Among the Burning Flowers
The Roots of Chaos Series
A sheltered princess is forced into the spotlight when an ancient enemy resurfaces in Samantha Shannon’s epic fantasy novel Among the Burning Flowers.
A sound like thunder rolls through Cárscaro, the seat of Yscalin. Draconic beasts spill forth from the mountain, heralding the return of Fýerdel, an ancient wyrm. Marosa, heir to the throne, is stricken by the swiftness with which her controlling father submits to the fearsome beast.
As word of the king’s shifting allegiance spreads, others decide whether to stand with their ruler or make other preparations. Though scarcely allowed to carry out her duties as heir since her mother’s death, Marosa calls upon her courage and cunning to protect her people.
The world around Yscalin is large, and its recent and ancient history is explained throughout to set up the arduous road ahead of Marosa. She is the book’s fulcrum, grounding the story with her fears, her near hopelessness, and her commitment to herself and her people. She also shares focus with primary characters from two other regions—her betrothed, Aubrecht, and an outlaw, Melaugo—honoring the book’s scope well.
The story’s intensity ebbs and flows thanks to the immersive prose. Early morning conversations are soft despite their heaviness, and action sequences leap from the page. The heat of wyvern fire singes, the creatures rendered magnificent:
the lava … lit his colossal wings. The architect of the Grief of Ages, free of his lair in Mount Fruma, taking to the sky for the first time in five hundred years.
Elsewhere, people’s snappy conversations are calibrated with precision, morphing from formal in the mouths of those with royal ties to informal, even crass, when involving more common folk.
Among the Burning Flowers is an epic coming-of-age novel wherein loyalties are tested and worlds are reshaped.
Reviewed by
Dontaná McPherson-Joseph
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
