Carthage Ascendant : The Book of Ash 2 [Mass Market Paperback]

Mary Gentle (Author), Donato Giancola (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Book of Ash | Publication Date: February 8, 2000

In a brutal age of bloodshed and miracles where dark sorcery has extinguished the sun, the fate of Western Europe, Africa--and perhaps all the world--rests in the hands of a warrior woman named Ash.

The undefeated legions that are the army of Carthage rampage across the kingdoms of Europe. Beneath a sunless sky, Burgundy alone stands in the path of the Visigoth horde and their legendary slave general, the Faris. Deep in enemy territory lies a living stone idol of frightening power that must be destroyed if anyone is to survive, a being that whispers in Ash's soul, that has guided her through every military campaign, that only she and her enemy--her twin--can hear.

But there is an even greater evil that lurks at Carthage, one that created the stone idol and shaped Ash's existence. It plots with deadly purpose the final annihilation that will wipe Burgundy from the face of the earth. For Burgundy lies at the heart of it all--the richest prize in Europe and the key to the world--the jewel of the Carthaginian campaign.

In a brutal age of bloodshed and miracles where dark sorcery has extinguished the sun, the fate of Western Europe, Africa--and perhaps all the world--rests in the hands of a warrior woman named Ash.

The undefeated legions that are the army of Carthage rampage across the kingdoms of Europe.Beneath a sunless sky, Burgundy alone stands in the path of the Visigoth horde and their legendary slave general, the Faris. Deep in enemy territory lies a living stone idol of frightening power that must be destroyed if anyone is to survive, a being that whispers in Ash's soul, that has guided her through every military campaign, that only she and her enemy--her twin--can hear.

But there is an even greater evil that lurks at Carthage, one that created the stone idol and shaped Ash's existence. It plots with deadly purpose the final annihilation that will wipe Burgundy from the face of the earth. For Burgundy lies at the heart of it all--the richest prize in Europe and the key to the world--the jewel of the Carthaginian campaign.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In A Secret History, the first of a four-volume series, Mary Gentle began the story of Ash, a mercenary captain, and her band of 800 veterans embroiled in a war in 15th-century Europe. As the war assumes epic proportions, Ash--who hears a tactically astute voice in her head--becomes a sought-after commodity. Gentle, a writer who delights in confounding reader expectations, used as a literary device the insertion of e-mail from a present-day scholar and his editor to set up a series of intriguing questions about the main narrative: Are the Carthaginians' stone golems fantastical, or explicable in terms of alternate history? Is the shocking dimming of the sun evidence of magic, or of technology impossible in that milieu? Is Ash touched by God, or the end result of a careful breeding program? In the second volume, the author grins impishly and replies, "Yes."

Gentle keeps the reader enthralled on two levels. In the main narrative, Ash's enforced sojourn in Carthage is described authoritatively and viscerally. We believe in Ash, in her shock and pain and denial when she finds herself a slave in enemy territory. We understand her occasional despair, cheer her final refusal to give up, and absolutely delight in her hard-won escape and her satisfaction at once again donning armor and taking up her sword. However, it is the secondary narrative that adds depth. Gentle gives us explanations with one hand and takes them away with the other, while simultaneously posing ever more fascinating questions. The intertwined narratives reflect and complement one another, adding layer upon layer--and the sheen of brilliance--to the series. --Luc Duplessis

Review

"One of the best fantasies I've read in the past 15 years, bar none." -- S. M. Stirling, author of Against the Tide of Years

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Eos (February 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380805502
• ISBN-13: 978-0380805501
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,442,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ash Goes to Carthage, February 24, 2000

By 

Charles Seelig "Charlie Seelig" (Providence, RI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Carthage Ascendant : The Book of Ash 2 (Mass Market Paperback)

