Carthage Ascendant: The Book of Ash, #2

by Mary Gentle

THERE IS MORE THAN ONE HISTORY OF THE WORLD...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 --... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380805502
• ISBN13: 9780380805501
• Release Date: February 2000
• Publisher: Eos
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

The Lioness is Trapped... but Not Tamed!

Ash's story was originally published as one mammoth book in the UK. In USA (and the rest of Europe) divided into four tomes. A wise option IMHO. "Carthage Ascendant" is the second volume of this format. As the tale was conceived as whole book, you definitely must read them in order. So my recommendation is start from "A Secret History" and the follow the thread. This is an alt-his tale full of attractive ideas, images, violence and well defined characters. Ms. Gentle has researched both in medieval history and warfare; that allows her to present the reader with a very well documented backdrop. The entire late middle age world is reconstructed accurately; its reality is overwhelming. The mercenary way of life, camping, battles, cities and courts are vividly described. The new alt-his issues & places e.g. Visigothic Carthage are as compelling. The story is presented as a contemporary new translation of medieval manuscripts, with the addendum of new revolutionary documents recently discovered by a historian. This is shown as a series of emails exchanged by the translator and his editor. Ash is a very young & capable mercenary leader with eight hundred warriors under her command and now at the service of Lord Oxford & the Duke of Burgundy. All of them are confronting the mysterious visigothic invasion that has already conquered Italy and part of the Germanic states. After the battle at Auxonne the action veer to Visigothic Carthage where the city, the politics, the Lord-amirs, slaves & soldiers are described in detail. Characters are well fleshed, each with its own vital problems to solve and interact. Interesting issues about ethic, gender, love, politics & warfare are presented to the reader in a shocking cavalcade. In this volume the fantastic and sci-fi elements catch wind and grow up. This book is strictly for adult readers due to its violent scenes and language; it will be fully enjoyed by alt-his lovers, fantasy fans & sci-fi buffs. Reviewed by Max Yofre.

Swords, and now some sorcery

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.

Engaging ideas behind the story.

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.

Part 2 of a brilliant fantasy novel

This is part 2 of "Ash: A Secret History" - an excellent fantasy novel by UK author Mary Gentle. The novel describes the life of Ash, a Joan of Arc-like mercenary leader. Ash is a young teenager, living in mercenary army camps at the end of the 15th century. She starts hearing voices in her head, giving her tactical advice on battlefield situations. When she becomes a successful battlefield commander, she forms her own mercenary army and gets involved in the protection of Burgundy against an invasion. This novel gives a very gritty, realistic view of life in the 15th century. Right from the start the reader is confronted with the mud, blood, sweat and pain of the life of a soldier. Gentle is not afraid to hurt or kill her characters. Even though the story is brutal and often horrifying, it is always a compelling read. "Ash: A Secret History" is presented as the translation of a manuscript, complete with footnotes explaining some of the archaic terms. The correspondence between Pierce Ratcliff, the fictional scholar who is translating the work, and his editor Anna Longman, is inserted between the chapters of Ash's life. This correspondence adds an entirely new dimension to the story, explaining some of the anachronistic expressions and some of the differences between Ash's version of history and our own. Another reviewer called this novel a combination of fantasy and scholarly mistery. Mary Gentle, an accomplished scholar herself, acquired an MA in War Studies as part of the writing process of this novel. "Ash: A Secret History" was advertised in the UK as "the largest single-volume fantasy novel ever", which is quite possibly true at 1100 pages. In the US, however, the novel was split into 4 separate volumes: "A Secret History", "Carthage Ascendant", "The Wild Machines" and "Lost Burgundy".

Ash Goes to Carthage

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.