Blog Tour | The Carnival of Ash

Hello everyone, welcome to my stop on The Carnival of Ash blog tour hosted by The Write Reads and Rebellion Publishing.

Title: The Carnival of Ash

Author: Tom Beckerlegge

Published: 15th March 2022

Publisher: Rebellion

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Historical

Rating: 4/5 stars

Cadenza is the City of Words, a city run by poets, its skyline dominated by the steepled towers of its libraries, its heart beating to the stamp and thrum of the printing presses in the Printing Quarter.

Carlo Mazzoni, a young wordsmith arrives at the city gates intent on making his name as the bells ring out with the news of the death of the city’s poet-leader. Instead, he finds himself embroiled with the intrigues of a city in turmoil, the looming prospect of war with their rival Venice ever-present. A war that threatens not only to destroy Cadenza but remove it from history altogether…

I was lucky enough to receive a ebook copy of this novel from The Write Reads and Rebellion in return for an honest review.

The blurb of this novel gives you only a slight insight into the breadth of this novel, it sweeps across the city of Cadenza, introducing us to a range of characters. The novel is split into parts, each separate, but connecting characters and settings within the city.

I enjoyed the setting of this novel the most. The city of Cadenza was fascinating to me. A city that worships poets and the written word, that is going through political turmoil and succession problems and is threatened by war. The author does a brilliant job of creating this city, I felt swept away in the descriptions of the monastery, the cemeteries and everything in between!

I do think that the blurb doesn’t give any clue as to how this novel will play out. I am in two minds about whether its better to go in not knowing or whether being forewarned makes the reading process easier. Either way, it does take some getting used to, and it is not a straightforward fantasy novel. The novel is split into parts, and each part features a different character and their story. These stories are all connected, and many play out at the same time. In this way you really only have a full understanding of the novel and the plot at the end, which is an interesting way of writing a novel like this.

The characters are a real mix of people. I didn’t get overly attached to any of them, but we weren’t given all that much time to get attached. The book moves on to another part and therefore another character’s story so quickly that there is little time to fall in love with anyone.

Overall I enjoyed this novel, despite my initial misgivings and confusion! The novel does have quite a few trigger warnings, and please look out for these before embarking on the read. I found myself swept along in the descriptive narration, and I enjoyed the overall linking of the separate parts!

Thank you to The Write Reads and Rebellion Publishing for having me on the blog tour!