And won't be writing any blurbs for the Carthage Travel Bureau. Gentle continues to write with that mix of realism, humor, and adventure that made the first volume of this series an excellent mix of alternate history and medieval war epic with a strong, in all senses, lead character. I do not think that the "today"/"academic discussions" sections were integrated as well into the book as in the first volume as they lend less of a aura of mystery and instead almost are a second story going on and overall, with some of the mysteries revealed by the goings-on during this second book, more pedestrian. But, the series continues to be a very worthwhile read, for any number of segments of the sf & fantasy universe of readers.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Swords, and now some sorcery, October 8, 2002

By 

Maddi Hausmann Sojourner "madhaus" (Silicon Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Carthage Ascendant : The Book of Ash 2 (Mass Market Paperback)

Carthage Ascendent is the second Book of Ash, although this isn't a series but a tremendous novel published in four parts. It's the only one that takes place away from Ash's stomping grounds of western Europe, where the other three books are set. Here, our heroine, the leader of a mercenary company, is captured and taken prisoner, then returned to her birthplace of Carthage. She didn't know this was her birthplace, and this is not the Carthage you think it is. Oh, and she's got this twin who is the general of the Visigoth army. And if you think that isn't weird enough, there's no sun in Carthage. And now it's getting very cold.

Yes, things are defintely getting beyond a straight historical fiction, but it doesn't read like just fantasy either. The story of Ash is supposedly a manuscript translation, but the editor wants to yank the project because the manuscripts are disappearing from their supposed libraries. Meanwhile the translator has joined an archaelogical expedition and is finding evidence supporting the events in Ash's life.

This second book has a very different sense than the first one, since we meet her as a competent leader, and now she's reduced to a defeated slave. But with two more books to go, there are plenty more plot developments, and they are very surprising. The "voice" in Ash's head is not what she thought it was in Book 1, and dealing with it takes up a good deal of her worries (that is, when she isn't plotting her escape). Her husband shows up in Carthage, too, and she gets to watch the politics of the amirs here after handling European nobility in book 1. Have I mentioned that there is a lot going on here?

Keep at it and enjoy. Check out the reviews of Book 1: A Secret History if you haven't already.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging ideas behind the story., November 20, 2001

By 

Christopher Ware (Fremont, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Carthage Ascendant : The Book of Ash 2 (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the second part of THE BOOK OF ASH (following A SECRET HISTORY), the story of a female mercenary captain in an alternate 15th century Europe. This main alternate history story is framed by the story of a historian in the early 21st century translating a manuscript of this history. He is trying to uncover why we have never heard any of this history as it is being told in the manuscript. This all makes for a very engaging read because, not only does it draw the reader into the mystery, but we also get an extremely well told and realistic tale of a mercenary band in war torn medieval Europe. As in the first book, the reader is again deeply immersed in this reality through the author's use of vivid description, brilliantly imagined characters, and engaging plot devices.

I was tempted to give this book only three stars. The first fifty pages of the book, as well as the last hundred, were exciting and very engaging reading. Unfortunately, the middle two hundred or so pages did not do much to advance the story. The problem was that not much really happened. Sure, we learn some important backstory and a lot of the relevant politics, but it was severely bogged down with superfluous scenes and interior monologues that could easily have been cut without losing anything from the story.

The main reason I didn't give it three stars was the fact that there were so many mysteries that were hinted at in the first book that were unearthed in this one that it made for some very interesting reading. We learn about Ash's past, what her voice really is, as well as more of the history of the world in which she lives. In addition, the final hundred pages were so full of action and military operations, that it was impossible to put the book down. This is the type of action that I had been expecting in a book about a mercenary captain that seemed so sorely lacking in the first book. The author also hits us with another revelation and an even bigger mystery in the last portion of the book. I couldn't wait to get to the next one in the series and see if we didn't find out what was truly going on.

Despite the shortcomings of the storytelling in the middle of the book, I still felt that this was a better than average fantasy story and, thus, felt compelled to give it a four star rating. If you enjoyed the first book in the series (and you'd better read it before trying this one), this one should also grab your attention. This is a must read series for any fantasy fan, especially for those who enjoy stories with a military bent.