Prentice Ash -a curious blend
Recently I caught the online buzz around a new Christian fantasy series, the first book of which is Prentice Ash. I hadn’t read a Christian fantasy in a long while, but this book has an impressive nearly-a-thousand reviews on Amazon. These books rarely hit this many reviews. Personally, I would love to pick the publisher’s brain: he’s been a genius at marketing this series… So, I grabbed the audiobook and went through it.
I find myself mixed in my response to this book. Presented as a Christian Fantasy novel, it hits the mark on several points that I really enjoyed… yet missed in some ways that surprised me. Magic is practically non-existent here, which could work except that the fairy folk are part of the story. The setting is more medieval Europe than anything else, and the treatment of Christianity left me wanting; sometimes it’s honored, but more often it is form rather than individual conviction. There’s a prophetic vision element that I think the story might have done better without.
The main character, Prentice, is very likable and reminiscent of the MC in Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings. Also likeable, is the heroine, though to a lesser degree. She is posited as both highly aware of the injustice taking place in her world, and then strangely unaware and tolerant of flagrant injustices to her personal “army” of convicts.
Overall, this is a worth-while read, though it feels less like an epic fantasy and more like an alternate medieval storyworld with fae aspects. As a starter to the series, Prentice Ash works.
My personal takeaway? I would love to replicate the success of this book. The publisher is a genius at online marketing.
