Heir by Sabaa Tahir is the start of a sequel series to An Ember in the Ashes (AEITA) which came out in 2015. I did not read AEITA until my first year of high school, and I still cannot believe it took me that long to read it. The series ended in my junior year of high school, and I did not want to leave the world Tahir created. When I found out Heir was coming out, I felt like I was back in high school.
Tahir has managed to capture the feeling of the original series, one of fighting for hope, justice, and a better future while leading with love: Quil, with his love for his country, and Sirsha, with her love for a community. I think multiple perspectives can be a lot sometimes in a first book, but Tahir made me want to read all of them. Aiz is a character who I did not understand at first, but by the end of Heir I found myself wanting to know what is next for her so much.
Quil is amazing. He is 20 years old and is in line to lead the Empire. I love how he is very strong and fierce, but is also shyer than Elias. Quil may be my favorite male character that Tahir has written. Also, I love reading books with royals in relationships that are made complicated by the family around them. This is also the first time the male main character has almost been my favorite in a book, which almost never happens for me.
I loved Sirsha – she is my favorite character of Heir. She is different from Laia and Helene; she has a carefree attitude that she uses to hide the fact that she does care about the people around her and yearns for people who will stay by her side. I love that she is not afraid to ask for what she wants in any relationship she has.
Aiz was such a surprising character; I did not expect to see her story to go where it did. I think this shows how Tahir is such an amazing writer as I felt many different emotions toward her, including disappointment. At the same time, the side characters captured my attention more than Aiz. I appreciate that Tahir is able to make me understand the characters even though I do not agree with them.
I would read a thousand books set in the world of Ember. Tahir has written a fantasy novel that I believe will become one of the classics of our time. Heir is an adventurous novel that uses the tropes of soul mates and the “chosen one” in new ways.
Solace in Reading 