In Ashes Lie

Spring09

While Midnight Never Come was very much a “talky” book—a lot of the action and tension came from the dialogue and backstory—the follow-up was a much more action-packed and exciting read. While the sections switching off between the Protestant Revolution and the Great Fire of 1666 are a bit jarring at first, they seemed to flow better as you learned more about what was occurring in the previous chapter. One of my favorite things to read about in faerie books are the workings of the various courts, and in this book, you see how the various faerie courts of Europe either mirror or disregard their mortal counterparts. I also like how the main conflict is tied with what’s occurring in mortal London as well, giving further sense to how closely tied to mortals the Onyx Court and its sovereigns are. This is one of my favorite series, and I love going back and rereading these. ( )

Lune is now queen of the Onyx Court, but she is threatened both from within and from without. Time has passed, and Parliament is contending with Charles Stuart for control of England. A little farther forward in time, the Great Fire of London threatens both realms.

The writing is a little more formal than I usually prefer, but it took less time for me to sink into the story this time than it did with the first book. ( )

This is the second book of the Onyx Hall Series. The first novel, “Midnight Never Come,” takes place in the Elizabethan era. The setting of this story is England between 1639 and 1666. The narrative jumps between the burning of London in 1666 and the 1640 English Civil War. Lune, the queen of Onyx Hall, struggles to keep a balance between her underground fairy kingdom and the human realm above. To keep track of the politics in England, Lune rules with a human consort, Antony, who lives in both worlds. Antony is an alderman in London and becomes a member of parliament when King Charles I calls the assemblage so he can acquire money to wage war. In the first novel of this series, Lune’s downfall is caused by the evil Invidiana. In this story Lune is endangered by a fae ruler named Nicneven who challenges Lune’s reign by using an evil fae named Ifarren Vidar. Nicneven’s reason for disliking Lune’s court is because she hates humans and doesn’t like the way the fae in the Hall live quietly with humans.

Little action occurs at the beginning of this novel. The book starts with the first moments of the fire that consumes London and then switches to the political machinations that led to the English Civil War. Each chapter of the novel starts with the fire and then returns to the War. The London fire is the most dramatic part of the narrative. The political storyline doesn’t become interesting until Charles I is beheaded. I recommend wading through the first 150 pages of bureaucratic intrigue, because the rest of the novel is much livelier. ( )

I really hate finishing a book half way through, especially if it's the sequel to a book that I really enjoyed, but thats what happened with In Ashes Lie. The first problem for me was the confusing schisms and political plots in both mortal and faerie courts, it was hard to keep track of who was on what side, and what each side stood for. Secondly, there were large to time jumps throughout from the 1640s to the 1660s and back again, and as the characters are primarily immortal unchanging faeries, it was sometimes difficult to notice that the time had changed. Overall, I really wanted to like this book, and I hope that when I have less to read, I'll pick it up again, finish it and be proved wrong, and that it is as good as it's predecessor. ( )