The Phoenix King: 1 (The Ravence Trilogy)

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Due to a translation error, in the French version of the episode, Zuko says that his uncle created the lightning redirection when he learned waterbending, which is impossible, instead of saying that he studied waterbenders. Building and supporting a community of self-published authors dedicated to both sharing experiences and learning as equals. However, late in Bel Shanaar's reign, a canker began to infect Ulthuan: cults dedicated to the Cytharai, the darker Elven gods, began to flourish and spread, despite all efforts to curb their excesses. Malekith returned to Ulthuan and led a series of great purges against the cults across Ulthuan, but it did little save push the realm towards civil war. Finally, Malekith declared Bel Shanaar to be a follower of the cults. Before this claim could be ratified, Malekith murdered Bel Shanaar and claimed the Phoenix King had killed himself. Malekith demanded the crown pass to him, but the Council was skeptical. Unfortunately, this didn't stop Malekith, and he tried to take the crown by force. Too late, the Council realised Malekith and his mother Morathi had been controlling and directing the cults for their own purposes all along. Unfortunately, their plans were undone when Malekith was horrifically burned trying to prove his right to be king by passing through the sacred Flame of Asuryan. As his followers fled with their badly injured master, they left Ulthuan without a king and poised on the brink of civil war. The writing itself is also great. There are enough poetic turns of phrase that I often found myself re-reading bits as I went along because I enjoyed them so much. Verma also includes short epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter, so not only do we get the tone of the viewpoint characters in the writing, we also get bits of historical accounts, journals and legends which add to the immersion. For Yassen Knight, fire is redemption. He dreams of shedding his past as one of Sayon’s most deadly assassins, of laying to rest the ghosts of those he has lost. If joining the court of flame and serving the royal Ravence family-the very people he once swore to eliminate-will earn him that, he’ll do it no matter what they ask of him.

This book will make your heart bleed and burn, and want you to have it done all over again. A must-read. THE BOY WITH FIRE is, at its heart, a story about madness. It shows a world teetering on the edge of war, and the people who push it over. The book gets DARK. It's written in 3 character POVs, and each character must make brutally cruel decisions that put other lives at stake. There's genocide, terrorism, vengeful gods, and man's battle against fate. For the book politics, I was largely inspired by the geopolitical tensions in India, as well as the rise of nationalistic leaders in both America and India. For me, TBWF’s greatest strength was the focus on religion. I very much had to squint to see the references to Hindu mythology, but the religion woven into the narrative was uniquely done. The inclusion of prophecies in fantasy is very much a hit or miss for me; but The Boy With Fire very much managed to include prophecy in a way that still allowed for the characters their free will and their own roles in the plot. That’s unusual for a fantasy, and I did enjoy it. The book also includes a fascinating twist on the Chosen One trope, and I’m excited to see how that plays out. No, all the stories in this novel are fictional. Are they making a movie on The Phoenix King by Aparna Verm a?But I think readers who love Own Voices will very much enjoy The Phoenix King. One of the main characters, assassin Yassen, is half-Ravani and half-Jantari, which is something that irrevocably renders him an outsider in both worlds. He spends a lot of time struggling to process his identity and watching others rudely do it for him. This portrayal is really poignant and I think it will resonate with a lot of readers. For their next king, the Asur chose a warrior noble of Caledor, one who would seek to end the threat of Naggaroth for all time. His name was Tethlis and he loathed the Druchii with a passion, for they had murdered his family when he was but a child. At the start of his reign, the Dragons of Caledor began to succumb to a strange malaise, making them difficult to summon to war or even awaken from deep slumbers, and so Tethlis had to find new ways to compensate for the loss of these mighty beasts in his army. He began to train more and more soldiers, until he had rebuilt the Asur armies to a strength not seen since the time of Aenarion. Thank you so much to New Degree Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review! As the group displays their horror at this news, Zuko concludes that Aang will have no choice but to defeat Ozai before the comet comes, otherwise there will not be a world to save. Downhearted by this news, Aang feels overwhelmed and doubts his abilities to successfully face the Fire Lord. His friends, however, declare that they will fight alongside him to have a better shot at defeating Ozai. With Aang comforted, Team Avatar joins together in a group hug, including a reluctant Zuko. In Chinese mythology, the phoenix, also known as fenghuang, is one of the four Sacred Creatures, the other three being the dragon, the qilin, and the turtle. An androgynous creature, it was also associated with Yin; femininity, the moon, and the earth, as opposed to the dragon, which represented Yang; masculinity, the sun, and the sky. The new phoenix is destined to live as long as its old self and the creature is also associated with fire, justice, obedience, and fidelity.

I am my father's daughter." She reminded him proudly and watched as he rolled his eyes as though weary of hearing the fact. Coming from Croatia, we don't have as big a selection of books, especially when it comes to Fantasy books. Most are with Western European folklore, and the few I've read set in India, seamed like they were written by westerners, for westerners. This book perfectly describes the charms of Ancient India. Reading it, I could feel the heat of the desert sun, smell the spices and jasmine, hear the music of the dhol drums and feel the silk of the sari as if I were wearing it.Note: While I am reviewing this novel independently and honestly, it should be noted that it has been provided to me by Orbit for the purpose of this review. Warning: My review of The Phoenix King contains some spoilers! ] The Phoenix King is full of regrets and redemption This was an incredible debut rich with Indian-inspired mythology, next-generation technology and intricately-written characters, and I loved every moment. Meanwhile, her father, King Leo, has given up on following religion entirely and stops at nothing to prevent the foretold Prophet from rising and destroying the nation…which obviously flies in the face of their entire religion. Normally when we see people worshiping this kind of deity, it’s because they’re getting something out of it and that wasn’t really demonstrated for me in The Phoenix King beyond the cons. The royal family’s fire power doesn’t help their citizens in any way, except supposedly as a deterrent to war somehow. But how is one king or queen that is able to wield the Phoenix’s fire, fight off entire armies? It doesn’t seem likely. Ash begets ash. Heavens burn to reveal the truth. May the sinners be forgiven, and the pretenders see their doom….And thus justice shall bloom.”

I received this book for free from Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Personally, I would say that the biggest weaknesses of The Boy With Fire came with its characterisation. The characters were distinctly archetypal; other than Samson at the very end, they did not feel as though they evolved past those archetypes. It’s easy to forgive a novel’s flaws if the characters are compelling enough. Unfortunately, since I was not invested in the characters of The Boy With Fire, I found it difficult to enjoy the rest of the story.

Summary

For Elena Aadya Ravence, fire is yearning. She longs to feel worthy of her Phoenix god, of her ancestors who transformed the barren dunes of Sayon into a thriving kingdom. But though she knows the ways and wiles of the desert better than she knows her own skin, the secrets of the Eternal Flame elude her. And without them, she’ll never be accepted as queen.

Perhaps it was thanks to my surreal expectations with it being compared to my favourite fantasy series of all time: the Poppy War, or perhaps it was because I read it in a few sittings and skimmed through it... whatever it was, I hardly remember anything and 50% in was resisting the temptation of a DNF.

The Phoenix King PDF

The Phoenix King is the first instalment of a new sci-fi fantasy trilogy loosely inspired by Indian mythology.