Other honourable mentions were; Anastacia, who held so much magical power, she was just plain awesome. Then there was Melanna, the prince of Hadari’s daughter, who wanted nothing more than to become a warrior to fight beside her father, even though tradition dictated women could not partake in warfare. Oh and my favourite duo were Kurkas and Revekeh; these two made the most unlikeliest friendship, but somehow they were both perfect for each other, and their banter together was the absolute best!! Lastly, I’ll mention Ebigail, one of the main villains of the story, and she was the most villainiest of villains indeed! Jeez, she was ruthless; the way she could manipulate situations to ensure her dominance and power, was both maddening but also well played! It’s a cliche, but I loved to hate her. She forced herself upright. There was no pain. No weariness. Just calm. Was this how Kevor had felt at the end? Before the creak of the deadman’s drop had set her husband swinging? Trembling fingers closed around a dagger’s hilt.

The Author Resource Round Table on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_folder/116489?group_id=26989Pain stemmed Katya’s denial. A glance revealed rainwater running red across her left hand. She also felt a wound high on her shoulder. The last wayfarer’s parting gift, lost in the desperation of the moment. In truth, those deaths – and many others – had been commissioned by Ebigail Kiradin herself as part of her attempt to seize control of the Republic. To secure her position, Ebigail then had the Crowmarket kidnap the loved ones of influential Tressians, ensuring that nothing would oppose her coup. The cool thing about this book and series is that you are dealing with conflict among human combatants, but throw in the amazing twist that gods are also meddling in these affairs and it really puts the fantastic in this fantasy series. That's really where this book shines and gives an added dimension and depth that book one hinted at so tantalizingly. You just know that a titanic struggle is taking place and Ward reveals what is going on behind the scenes beautifully but never outright tells you how it will play out. That I'm sure is where the final book in this series will take us and if LEGACY OF STEEL is any indication of what we have in store for the finale, then the next year is going to be painful to have to sit and wait through for that concluding resolution. The one about which I am not ambivalent is regarding the editing. The author switches perspective quite often in the narrative and the editor or director (or whatever the relevant job title is) doesn’t provide a sufficient break in between to make it clear that the character providing perspective has changed. Even something as simple as an extra second’s pass would have help.

She sheathed her sword and marched for the front door. Timbers shuddered under her gauntleted fist. “Elda? Elda! It’s me.” This problem does not ruin the listening experience, but it does make it unnecessarily challenging (I read it half in kindle and half in audio. He problem doesn’t exist in the written format). This is the story of the Tressian Republic. There are two factions who have been warring nearly constantly for the last fifteen years or so. Josiri Trelan is the son and heir of the former leader of the Republic, a woman who was branded a traitor and killed by Viktor Akadra. Josiri and his sister Calenne have been more or less held prisoner since that time. Katya rode on past Josiri. Steel clashed, once, twice, and then the last wayfarer was gone. His body tipped over the low stone parapet and into the rushing waters below.

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Legacy of Ash is an epic fantasy debut aptly designed for well-seasoned epic fantasy readers, and I wouldn’t recommend newcomers to the genre starting to start their epic fantasy adventure here. Matthew Ward also further develops many characters from major characters in the previous novel, to the side characters. For example, Malachi's daughter Sidara, and the Crowmarkets assassin Apara both shine so much and have character arcs that really shows the brilliance of Matthew Ward's storytelling. I feel Sidara for sure will shine even further in the third book, especially due to her power with the light. We also have side characters such as Seveka who blew me away with how strong of a character she was! During the first major battle Seveka steals the show as she must lead the front against the Hadari Empire. I loved her relationship with Rosa as they bring out the best in each other. Rosa is the definition of a lioness and is definitely deserved of being the Champion of Tressia. She never gives up even when the odds are against her.