This is probably the most difficult review I’ve ever written, and that’s solely based on the fact that I think this book works its magic best if you go into it completely blind. At the point when I picked this book up, I’d even forgotten the synopsis so I feel like I had one more plot twist waiting for me that is mentioned in there. Another reviewer even suggested that this novel feels like the beginning of a new genre, a merging of science fiction and contemporary and I feel inclined to agree. So, instead of giving you a rundown of the plot, let me convince you with as few spoilers as possible why you need to pick this book up.
With four different POVs and flashbacks that enrich the current timeline, First, Become Ashes introduces a world that is so realistic yet has elements that make you question the narrators’ reliability throughout the story. There are jarring tonal shifts – not just between the different characters but also within certain scenes. One moment, you’re reading about cosplaying and the next, cult practices are discussed with a level of normalcy you’d usually associate with people talking about the weather. It’s certainly not going to be for everyone, but I found these tonal shifts to be as confounding as intriguing.
As we follow the main character Lark, paired with a few other characters, and dive deeper into his psyche and learn about his experiences within the Fellowship, you can’t help but believe that magic is real as well. Calvin, a new friend of Lark’s, wants to believe in Lark’s magical abilities so much that you as the reader, wonder until the very last page what is real and what isn’t and that alone makes this book worth picking up.
There is also excellent representation of diversity in First, Become Ashes. Beyond including people from different races, genders and sexualities, Lark and his fellow peers also ask every new acquaintance for their pronouns. What appears unexpected at the beginning of the story quickly becomes normalised behaviour and really showcases how easy it is not to assume someone’s gender identity within the first seconds of meeting them.
What I loved most about this book, though, was the complex exploration of trauma. Again, I can’t go into too much detail because of spoilers, but Lark is such a flawed victim of trauma and the way he handles the stress that comes with rejecting the notion that you have to give up the beliefs you’ve grown up with is so compelling. While we get insights into how other characters struggle with guilt, trauma and loss, Lark is the one who has the farthest to go when it comes to accepting reality, which isn’t easy when you’ve been blinded to the truth for decades. The refusal to accept the suffering that would come with rearranging the meaning of past hurt he experienced was as harrowing as it was necessary. So, if you’re okay with reading a book with darker topics and explorations of past trauma, then I think this read could really impact you. First, Become Ashes surely is a tragic story, but it nevertheless emphasises hope and faith in a better tomorrow than today.
Unexpected and compelling, First, Become Ashes expertly blurs the line between fiction and reality and keeps readers invested long after the book is closed.
First, Become Ashes is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of April 6th 2021.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
The Fellowship raised Lark to kill monsters.
His partner betrayed them to the Feds.
But Lark knows his magic is real, and he’ll do anything to complete his quest.
K. M. Szpara follows Docile, one of the most anticipated science fiction novels of 2020, with First, Become Ashes, a fantastic standalone adventure that blends pain and pleasure and will make readers question what is real, and what is magical.
Lark spent the first twenty-four years, nine months, and three days of his life training for a righteous quest: to rid the world of monsters. Alongside his partner Kane, he wore the cage and endured the scourge in order to develop his innate magic. He never thought that when Kane left, he’d next see him in the company of FBI agents and a SWAT team. He never dreamed that the leader of the Fellowship of the Anointed would be brought up on charges of abuse and assault.
He never expected the government would tell him that the monsters aren’t real–that there is no magic, and all the pain was for nothing.
Lark isn’t ready to give up. He is determined to fulfill his quest, to defeat the monsters he was promised. Along the way he will grapple with the past, confront love, and discover his long-buried truth.
