A Torch Against the Night - (Ember in the Ashes) by Sabaa Tahir (Paperback)

About the Book

This highly anticipated sequel to "An Ember in the Ashes" takes readers into the heart of the Empire as Laia and Elias fight their way north to liberate Laia's brother from the horrors of Kauf Prison.

Book Synopsis

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

One of Time Magazine's 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time
Book two in the New York Times bestselling series
A USA Today bestseller
A Wall Street Journal bestseller

"Spectacular."--Entertainment Weekly

"Fresh and exciting...Tahir has shown a remarkable talent for penning complex villains."--A.V. Club

"Even higher stakes than its predecessor... thrilling." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"[An] action-packed, breathlessly paced story." --Booklist, starred review

Set in a rich, high-fantasy world inspired by ancient Rome, Sabaa Tahir's AN EMBER IN THE ASHES told the story of Laia, a slave fighting for her family, and Elias, a young soldier fighting for his freedom.

Now, in A TORCH AGAINST THE NIGHT, Elias and Laia are running for their lives.

After the events of the Fourth Trial, Martial soldiers hunt the two fugitives as they flee the city of Serra and undertake a perilous journey through the heart of the Empire.

Laia is determined to break into Kauf--the Empire's most secure and dangerous prison--to save her brother, who is the key to the Scholars' survival. And Elias is determined to help Laia succeed, even if it means giving up his last chance at freedom.

But dark forces, human and otherworldly, work against Laia and Elias. The pair must fight every step of the way to outsmart their enemies: the bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus, the merciless Commandant, the sadistic Warden of Kauf, and, most heartbreaking of all, Helene--Elias's former friend and the Empire's newest Blood Shrike.

Bound to Marcus's will, Helene faces a torturous mission of her own--one that might destroy her: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape...and kill them both.

Review Quotes

Named one of the best books of the year by:
TIME
Entertainment Weekly
Buzzfeed
Amazon
PopSugar
Bustle
Paste Magazine
PopCrush

Praise for A Torch Against the Night:

"The stakes here are high and the plot runs like a well-oiled machine, ratcheting up the tension with every chapter." --NPR.org

"An adrenaline rush till the very last page." --Buzzfeed

"The sequel to Tahir's bestselling smash An Ember in the Ashes finally comes out in August, and let me tell you, it does not disappoint." --Book Riot

"A Torch Against the Night is an unabashed page-turner that scarcely ever pauses for breath." --The Christian Science Monitor

"Fast-paced, exciting and full of adrenaline, A Torch Against The Night is everything fans of Tahir's debut could possibly anticipate in a sequel." --The Bucks County Courier Times

"Thrilling...Tahir meticulously plots these novels, ramping up the suspense and including plenty of surprises." --The Buffalo News

"Delivers in every way...The stakes have never been higher, and the tension is acutely felt as Elias and Laia run for their lives." --USA Today's Happy Ever After blog

"At last, it's here...It's as heartbreaking as it is action-packed, delivering a worthy second installment in Tahir's bestselling series." --Paste

"Tahir proves to be a master of suspense and a canny practitioner of the cliffhanger, riveting readers' attention throughout....[An] action-packed, breathlessly paced story." --Booklist, starred review

"This sequel has a darker tone and even higher stakes than its predecessor, setting the stage for a thrilling conclusion." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Excellent." --Kirkus Reviews

"The rare sequel that improves on the original...unputdownable." --Common Sense Media (Five Stars)

Praise for An Ember in the Ashes

"This novel is a harrowing, haunting reminder of what it means to be human -- and how hope might be kindled in the midst of oppression and fear." --The Washington Post

"An Ember in the Ashes could launch Sabaa Tahir into JK Rowling territory...It has the addictive quality of The Hunger Games combined with the fantasy of Harry Potter and the brutality of Game of Thrones."--Public Radio International

"An Ember in the Ashes glows, burns, and smolders--as beautiful and radiant as it is searing."--Huffington Post

"[An Ember in the Ashes] thrusts its readers into a world marred by violence and oppression, yet does so with simple prose that can offer moments of loveliness in its clarity. This complexity makes Ember a worthy novel--and one as brave as its characters." --The New York Times Book Review

