Upon a Burning Throne
Books | Fiction / Fantasy / General
3.4
(91)
Ashok Banker
From international sensation Ashok K. Banker, pioneer of the fantasy genre in India, comes the first book in a ground-breaking, epic fantasy series inspired by the ancient Indian classic, The Mahabharata In a world where demigods and demons walk among mortals, the Emperor of the vast Burnt Empire has died, leaving a turbulent realm without an emperor. Two young princes, Adri and Shvate, are in line to rule, but birthright does not guarantee inheritance: For any successor must sit upon the legendary Burning Throne and pass The Test of Fire. Imbued with dark sorceries, the throne is a crucible--one that incinerates the unworthy. Adri and Shvate pass The Test and are declared heirs to the empire... but there is another with a claim to power, another who also survives: a girl from an outlying kingdom. When this girl, whose father is the powerful demonlord Jarsun, is denied her claim by the interim leaders, Jarsun declares war, vowing to tear the Burnt Empire apart--leaving the young princes Adri and Shvate to rule a shattered realm embroiled in rebellion and chaos.... Welcome to the Burnt Empire Saga
High Fantasy
AD
Buy now:
More Details:
Author
Ashok Banker
Pages
669
Publisher
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published Date
2019
ISBN
1328916286 9781328916280
Community ReviewsSee all
"If you’re looking for an EPIC fantasy—this is nothing if not epic. This was a 25 hour audiobook and I consumed it in just 4 days. I was absolutely absorbed.<br/><br/>My only gripe was the consistent fatphobia throughout the book. I find it to be very lazy when a character being fat is a device to add to their personas as bad, evil, greedy, etc.<br/><br/>Other than that, I loved how the women were treated in this book. Strong, ferocious warriors, revered mothers, cruel, vain, intelligent—complex and varied as women are in reality but are rarely portrayed in books written by men.<br/><br/>There are gods, demigods, other dimensions, portals, battles, love, fear. Something very unique in this book that I really enjoyed was that occasionally we got to view what was happening through the perspective of various animals—a vulture, a crow, a snake. As an animal lover I thought that was such a cool addition and added to the epic feel of this story."
Reading into the Void
"I'm not at all familiar with the actual epic this is based on, so I don't know if that helped me enjoy this more or if I would have liked it more by understanding the mythology better. That being said, it held my attention throughout, and I'm interested in getting to the next books, but I personally wouldn't call this a new favorite."
S B
Stephanie Bartley
