Review: Temberlain’s Ashes (Age of Axion Book 2) by D.M. Wozniak

A bold and breathtaking piece of sci-fi imagination, Temberlain’s Ashes by D.M. Wozniak is a fantastic second installment of the Age of Axion series.

The adventure of Dem, Blythe, Chireseal, and Chimeline is far from over, as they seek to eliminate the cruel practice of voidance across the land. Through their practice of eleutheria, they can free the trapped souls enslaved by dark arcane arts, but convincing people to give up power is no easy feat.

The legacy of magical oppression and unchecked power lingers, particularly in a scarred realm trying to rebuild after the bloody war and the defeat of Mander. There are also those who will stop at nothing to ensure that voidance persists, even if they have to kill voiders and steal their voidstones to do it. By eliminating voidance, and ensuring that a power like Mander’s can never rise again, these noble-minded heroes could be ensuring their own destruction.

Meanwhile, Chimeline’s voidreams are getting more intense, as readers are pulled into a spellbinding story from long ago – one that has deadly echoes for those trying to survive the present. A revered relic that once came crashing down from the stars disappears, releasing a power that could launch a new generation of tyranny. Through wildly entertaining interplanar battles, cleverly crafted rules of magic, and a unique blend of genres, from kings and cults to FTL drives and soul-trapping tech, this novel is enthralling from the start.

The depth of exposition in this second novel is just as impressive as in the first, with even more detail and nuance in the religious, scientific, technological, social, and political paradigms that rule this sci-fi world of the far-flung future. In particular, the spiritual aspects are especially interesting, with the intricate weaving of the Unnamed into the plot, along with the Book of Unwanting, and tracking how it affects the motives and moves of the characters.

Though it takes a while for the larger philosophical themes to take shape, there is something epically allegorical about this series – freeing others in order to free ourselves, the inherent sacrifices of building a society, and the fear of changing course from all that is known and believed. Subtle plot details, such as the giving houses, add yet another dark layer to this grimly dystopian future, one that subtly reflects the inequities of our own world.

While the world-building excels like few others in the genre, the prose is quite simplistic throughout, rarely relying on imagery or abstract descriptions to paint the scenes. With such mind-bending elements of science, technology, magic and power, the need for flowery language is minimized, but it leaves some of the descriptions a little flat. The formatting is asked to do a bit too much lifting as well, with a few too many dramatic paragraph breaks, along with the occasional clumsiness of caps lock passages.

A few extra polishes of language, the removal of some idiomatic phrases, and a tightening up of dialogue would do wonders for the overall impact of the book. That said, Temberlain’s Ashes and its talented author should be commended for the wealth of imagination and depth of creativity on display in this commanding work of science fiction.