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Book: “The Ashfire King” by Chelsea Abdullah
Publishing Info: Orbit, April 2025
Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!
Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound
Book Description: A merchant and a prince trapped in the crumbling realm of jinn must figure out how to save one world to return to their own in The Ashfire King, the second book in the Sandsea Trilogy.
Neither here nor there, but long ago… After fleeing a patricidal prince, legendary merchant Loulie al-Nazari and banished prince Mazen bin Malik find themselves in the realm of jinn. But instead of sanctuary, they find a world on the cusp of collapse.
The jinn cities, long sheltered beneath the Sandsea by the magic of its kings, are sinking. Amid the turmoil, political alliances are forming, and rebellion is on the rise. When Loulie assists a dissenter—one of her bodyguard’s old comrades—she puts herself in the center of a centuries-old war.
Trapped in a world that isn’t her own and wielding magic that belongs to a fallen king, Loulie must decide: Will she carry on someone else’s legacy or carve out her own?
Previously Reviewed: “The Stardust Thief”
Review: Insert “It’s been 84 years” gif here! But seriously, that’s how long it’s felt since I read and reviewed “The Stardust Thief!” So long that I’ve run into the author of this book not once, but twice, at ALA conventions! So I’ve been super excited ever since I saw that we finally had a publication date for this one!
Wisely, the author included a fairly extensive opening chapter covering all of the action from the first book. I really liked that book, but I’ll admit, I’d forgotten many of the details that were then covered in this introduction. Even with it, I was left a bit floundering when the actual story started up, trying to re-orient myself with not only where our characters were located, but how exactly they’d all ended up where they did. Once I got my footing more under me, I was able to settle in better.
Overall, I think this was a solid second book. It didn’t quite reach the highs of the first one, but it did a good job of reminding me why I enjoyed this world to begin with. Loulie and Mazen remain great characters to follow, though my preference for Loulie continues. Mazen is fine, but it didn’t feel like he had much of an arc to explore in this book, which left his chapters often feeling a bit light or hollow. For her part, Loulie is still reeling from the loss of Quadir, as well as with the new paths she sees for herself going forward. Further, with the loss of this essential relationship, we see her struggle to trust and grow close with Mazen. The barest hints of romance are established here, and I’m definitely excited to see how that is wrapped up in the last book!
Speaking of Quadir, I was disappointed to see him disappear for so much of this book. I get why it was necessary for the plot, but he was a nice balance to the other characters, and I think his loss does effect the overall quality of this book. Especially given the blandness of Mazen’s chapters.
I enjoyed the main plot, for the most part. Though I will say that by the time we get to the end of this book, looking back on the events that took place, much of it felt like side quests, rather than an advancement of the primary story. This book definitely struggled with “second book syndrome,” and I wonder if the story as a whole would have been better served as a duology? There’s always a push for fantasy series to be bigger, longer, and then assumed, better. But sometimes a story works better when it’s tighter, and that might be the case here. Of course, we won’t really know until the third book is out and we see how it all is tied up in the end.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read. It didn’t quite live up to the highs of the first book, and I’ll admit to being a bit let down, given the long wait for this one. But it’s also a solid read on its own and sets up some exciting events for the third book. Ultimately, this may be one of those rare books that will read better if you haven’t already read the first one and can instead now read them back to back. The floundering around that I felt at the beginning is definitely best avoided!
Rating 8: A fun return in a long-awaited sequel! This may have suffered a bit from “second book syndrome,” but it was still great to return to this world and these characters!
Reader’s Advisory:
“The Ashfire King” can be found on this Goodreads list: Arabian, Egyptian, and Indian Fantasy.
The Library Ladies 