The Final Strife

by Saara El-Arifi, Saara El-Arifi

Hardcover, 608 pages

English language

Published June 21, 2022 by ‎Del Rey.

ISBN:: 978-0-593-35694-4

(4 reviews)

Red is the blood of the elite, of magic, of control. Blue is the blood of the poor, of workers, of the resistance. Clear is the blood of the slaves, of the crushed, of the invisible.

Sylah dreams of days growing up in the resistance, being told she would spark a revolution that would free the empire from the red-blooded ruling classes’ tyranny. That spark was extinguished the day she watched her family murdered before her eyes.

Anoor has been told she’s nothing, no one, a disappointment, by the only person who matters: her mother, the most powerful ruler in the empire. But when Sylah and Anoor meet, a fire burns between them that could consume the kingdom—and their hearts.

Hassa moves through the world unseen by upper classes, so she knows what it means to be invisible. But invisibility has its uses: It can hide the most dangerous of …

Red is the blood of the elite, of magic, of control. Blue is the blood of the poor, of workers, of the resistance. Clear is the blood of the slaves, of the crushed, of the invisible.

Hassa moves through the world unseen by upper classes, so she knows what it means to be invisible. But invisibility has its uses: It can hide the most dangerous of secrets, secrets that can reignite a revolution. And when she joins forces with Sylah and Anoor, together these grains of sand will become a storm.

As the empire begins a set of trials of combat and skill designed to find its new leaders, the stage is set for blood to flow, power to shift, and cities to burn.

Book One of The Ending Fire Trilogy

2 editions

Jaelyn reviewed The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi (The Ending Fire Trilogy, #1)

Review of 'Final Strife' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

An isolated society stratified into three classes based on the colour of the blood. The red-blooded Ember elites, the blue-blooded Duster workers and the translucent-blooded Ghostling slaves who are maimed at birth to prevent any chance of their rebellion (or for them to speak their truth). Only Embers can control blood magic.

Years ago, Duster rebels swapped the babies of Embers with their own aiming to train them to compete and win the Ember-only challenges that determine the empire’s leadership. All were thought lost. Sylah is a stolen Ember who blames herself for the rebellion’s fall and has turned to drugs and fighting rings. Anoor, Duster-turned-daughter of one of the leaders, is reviled by her abusive mother for being a Duster changeling but she seeks to survive hidden in Ember society. And then there is Hassa, a trans ghostling who operates on the fringes of all levels of society, keeping …

It’s a fascinating fantasy world entwined by secrets upon secrets which Sylah and Anoor slowly uncover as their tense and transactional relationship for the leadership trials turns into love and betrayal. It’s part of a trilogy with book 3 coming out this year.

Kat reviewed The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi (The Ending Fire Trilogy, #1)

Review of 'The Final Strife' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This is a very interesting piece of mythology. It took me a while honestly to get into it, which is odd, but I think that's because of my lack of education in African myths; while I love studying the world's religions, this is not one that's come up.

sapphiction

rated it

July 2, 2022

iyamwhoiyam

rated it

June 1, 2023