Ashael Rising by Shona Kinsella

I would like to thank the author and Kristell Ink for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Kristell Ink

Published – 1/8

Price – £19.99

Life on KalaDene is idyllic. But when Ashael, healer of the peaceful Folk, meets a stranger in the woods and invites him to stay, she has no idea of the forces arrayed against her.

Daven, Zanthar mage and ancient enemy of the Folk, is hunting for the mysterious Vessel, the one thing that can save KalaDene - and the one thing that he wants to destroy.

Two worlds are about to collide.

One of the things I loveand I suspect many love in fantasy is when the enemy is all powerful and the heroes are certainly at the start the underdogs. There is always something about taking on the ruling order, the establishment or the Dark Powers. Who does not like a revolution and the sound of an empire falling? Its not hard to see why this is often a powerful attraction of Fantasy because it reminds us all that we can fight the dragon and sometimes we can win. In Shona Kinsella’s fantastic Ashael Rising we start a new fantasy series where a particularly terrible force of evil attempts to re-take a peaceful world for their own schemes and a group of people who have no technology stand in their way.

Two hundred years ago the Zanthar nearly conquered the world of KalaDene; taking the life itself from the earth and only when all the various peoples of it came together in a climactic battle were they pushed back the forces of their leader Daven and were not heard of again. KalaDene knew peace again and life got back to normal. Now Ashael is a young woman part of the The Folk; a simple people who live a hard but fulfilling life in a world that does not know yet technology – wooden huts, hunting and faming are key skills but for Ashael its learning to be a healer in the footsteps of her mentor Bhearra that is her true calling. But the Zanthar are still alive and in her mysterious hiding place Daven sends a young slave named Iwan to return to the Keladene and seek out strange events and report back. Daven seeks a prophesised Vessel that must be found before they reach their true potential. Ashael is soon to be thrust into danger and a new battle for the future of the world begins.

Ashael Rising is using a classic fantasy style story plotline but it is a classic template for a reason – we love to see the powerless realise they can take down the powerful. It also helps that Kinsella has created a story full of characters with heart; a textured and interesting fantasy world and most tantalisingly a set of villains to hate but also watch their actions with horrific fascination. In other words, it’s the storytelling in this book that makes the reader invested in what is going on and fear what is to come.

Ashael is a kind young woman at the start and importantly Kinsella gives her though a personality of someone working out her world and most of all someone willing to do the right thing even when it puts her in danger. We get to know her and The Folk before everything goes wrong. A really good way to understand their way of life and that for them the Zanthar are just old stories no one remembers. Iwan’s arrival and as we know his secret mission, we sense he puts everyone we have got to know now in danger, but we still hope he can do the right thing if he gets a moment as we see despite someone who himself wants to do the right thing. Importantly I really cared for this group and how it was about to have their world overturned.   Ashael’s journey puts her in places and situations that she would never have imagined and that determination to not give in even when injury or death are the most likely outcomes. Her bravery in this stands and as her powers rise makes her an interesting hero in the making,

This is helped by the Zanthar who could easily have been just a blob of evil but cleverly we get to see their way of life and not just their evil schemes. They are morally repugnant, slave people and drain their energy but interestingly we start to realise they use various worlds to source their power and potential immortality. This could be of course just magic but perhaps something more advanced is behind it all? Having this brutal advanced force against a people with no technology makes the battle ahead interesting but while The Folk are a true community and love to help the Zanthar we see are full of factions, in-fighting and political intrigue. You may not want to be in a room with them, but their scenes are always darkly entertaining to see who is stabbing whom in the back (reminds me of the current UK government to be fair). They’re an unusual enemy being both despicable but not stupid and their ruthlessness in particular makes the story feel that the outcome is not yet fixed.

Lastly, I really loved KelaDene itself. This very simple beautiful world the Zanthar wish to destroy is described lovingly as a living breathing place. But on top of this we start to see with the various creatures and other races mentioned that this is a much wider fantasy world. These people all are very different to the Folk and suggests future volumes will explore their perspectives and unique abilities too. Its got a sense of depth and texture that makes this an interesting rather than boiler-plate fantasy setting which again makes me care about not seeing it destroyed.

Ashael Rising is a wonderfully inventive start to an exciting new fantasy series. I loved the cast of characters to cheer for and also be terrified of. This is fantasy storytelling you curl up with to enjoy and take you to other places and most of all give us hope that good can beat evil often by virtue of people being brave, true and determined to help others. A message that will never get old. Highly recommended!