An Ember Bright (Prologue - 2c) by ayo723   

Reviewed by -bethwrites-

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OVERVIEW

An Ember Bright is set in the kingdom of Serola, where Aurelians are the ruling noble class and Standards are mistreated and living in poverty. It's said that Aurelians are the only ones who wield powers, but once every year there is a Transfer, where the Aurelians take a Standard child who has powers. The author's depiction of the atrocities of the kingdom is very raw, which is why there is a trigger warning on a few of the chapters. The time setting appears to be in the older days, what with the horses and carriages and pre-England slum like condition. This book is based heavily on actions and description, and what little dialogue there is in the prologue serves to make a point about the cruelty of the Aurelians.

PLOT (SO FAR):

Prologue

It's unclear whether the girl in the prologue is the same girl in the following chapters, since the summary the author wrote mentions a girl named Cara and the chapters after the prologue center around a girl named Lynn. The prologue focuses on a scene in an orphanage, where a Transfer is taking place. This scene is written from the point of view of an unnamed orphan girl, who watches as the visiting Aurelian and his daughter inspect the various children with powers. When they settle on a boy named Jax who can wield fire, however, the girl makes an attempt to attack the guards and stop the Transfer. She is unsuccessful, and the guards take Jax away.

Chapter 1

The chapter opens up with two character, Lynn and Finn, who are hiding in streets trying to snag change from rich nobles known as Loaders. When a carriage appears in the middle of the marketplace and the guards milling about suddenly triple, Lynn concludes a Transfer is about to take place. As she gets closer to the crowd, she witnesses a black cloud which fans out from the carriage and appears to turn the people walking around temporarily insane. She is thrown into the center of the action, and in her words, "all hell breaks loose."

Chapter 2a

The next chapter opens up with Lynn witnessing a girl being strangled by vine like structures while her desperate mother tries to free her. Lynn manages to cut the vines off with her knife, only for the girl to be recaptured by the guards. The mother pleads to the guards to set her free and throws accusations of cruelty and inhumane treatment at them, and the guards shoot her in response. This scene appears to be included with the intention of reinforcing the idea of the cruelty that runs rampage in this kingdom, and probably should be skipped over for people who have a hard time stomaching violent and sensitive scenes.

Chapter 2b

After the shooting of a second person, Lynn attempts to get out of the marketplace and stumbles over an Aurelian boy. They exchange a few nasty words and the boy leaves, while Lynn sets off to find Finn. Instead of finding Finn in the alley, though, she finds two young twins who tell her that their mother had a headache after being in the marketplace, which alludes to something sinister having to do with the black smoke coming from the carriage.

Chapter 2c

Lynn helps bandage up one of the twins' injuries, after he told her he didn't want to upset his mother. She tells them they can get ahold of her at any time by leaving a signal in the front of the alley. Like the previous chapter, there isn't much plot development in this chapter.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

The author gives the reader some pretty good character profiles. Lynn is a street smart, natural leader who takes charge of providing for her "crew." Finn is apparently part of this crew, too, only he's a little less accustomed to the streets than Lynn. The author doesn't go into depth about their crew in the first few chapter, only mentioning it a couple times. According to the summary, Lynn has a tragic and traumatizing past, which comes back to her in a flashback in chapter 2a, although the author doesn't go into detail about this past of hers in these chapters. In regards to the other characters the author introduces, ex. the girl the guards captured, the twins and their mother, the author doesn't necessarily develop them so much as mention them, and it would appear that they are only introduced for the sake of reinforcing the awful conditions of the kingdom.

WRITING STYLE

The writing style is heavily descriptive and action filled. In chapter 2a especially, the descriptions begin to slow down the plot as the author spends most of the time info-dumping. While this helps the reader develop an idea of why things are what they are down in Serola, this doesn't do much in terms of plot development. It would be nice if the information were spread out in increments, rather than taking up huge consecutive paragraphs. However, it was fun reading the dialogue between Lynn and some of the characters. The reader is given a glimpse of her sarcastic and witty side when she's talking to Finn, and her caring side when she's talking to the twins. What other dialogue there was serves to show the gravity of the situation, and is very effective.

SUMMARY

The gist behind An Ember Bright is a well thought out one, exploring ideas like loyalty and perseverance, as well as an in-depth look at evil and people in authority abusing their power. It's probably not the best read for someone whose stomach turns at the mention of violence, but it's a good one for shedding light on some of the atrocities that fill our world even today. The author does their best to be respectful of people who are actually in these positions, which is considerate. Overall, this book was a well written with a powerful take on the "group of people with special abilities" storyline.