"Sabaa Tahir spins a captivating, heart-pounding fantasy." --Us Weekly

"An Ember in the Ashes mixes The Hunger Games with Game of Thrones...and adds a dash of Romeo and Juliet." --The Hollywood Reporter

"Blew me away...This book is dark, complex, vivid, and romantic--expect to be completely transported." --MTV.com

"Fast-paced, well-structured and full of twists and turns, An Ember in the Ashes is an evocative debut that has left me invested in knowing what happens next." --NPR

"Once you get caught up in the story, it's addictive, and there's no way you can put it down before you figure out what happens to the characters you have fallen for over the course of the 400 some-odd pages. So I didn't." --Bustle

"This epic fantasy set in the Martial Empire has it all danger and violence, secrets and lies, strong characters and forbidden romance and a touch of the supernatural." --The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"A setting inspired by ancient Rome; a fierce battle for freedom in the face of tyranny; and a villain who makes Cersei Lannister and Dolores Umbridge look like a pair of pathetic amateurs...An Ember in the Ashes is at the top of our must-read list for 2015." --MTV.com

"Be prepared to be blown away by this fantasy-thriller-adventure." --Girls' Life

"An Ember in the Ashes is a book that's too good to put down." --RedEye

"Perfect for fans of Maggie Stiefvater's The Scorpio Races or Sarah Maas's Throne of Glass series...The book is already set to be a film, which will be EPIC!" --TeenVogue.com

* "Tahir's deft, polished debut alternates between two very different perspectives on the same brutal world, deepening both in the contrast. In a tale brimming with political intrigue and haunted by supernatural forces, the true tension comes from watching Elias and Laia struggle to decide where their loyalties lie." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Tahir's world-building is wonderfully detailed and the setting is an unusual one for fantasy novels. All of her characters, even minor ones, are fully realized....For fans of Game of Thrones and of Melina Marchetta's Finnikin of the Rock." --School Library Journal

"An original, well-constructed fantasy world...truly engaging." --Kirkus Reviews

"An epic fantasy debut about an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his freedom. It's a story that's literally burning to be told." --Hypable.com

"First-time novelist Tahir has written an ambitious sword-and-sand adventure story that is notable for its suspense and scope." --Booklist

"Here's one of the year's most anticipated young-adult debuts." --io9.com

"I was so engrossed with this book that I missed a connecting flight. If that doesn't convince you to read An Ember in the Ashes, I don't know what will. An explosive, heartbreaking, epic debut that will keep you glued to the pages. I hope the world's ready for Sabaa Tahir." --Marie Lu, New York Times bestselling author of Legend

"With An Ember in the Ashes, Sabaa Tahir shows us light in the darkness, hope in a world of despair, and the human spirit reaching for greatness in difficult times." --#1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson

"An Ember in the Ashes is a spectacular page turner that asks readers to consider how far they'd go to save the ones they love. Sabaa Tahir is the next superstar in young adult fiction and her debut is as cinematic as Gladiator and as high-stakes as Game of Thrones."--Holly Goldberg Sloan, New York Times bestselling author of Counting by 7s

"A heart-pounding story of love and loss, with the most original world-building I've read all year. Deeply felt and deeply moving, I could not put it down." --Margaret Stohl, New York Times bestselling co-author of Beautiful Creatures

"This electric debut is a pulse-pounding action-packed Romeo and Juliet story in a richly imagined world with a great twist and heroic characters you'll root for and won't stop thinking about." --Melissa de la Cruz, New York Times bestselling author of Frozen and The Ring and the Crown

About the Author

SABAA TAHIR is a former newspaper editor who grew up in California's Mojave Desert at her family's eighteen-room motel. There, she spent her time devouring fantasy novels, listening to thunderous indie rock, and playing guitar and piano badly. Her #1 New York Times bestselling An Ember in the Ashes series has been translated into more than thirty-five languages, and the first book in the series was named one of TIME's 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time. Tahir's most recent novel, All My Rage, won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry, and was an instant New York Times bestseller.

Visit Sabaa online at SabaaTahir.com and follow her on Instagram @SabaaTahir and TikTok @SabaaTahirAuthor.