Reality Reflected: Ashen City by Sara Baysinger

Why another post so soon after the last one? Well I'm glad you asked. This is an even more special announcement. There's a book coming out soon and it's going to have a cover.

Well that didn't sound that exciting. Let's try again.

Ashen City, the sequel to Sara Baysinger's fabulous book, Black Tiger, will be released on April 6th! But you don't have to wait until then for everything. Today, you will see the cover of the book in all its glory.

But first I'm going to tell you about Black Tiger.

It's dystopian, set in a future where disease has eliminated most of the world's population. There is just one large city.

Ember Carter is a farmer's daughter and wants to be a farmer herself. That seems impossible as all farming careers are given to boys and for several years everyone has been recruited to the Line of Defenders, even though there isn't a hint of war around.

Amazingly, she is assigned the career of farmer, but that hope quickly disappears when she tries to save her best friend from the Defenders.

She is sent off to the city, charged with murdering a defender and being a rebel. The sentence is death. A horrible death at the Rebels circle. Only petty criminals get a quick death by a Black Tiger.

But we all know she can't die. Not in this part of the story. She gets out, she's only an 'guest' now. A guest with a lot of power. But she's also suspected by the chief and she can't leave.

This is where things get fun. There's two young men in the city. And they're both rather contradictory. One is a nice person, the kind of person it's easy to trust. Yet, he's the chief's best friend and thinks they can work with him to fix the problems in Ky.

The other is a thoroughly despicable person, then a somewhat nice, and almost too friendly person. He keeps Ember entertained and even talks about the religion that is long gone from the city. I start to think he's a Christian of sorts ,but then he's urging her to rebel. One minute he's a hero, the next despicable again. I love having my emotions jerked around like that.

Any way I love this books. It has some amazing dilemmas, terrifying moments, great themes and an answer to why God gives us free will. Also there's the exploration of a society where religion is gone. It's not entirely gone though, some traces will always remain and people will always have a heart to look for purpose and something bigger than them. Always. And there is also mind control.

Now onto Ashen City.

Make your choice, Ember Carter. And make it count.

Ember Carter has escaped the flames of death. But will she ever be free from Chief Titus? When the orchard goes up in smoke and her family turns up missing, Ember returns to Frankfort hoping to find her brother and father, and to get Titus to drop the death wish he has against her.

But Titus is always one step ahead. When Ember faces him head-on, she’s captured, only to receive another death sentence. But on her way to her execution, plans go a little askew, and Ember finds herself traveling to the one place no one dares travel: Louisville. If the outskirts of Ky were a ghost town, the ashen city is the borderline of hell itself, but it’s the one place Ember can find refuge from the people who want her dead.

In the ashen city, Ember must learn that being a hero is more than doing what is right because she can, but doing it for the good of the people. And when plans take a turn for the worst, she must decide if it’s worth risking her life to save her country.

It sounds good to me. More avoidance of death.

And now the cover!!!

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