A Sky Beyond the Storm

An Ember in the Ashes, Book 4

By: Sabaa Tahir

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham, Katharine Lee McEwan, Steve West, Maxwell Caulfield, Nikki Massoud

Length: 17 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

Prepare for the jaw-dropping finale of Sabaa Tahir's beloved New York Times best-selling An Ember in the Ashes fantasy series, and discover: Who will survive the storm?

Picking up just a few months after A Reaper at the Gates left off....

The long-imprisoned jinn are on the attack, wreaking bloody havoc in villages and cities alike. But for the Nightbringer, vengeance on his human foes is just the beginning.  

By his side, Commandant Keris Veturia declares herself Empress, and calls for the heads of any and all who defy her rule. At the top of the list? The Blood Shrike and her remaining family.

Laia of Serra, now allied with the Blood Shrike, struggles to recover from the loss of the two people most important to her. Determined to stop the approaching apocalypse, she throws herself into the destruction of the Nightbringer. In the process, she awakens an ancient power that could lead her to victory — or to an unimaginable doom.

And deep in the Waiting Place, the Soul Catcher seeks only to forget the life — and love — he left behind. Yet doing so means ignoring the trail of murder left by the Nightbringer and his jinn. To uphold his oath and protect the human world from the supernatural, the Soul Catcher must look beyond the borders of his own land. He must take on a mission that could save — or destroy — all that he knows.

©2020 Sabaa Tahir (P)2020 Listening Library

Critic Reviews

“Tahir’s exquisite storytelling doesn’t miss a beat... This series is an epic hero’s journey, with love, adventure, and magic woven throughout. Recommended for every young adult collection.” (SLJ)

Wow!!!

I don’t think I can ever completely express what this book series means to me. And to review this book now I know I would not do it justice. Also it would be riddled with spoilers and that’s unfair to you all so I will avoid them like the plague.

What I will say is that this book keeps the quick pacing and engaging storytelling of the previous books. It makes you hurt the very same way the others did too I won’t lie. But it’s aches in this beautiful way that I really hope everyone will read and take from and appreciate for all its tragic glow.

These characters learn and grown and suffer and change and the people we have at the end, of those left standing, they don’t look like those people we met years and years ago. But there is a beauty to that. In the grown in their trial by fire. And that’s what this was, the world exploding and the embers left behind when all the other kindling was gone.

I can’t give this book enough stars, I wish there were a higher more intense rating I could give it because it means just that much to me.

Good but meh

The series was great, especially the first 3 books. However, the fourth dragged on a bit and I was tired of the whole want to be with you but can’t performance with Lia and Elias. To be honest series would have been great if it ended on book 2.

Pronouncing All Names Wrong!

I’m so confused. Did the author want them to pronounce all the names differently in this book??? All of the narrators are saying city names differently and character names are now pronounced differently. Didn’t anyone go back to the last few books to compare?!?!?!

A Good Ending, Albeit Somewhat Unsatisfying

Considering how wonderfully paced and plotted the first two novels were, I felt like Reaper at the Gates and Sky Beyond the Storm were both rather rushed and fantastical comparatively. Whereas the first two novels were steeped in reality, despite the touches of magic, the final two books were so heavily mired in the fantastical elements that the rest of the story suffered. For example, the darkness in Laia is so quickly introduced and rarely revisited or explained that it seemed to be a bit of a deus ex machina. However, it is clear that the deeper root of it was present from the very first chapters of the very first book. Altogether I applaud Tahir for weaving the disparate threads and prophecies together, and while I am happy with the end, I'm not thoroughly satisfied by it.

If you've read the series you must see this thru

Not the satisfying ending I was hoping for. I loved this story so much but the end left me heartbroken for my favorite character.

Struggled to finish

Padded and formulaic and boring and unoriginal. At least the readers are talented. Regret buying.

The WHOLE series was what made it

I admittedly was late to the game on these books. I decided to listen to the whole series at one time rather than per their release. I am incredibly glad I did so. The entire story, I’m my opinion, was completed and I loved it. Like most books there were some slow parts and one of the unfortunate things was that there were slow books, rather than parts. I do not honestly think that the author hindered the series at all. There were points where I wished Elias and Laia’s story line would speed up so I could get back to Helene and I groaned when the Night Bringer got his own story line. But as the books progressed and eventually came to an end I don’t think the story would have had the same impact if we didn’t get that individual story line from each of them as well as their struggles.

Maybe this is an unpopular opinion but I enjoyed the books, the readers, and thought the author did well with such complex interweaving storylines.

“Where there is life, there is hope”

The final book of the series, and we aren’t spared any emotion. An epic, heartbreaking, passionate, hopeful, and intensely satisfying ending to a wonderful tale. Not all survive, and some of those we lose are truly devastating, but in the end, even beyond horrible loss and destruction, it seems that all is as it should be. What came to mind in those final chapters, as the final battles were waged, as stories were settled, that the underlying theme of hope was a steady heartbeat, even when it wasn’t clear how things would be able to shift to its path. While I may not be happy with every outcome for every character, I’m thrilled with how this story has come to a close.

The cast narration for this book is phenomenal, as it has been since the first book. Every character is captured with nuance and precision, with deep emotion and passion. The only way to improve on it would have been to have a true cast production, but it truly wasn’t necessary. Each narrator expertly embodied their characters and completely pulled me, fully immersed, into their story. This is one of the epic fantasy stories that is unbelievably made even more fantastic through its narration, because it’s hard to believe that it could be better.

Ruinous Perfection

I waited when this was released, instead of rushing to listen to the final installment.. regardless of my feigning over the final piece. Honestly, I knew my heart would break and my journey with these characters would come to a close. I knew I would have moments I regretted ever becomimg so rapt with Sabaa's writing, characters, and world. this entire storyline, all 4 books, and every characters story were so full bodied, so engrossing, so beautiful, and so very devastating. Yet, even among the devastation and the suffering, Sabaa gives you so much heart, beauty, and perfection. she writes beautifully, and leaves no piece unsettled. its hard to believe this story was written and this world isnt real. the narrator's bring all of the characters to life so perfectly and so raw, they all are wonderful choices and have served the audible version great justice.
I have read thousands of books, no exaggeration.. and I have loved hundreds. but the Ember Quartet and these characters.. will never leave my heart. Such a perfect and full circled well of words and world and emotion that comes so vividly alive. i am forever branded by this story.

A brilliant finish to a “beloved” series

It’s always a bit sad when a series you love comes to an end. But the story concluded beautifully and satisfyingly. The performances across the board were fantastic. There are some books that I enjoy audibles more than my own narration, and this is definitely one of them.