Ashlords

By: Scott Reintgen

Narrated by: Rebecca Soler, Andrew Eiden, Lauren Fortgang, Neil Hellegers

Red Rising meets The Scorpio Races in this epic fantasy following three phoenix horse riders--skilled at alchemy--who must compete at The Races--the modern spectacle that has replaced warfare within their empire.

Every year since the Ashlords were gifted phoenix horses by their gods, they've raced them. First into battle, then on great hunts, and finally for the pure sport of seeing who rode the fastest. Centuries of blood and fire carved their competition into a more modern spectacle: The Races.

Over the course of a multi-day event, elite riders from clashing cultures vie to be crowned champion. But the modern version of the sport requires more than good riding. Competitors must be skilled at creating and controlling phoenix horses made of ash and alchemy, which are summoned back to life each sunrise with uniquely crafted powers to cover impossible distances and challenges before bursting into flames at sunset. But good alchemy only matters if a rider knows how to defend their phoenix horse at night. Murder is outlawed, but breaking bones and poisoning ashes? That's all legal and encouraged.

In this year's Races, eleven riders will compete, but three of them have more to lose than the rest--a champion's daughter, a scholarship entrant, and a revolutionary's son. Who will attain their own dream of glory? Or will they all flame out in defeat?

Critic reviews

"An exciting action tale set in a unique world. Hand this book to fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent." - School Library Journal

"The main characters are well cast and equally compelling in their pursuits of glory, justice, and freedom [in] this duology opener that promises a war-filled sequel." -Booklist

“A page-turning inferno of a book, fueled by clever alchemy, deception, and revolution. Scott Reintgen has built a cruel and incredible world, and he’s written a brutally fantastic story to match it.” -Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series

“Reintgen delivers another epic adventure to the shelf with the brilliant and brutal ASHLORDS. Unforgettable characters, dazzling magic and a ruthless world make this a wild ride you won’t want to end.” -Adrienne Young, New York Times Bestselling author of The Girl The Sea Gave Back

"Reintgen deftly handles three points of view...and creates a thrilling and stellar reading experience." -Buzzfeed

Great audio book

I loved how all the different audio narrators sounded drastically different. It made it easier to follow the story

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Every year since the Ashlords were gifted phoenix horses by their gods, they've raced them. First into battle, then on great hunts, and finally for the pure sport of seeing who rode the fastest. Centuries of blood and fire carved their competition into a more modern spectacle: The Races.

It was a good listen, but I'm still on the fence about continuing the series.

It's definitely worth checking out 🎧

Imaginitive and Intense

Plot: 5 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Writing Style: 5 stars
Cover: 5 stars
Representation: 3 stars
Enjoyment: 5 stars
Audiobook: 5 stars
Overall: 5 stars

This is one of the books I was looking forward to most this year and it did not disappoint. I was dubious about the claim that it was "Hunger Games meets the Scorpio Races" because... those books couldn't be more different. But when I go to describe the book now that's exactly what comes to mind. But it's also wholly original and beautiful.

Like in the Scorpio Races, this is a race on magical horses. Only here the horses are phoenixes that are summoned at sunrise and die before the night is out, only to rise again. For each rebirth, the rider performs alchemy - mixes powdered components in various combinations to give their phoenix the attributes they think most likely to get them ahead in the race.

The race is brutal, like the Hunger Games, and not everyone comes out of it alive. We follow three POV characters through their experience of the race and its lead-up.

Pippa: The daughter of two champions of the race. An Ashlord - the race who rules their country with the help of their brutal gods (The Madness, The Dread, etc). Forced against her will by her mother to cheat in the races by asking the help of the gods. Widely considered to be destined to win and feels the need to prove everyone right

Adrian: The son of a man trying to start a rebellion against the Ashlords. A denizen of The Reach, whose ancestors broke from the Ashlords years ago and renounced their gods. If he wins, the Reach will rise and spark a rebellion to pay the Ashlords back for their years of iron ruling and the deaths of the children of the last rebellion (including his mother).

Imelda: A Dividian, whose ancestors came to conquer the Ashlords and were broken instead and now live subjugated and impoverished. She could never afford to race at all, but she is chosen to be the Dividian scholarship rider after a video she made goes viral. She knows she can't win the races - she isn't meant to, and seeing the luxury that the Ashlords take for granted makes her angrier still

We also have Quinn, a spirit from the underworld who helps Pippa and who serves as her conscience, planting seeds of compassion that perhaps will grow in the next book.

With these three POV characters with vastly different backgrounds, but all driven by anger, we find ourselves viewing events from three angles instead of rooting for one character to win. The action is intense, the stakes are high, and I was kept on the edge of my seat.

The ending raises the stakes even higher while still leaving me unsure which of the three to root for. All of them? None of them?

The only complaint I have is that there are no queer characters, but since only one relationship is mentioned at all, it's not a huge deal. There's always potential in the next one...

The audiobook narrators did an excellent job and I thoroughly enjoyed listening.

hunger games with horses

felt like this big race could have been more horse-ish. Sure there was some magicish in there but for being a story about a horse race I feel like that would have been the forefront. The horses made no difference, they could have been dirtbikes. There was no human connection between person and horse. There was very little racing until the end and also very little character developement...the one storyline with a major character point of view change had no build up.

A amazing and stunning view of rebellion and status.

It was amazing I am only 12 years old and I was reading this book for MBOB 2024-2025 and I was caught by the stunning reality and truth to this book and as soon as I finished this one I started on the next.