid, and honestly so thrilling. I couldn’t recommend this enough…just an utter joy to read, cover to cover!

Mega thanks to Orbit Books for the copy!! Ashes of the Sun releases July 21st!