Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
HarperVoyager (2022), 640 pages
Description
"Sylah dreams of days growing up in the resistance, being told she would spark a revolution that would free the Empire from the red-blooded ruling classes' tyranny. That spark was extinguished the day she watched her family murdered before her eyes. Anoor has been told she's nothing, no one, a disappointment by the only person who matters: her mother, the most powerful ruler in the Empire. But dust always rises in a storm. Hassa moves through the world unseen by upper classes, so she knows what it means to be invisible. But invisibility has its uses: It can hide the most dangerous of secrets, secrets that can reignite a revolution. As the Empire begins a set of trials of combat and skill designed to find its new leaders, the stage is set for blood to flow, power to shift, and cities to burn"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member snotbottom
The writing is engaging, and the authors worldbuilding is excellent. The character descriptions are well done and I could visualize each principle character throughout the story. They are defined as much by their physical descriptions as they are by their personalities.
Another great part is how so
This book is good on it's own, but is definitely a setup for what I believe will be an even more interesting development in book 2.
Another great part is how so
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many things came together in the book and felt completely natural. Even when things were set up one way and then changed, not necessarily turning things on their head, but a simple shift that kept you reading, just so you could see what was going to happen.This book is good on it's own, but is definitely a setup for what I believe will be an even more interesting development in book 2.
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LibraryThing member Anniik
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
This was a fantastic book! A dystopian book set on another world, it follows the story of Sylah, a young woman with life-long connections to the Sandstorm, a rebel group fighting for the lower castes. Although once
This was a fantastic book! A dystopian book set on another world, it follows the story of Sylah, a young woman with life-long connections to the Sandstorm, a rebel group fighting for the lower castes. Although once
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powerful, Sandstorm has fallen on hard times and in her guilt Sylah has become addicted to drugs. Through chance and error, Sylah is forced not helping a high-caste woman train for the competition that decides the world's leaders. There is so much more to this book! Sadly a few sentences cannot possibly describe the plot and since I don't want to leave spoilers, I'll just leave it there. The author weaves a rich and complex story, making her characters come to life on the pages. I loved this book, and it was so refreshing to see the beginning of a fantasy trilogy where the main character is a woman of color and the story was based in African mythology. Excellent book, and I can't wait to read the next one. Show Less
LibraryThing member jmchshannon
The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi is a book you must put on your TBR if you love epic fantasy. There is no way I will ever be able to do it justice, whether it is a brief review or a lengthy one. Not only does it use African and Arabian mythological influences, but there are also two
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switched-at-birth heroes, a Sapphic love interest, political machinations, the birth of a revolution, and an intense set of games to decide upon the new heir. It is genuinely fantastic and worthy of all the stars you can give it. Show Less
LibraryThing member SChant
DNF @ page 68. Gratuitously violent dystopian fantasy with a drug-addled main character who is not only unappealing but uninteresting - I didn't care what happened to her - and a ridiculous plot.
LibraryThing member quickmind
I read this for r/Fantasy's Happily Ever After Book Club which also satisfies a Bingo square for Book club Discussion or Read-along. I wanted to read something that was outside of my wheelhouse, so that's why I chose the Fantasy Romance book club, but apparently I chose a month where the chosen
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book's romance takes a back seat to the dark and oftentimes bleak story that is at the forefront of the story. The romance even seemed a bit problematic to me because the two characters don't start on equal footing, or with a foundation of trust and understanding, but their romance starts after the main character Sylah, breaks into a young woman's home, gets mistaken for an assassin, gets captured, goes through forced withdrawal from a drug addiction while in captivity and enters into an agreement with the person who captured her to teach her combat and other skills necessary to survive the upcoming trials that determine new leaders in this land. A bit of a wobbly foundation for a relationship at best. The characters are keeping secrets from each other the whole time, but love blossomed along the way, and when those secrets were revealed, pain and separation followed. The worldbuilding and the plot grew on me over time, and I was more invested in the overall story, than with the romance. I will probably check out book 2, because some big secrets were revealed at the end and I want to see where this story goes. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kiaya40
This story is superb. I enjoyed it a lot and especially love how it comes from the mythology of Africa and Arabia. I always love reading stories with mythology and especially with Mythologies that we don't always know or hear as much about.
Here's the summary from Goodreads:
Red is the blood of the
Blue is the blood of the poor, of workers, of the resistance.
Clear is the blood of the slaves, of the crushed, of the invisible.
Sylah dreams of days growing up in the resistance, being told she would spark a revolution that would free the empire from the red-blooded ruling classes’ tyranny. That spark was extinguished the day she watched her family murdered before her eyes.
Anoor has been told she’s nothing, no one, a disappointment, by the only person who matters: her mother, the most powerful ruler in the empire. But when Sylah and Anoor meet, a fire burns between them that could consume the kingdom—and their hearts.
Hassa moves through the world unseen by upper classes, so she knows what it means to be invisible. But invisibility has its uses: It can hide the most dangerous of secrets, secrets that can reignite a revolution. And when she joins forces with Sylah and Anoor, together these grains of sand will become a storm.
As the empire begins a set of trials of combat and skill designed to find its new leaders, the stage is set for blood to flow, power to shift, and cities to burn.
