Obsidian: Awakening (Book one of Obsidian Series)

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Jarem is truly, honestly loyal, but he is loyal more to his understanding of what is good for the Salar than to Muradi’s deepest personhood. Forced to flee into the most hostile territory belonging to deadly desert warriors, he is captured by Djari, the dutiful daughter of a tribe leader who offers him a choice between death and a lifetime of servitude.

The harshness of the world around you, Survival of the fittest no matter what the cost and a desire to make things around you better if not for yourself then others something anyone who has a personal story can relate to and understand. It is not a light read for anyone who needs trigger warnings of any kind, and is written for a specific audience who enjoys grimdark stories, with no incorruptible heroes in sight and no promise of a happy, fulfilling ending. There was a reason he’d decided to hold back Lady’s fate until today, and guilt was why he had come. I always find these characters more relatable as they seem more human to me rather than the constantly strong character or the ones accidentally find ways to prevail. The power to change the course of history rests in their hands, whether they know it or not, and now they are forced to choose between their duty/destiny and their personal desires.

It’s all so juicy, and the passion and frisson between some of the characters adds extra zest and spice to proceedings.

Their beginning descriptions were pretty similar: full of pride and absolute conviction in what they believe, refusing to accept the trauma of their life and everyone else sucks if they do. There is biting cut and thrust in the wit and dialogue of several characters, their words wielded like weapons time after time in their verbal sparring. From a distance, the Salar of Rasharwi is nothing more than a monster, a tyrant who slaughters and who uses every available weapon of manipulation and torment to get what he wants. And so many of them die, but Muradi and Ghaul fight through mob and smoke to the pyre where she’s about to die, and she barely glimpses them through the smoke, and there, as he frees her, Muradi takes three arrows and loses the Salasar.The plot is largely political as Djari and Lasura, in particular, are brought together by destiny/prophecy to stop the war. These include but not limited to: torture, hatred, enslavement, prejudice, rape, murder, sexual abuse of children, forced prostitution, genocide. If we can’t go where we want to go, love who we want to love, then tell me, what the hell are we fighting for? Zahara goes on to become the favourite wife of the Salar, and the one who will never capitulate to him, since he has murdered her whole family. No words, no descriptions for emotions describe that moment when Muradi learns of what Jarem is doing behind his back.