Soul Of Ash

Well, thank you, H.L. Moore. The sequel to “Heart of Dust” fulfils all the promises of the first book, and then some.

Set in Moore’s richly detailed fantasy world, the cavernous coal-mining city of Iole in the country of Arajon, this book follows up on the shocking story of Nathaniel Morgenstern, an apothecary with a dark past, and Doran O’Seanain, a coal miner whose teenaged daughter Grace now happens to be the ruler of the country. That was the story of the first book, and it left Nathaniel and Doran’s relationship in painful limbo.

The idea of a fantasy universe that feels oddly familiar is a great gift when handled by a good writer. Osiris and Beryll Brackhaus have created the Virasana Empire, which merges “Star Wars” and Euro-American pop culture in fascinating ways. Moore, who sees the world from Australia (because we USA types forget there are other perspectives), offers us an equally vivid vision, made darker overall because of the story she tells. Nathaniel’s story is doubly dark, both because of his Mevyn heritage, and his subsequent recruitment by the Nameless, a global network of assassins who kill for coin and are forever bound to the drug known as Death’s Embrace.

Moore makes conscious choices to create recognizable ethnicities on the one hand—Tsa Lien’s obvious Chinese-like origins, and the coal miner’s pale-skinned “Valley” heritage echoing the Irish. The obvious parallel between the Mevyn and Europe’s Jews is rendered clearer still by the author’s use of distinctly Jewish words, such as mezuzah and synagogue. The anti-Mevyn sentiments expressed by the oppressed miners and the dark-skinned aristocracy alike, is a counterpoint to the disdain in which the urbane elite of Iole City hold the unlettered country people of The Valley.

In other words, all the ugliness of the world we know is right there. It is complicated by the situation set up in the first book: Grace Harrington, a mixed-race teenager and sudden widow of the nasty previous ruler, finds herself in a position to fulfil her murdered mother’s dreams for the miners of Iole. She is supported by her aristocratic grandmother Gertrude, and also by her father, the fair-skinned (and soot-stained, used by the author as a metaphor for working-class) Doran, Foreman of the Mines. But Doran finds himself beset by deadly accidents, which not only endanger the miners, but undermine Grace’s effectiveness as Archon. Add to this mix the mysterious beauty Leonora Darkwater, who seems able to charm the miners and the aristocracy in equal measure, and you have a real puzzle to unravel.

What I really loved about the way this narrative evolved was the shifting positions of the various key players, as allegiances and enmities, fidelity and friendships are tested. The pariah Nathaniel, whose darkest secret is known only to a few, among them the person dearest to him and the person who holds his life in her hands, finds reason to wonder if there might not be something better ahead. Nathaniel is surely a tragic figure, but also a deeply sympathetic figure, while at the same time a symbol of everything dark and unholy in this strange universe. It is the shop-boy Gerald’s unwavering devotion to Nathaniel that reminds us to challenge our assumptions in such a world, lit by the shifting rainbow colors of the waterfall that pours endlessly over the mouth of the vast cavern.

I was not disappointed to see that there is plenty of room for a third book in this series, with the possibility that we might travel outside of Arajon. I have no doubt it will be worth waiting for.

There is no way I’m going to be able to avoid spoilers here for Heart of Dust, the first in the Death’s Embrace series. So if you haven’t read book 1, don’t go any further! Go read that book and then come back. Trust me, it’ll be worth your time!

Now that the long miners strike is over and a new Archon rules over Iole City, life should be calmer for Foreman Doran O Seanain. Of course, it’s anything but because nothing in Doran’s life is ever simple. Someone is actively sabotaging mine activity; the new Archon, who is also Doran’s daughter, is facing threats from within her court and without; and, of course, there’s Nathaniel Morgenstern.

Nathaniel remains enslaved to the drug that sustains his life, while ultimately destroying it, and he’d does so while running himself ragged in service to the miners. He has a debt he owes the Archon, a debt he can never repay, and one that may kill him quicker than his addiction. And then there’s Doran, the one man he can’t help loving and the one man who should hate him more than any other.

Life in Iole City isn’t for the faint of heart, and as Nathaniel and Doran find them swept up in a morass of politics, class inequality, and the harsh realities of their world, they must decide if loving one another is worth the struggle, or if walking away is the kinder choice.

Soul of Ash is set shortly after the end of Heart of Dust and these books must be read in order. There is simply too much world building and story development to try and read them as stand-alones. And, if like me, you read Heart of Dust when it first came out a couple years ago, you might want to re-read it right before Soul of Ash. I found that it helped me follow the storyline a bit more.

I loved Soul of Ash, even more than I did the first book in the series. It has everything that I enjoy about quality fantasy: a strong story, in-depth world building, and fantastic characters. Add in a healthy dose of angst and it’s pretty much a recipe for great reading. Doran and Nathaniel are complex and compelling characters. Both men carry the weight of the world on their shoulders and there are no easy answers for either of them. Nathaniel is literally under not one, but two, death sentences and he can’t escape what he’s done in the past. Doran should hate him and Nathaniel isn’t naive enough to expect forgiveness, but the fact that Doran seems to offer it shows how deeply bound both men are. Whatever joy these two can obtain will come in measured amounts and I think readers know that a happily ever after is far from promised. This is definitely a slow burning romance and one that is fraught with serious obstacles at nearly every turn.

The world building in Soul of Ash is as rich in detail as the story itself. The author does a good job of offering up information as a part of a natural narrative flow. The world of Iole City contains everything from myth and religion, to political machinations, and it all blended exceptionally well. There aren’t any info dumps and I never felt overwhelmed by what was happening on the page. Instead, I was captivated by the story and, while there’s nothing particular “new” about the plot, it’s written so well, I found myself simply enjoy being in the world and with the characters.

Soul of Ash is an excellent read and thankfully not the last in the series. There’s still a lot to learn about Nathaniel’s murky past and the relationship between he and Doran is only just beginning. Patience is not one of my virtues, so I’m going to be waiting with bated breath for the next installment!