This story is epic fantasy with blood magic and an interesting take on the chosen one. This story has the chosen one having issues with drugs and missing her calling, which is quite a different take than other epic fantasies of this type. There's some content/trigger warning needed for some gore, violence, child abuse, drugs/drug addiction, and abuse. There's also LGBT/Queer rep, a mute character, and such.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for letting me read and review this great book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Here's the summary from Goodreads:
Red is the blood of the
Show More
elite, of magic, of control.Blue is the blood of the poor, of workers, of the resistance.
Clear is the blood of the slaves, of the crushed, of the invisible.
Sylah dreams of days growing up in the resistance, being told she would spark a revolution that would free the empire from the red-blooded ruling classes’ tyranny. That spark was extinguished the day she watched her family murdered before her eyes.
Anoor has been told she’s nothing, no one, a disappointment, by the only person who matters: her mother, the most powerful ruler in the empire. But when Sylah and Anoor meet, a fire burns between them that could consume the kingdom—and their hearts.
Hassa moves through the world unseen by upper classes, so she knows what it means to be invisible. But invisibility has its uses: It can hide the most dangerous of secrets, secrets that can reignite a revolution. And when she joins forces with Sylah and Anoor, together these grains of sand will become a storm.
As the empire begins a set of trials of combat and skill designed to find its new leaders, the stage is set for blood to flow, power to shift, and cities to burn.
This story is epic fantasy with blood magic and an interesting take on the chosen one. This story has the chosen one having issues with drugs and missing her calling, which is quite a different take than other epic fantasies of this type. There's some content/trigger warning needed for some gore, violence, child abuse, drugs/drug addiction, and abuse. There's also LGBT/Queer rep, a mute character, and such.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for letting me read and review this great book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Kiaya40
This story is superb. I enjoyed it a lot and especially love how it comes from the mythology of Africa and Arabia. I always love reading stories with mythology and especially with Mythologies that we don't always know or hear as much about.
Here's the summary from Goodreads:
Red is the blood of the
Blue is the blood of the poor, of workers, of the resistance.
Clear is the blood of the slaves, of the crushed, of the invisible.
Sylah dreams of days growing up in the resistance, being told she would spark a revolution that would free the empire from the red-blooded ruling classes’ tyranny. That spark was extinguished the day she watched her family murdered before her eyes.
Anoor has been told she’s nothing, no one, a disappointment, by the only person who matters: her mother, the most powerful ruler in the empire. But when Sylah and Anoor meet, a fire burns between them that could consume the kingdom—and their hearts.
Hassa moves through the world unseen by upper classes, so she knows what it means to be invisible. But invisibility has its uses: It can hide the most dangerous of secrets, secrets that can reignite a revolution. And when she joins forces with Sylah and Anoor, together these grains of sand will become a storm.
As the empire begins a set of trials of combat and skill designed to find its new leaders, the stage is set for blood to flow, power to shift, and cities to burn.
This story is epic fantasy with blood magic and an interesting take on the chosen one. This story has the chosen one having issues with drugs and missing her calling, which is quite a different take than other epic fantasies of this type. There's some content/trigger warning needed for some gore, violence, child abuse, drugs/drug addiction, and abuse. There's also LGBT/Queer rep, a mute character, and such.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for letting me read and review this great book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Here's the summary from Goodreads:
Red is the blood of the
Show More
elite, of magic, of control.Blue is the blood of the poor, of workers, of the resistance.
Clear is the blood of the slaves, of the crushed, of the invisible.
Sylah dreams of days growing up in the resistance, being told she would spark a revolution that would free the empire from the red-blooded ruling classes’ tyranny. That spark was extinguished the day she watched her family murdered before her eyes.
Anoor has been told she’s nothing, no one, a disappointment, by the only person who matters: her mother, the most powerful ruler in the empire. But when Sylah and Anoor meet, a fire burns between them that could consume the kingdom—and their hearts.
Hassa moves through the world unseen by upper classes, so she knows what it means to be invisible. But invisibility has its uses: It can hide the most dangerous of secrets, secrets that can reignite a revolution. And when she joins forces with Sylah and Anoor, together these grains of sand will become a storm.
As the empire begins a set of trials of combat and skill designed to find its new leaders, the stage is set for blood to flow, power to shift, and cities to burn.
This story is epic fantasy with blood magic and an interesting take on the chosen one. This story has the chosen one having issues with drugs and missing her calling, which is quite a different take than other epic fantasies of this type. There's some content/trigger warning needed for some gore, violence, child abuse, drugs/drug addiction, and abuse. There's also LGBT/Queer rep, a mute character, and such.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for letting me read and review this great book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Show Less
LibraryThing member decaturmamaof2
A really thrilling world with tense conflict, interesting personalities, smart characters and exciting plotlines
LibraryThing member bookwyrmm
Very engaging fantasy with a lot of world to get lost in, but a few elements just needed a little more polishing.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2022-07
Physical description
640 p.; 9.45 inches
ISBN
2928377082390
Local notes
Sylah was destined to win the Aktibar trials and be crowned Warden of Strength. Stolen by blue-blooded rebels she was raised with a Duster’s heart; forged as a weapon to bring down from within the red-blooded Embers’ regime of cruelty. But when her adopted family were brutally murdered those dreams of a better future turned to dust. However, the flame of hope may yet be rekindled because Sylah wasn’t made to sparkle, she was born to burn.
Waterstones exclusive with red sprayed page edges.
Waterstones exclusive with red sprayed page edges.
Other editions
The Final Strife [Goldsboro Exclusive] by Saara El-Arifi (Hardcover)