The Last Namsara (Iskari #1)

I grew up reading Robin McKinley. When I was a preteen, my mom had handed me a copy of BEAUTY and, a little bit later, THE HERO AND THE CROWN. I fell head over heels for both books, and both became books that I read over and overthe kind of books that became a part of me as I grew. To this day, THE HERO AND THE CROWN feels like it’s woven into my DNA.

Reading Kristen Ciccarelli’s stunning and masterful debut, I felt like I’d found a time machine that transported me back to those early teenage years. While THE LAST NAMSARA stands beautifully on its own merits, and is both original and utterly engrossing, the atmosphere is reminiscent of THE HERO AND THE CROWN in a way that made me awash with nostalgia as I read. And I can honestly say that I emerged feeling like this book could proudly sit on a shelf next to that one.

Ciccarelli’s prose is lush and beautiful, her characters are nuanced and well-written, and her story is compelling and lovely. I grew up on YA fantasy and it will always be a favorite genre of mine, but probably due to that fact, I’ve become increasingly picky about my YA fantasy the older I get. Much of what I read is unsatisfying bordering on maddening. THE LAST NAMSARA, however, was none of these things; from the first page, I was captivated by Ciccarelli’s lovely wordsmithing and the achingly beautiful plot. Hands down, THE LAST NAMSARA joins the list of my favorite YA fantasies of all time. If only I didn’t have to wait so long for book two!

Review based on ARC

Plot: The Last Namsara was the perfect recipe for a fantasy book. It had an intriguing backstory, in-depth mythology, and complex characters who had difficult choices to make. The Last Namsara was told in the traditional three arcs in which the author revealed more and more information to keep the reader rapt with attention. I loved how everything played out and the subtle clues that Ciccarelli dropped. What made this book so intriguing as well were the snippets of the Old Stories that Ciccarelli wove throughout the action. These ancient stories helped reveal the motivations of some of the people and how their old traditions had warped with the changing times. While The Last Namsara is the start of a series, the author has indicated that the next two sequels will read more like companion novels. The next two books can be read as standalones from different character perspectives, so a bit like the Grave Mercy series. I’m both excited and sad about this, but there are some amazing characters in The Last Namsara that I was to learn more about, but at the same time, I want more Asha.

Characters: Asha was the MC archetype that I absolutely adore: a young woman who was a bit rough around the edges and held people at a distance. She was scorned and feared by her father’s people as the “Iskari” or “death bringer” and had been hunting dragons in hopes of atonement. While The Last Namsara was told from the third-person perspective, it followed Asha throughout the novel. I was instantly drawn to Asha and loved her emotional journey throughout the book. The romance also squeezed my heart and had me reading past my bedtime (waiting for the kissing to start of course).

Torwin was the slave of Asha’s fiance and he stole the show almost immediately. The relationship between Torwin and Asha reminded me a lot of Kestrel and Arin from The Winner’s Curse because their situations were similar and the danger was also the same. I loved the two of them together because they were polar opposites; Asha didn’t believe that she was worthy of respect or love and Torwin broke my heart by the lengths he went to prove that Asha deserved love and happiness. They might be my OTP of 2017.

Worldbuilding: A fantasy novel is only as strong as its backstory is, and it didn’t take long for the author to make me fall in love with her world. She was able to stealthily include information about the traditions, alliances, and beliefs of the various people without overloading the reader. I cannot wait to dive back into this world and 2018 seems too far away.

Short N Sweet: Last Namsara is the start of a new fantasy series that I can’t get enough of already!

This is set in a world of black and white and grey all over. This is Good and Evil and the eternal struggle to balance/rectify the two both in the world and in ourselves. In a land where being a recounter of tales, a lover of lore and a spinner of the yarns of old…where words hold the power to seduce even the most Amazing/violent of creatures…they can harm or heal.. they even might have the power to kill (?) What would you do with such power? Who would you be? What is the very nature of said Power and how does it contribute to the timeless battle between Good & Evil?

I wanted to put this down SO many times, to traipse off with another tantalizing book that caught my eye but each time I sat back down and gave it another try I got caught up for hours and was transported somewhere amazing/cruel/imaginative etc…in the end what more can we ask for from a collection of words on a page/screen? The writing was nice and comfy. It did not stretch the mind into uncomfortable positions just to comprehend what was happening. It also was not simple, base or crude. It felt like how I would describe southern cooking feels like on a depressingly cold winter’s day, slow, comfortable, like aaaaahhhhhhh.

I liked every aspect of the plotline from the amazing depiction of Dragons to the awful dichotomies of family, court and social prejudice. The author traversed themes such as how much we allow other people’s views/actions define who/what we believe ourselves to be? How difficult it is to shuck off negative beliefs about ourselves and become the best version of ourselves. How much do we let predjudices define how & who we interact and connect with? How much must we give up to be true to ourselves? What would some people do to have/keep the Power? Can you be Good if you have done bad things?… and more.

When it comes down to it I really enjoyed the total package and might have even shed a few tears…might I say. I think you’ll like this twisty turny tale that will keep you guessing until the very last chapter.

A kickass female dragon-slayer, DRAGONS, storytelling and magic: all these things should have made this a firm favourite, but I just didnt love it as much as I wanted to.
Asha (daughter of the King of Firgaard) is the Iskari, a legendary dragon slayer, feared by everyone who encounters her. The Legend of the Iskari is that she is a child of blood and moonlight, the bringer of death and destruction. She is due to marry Jarek, but her father offers her another option: bring him the head of the first dragon and he will release her from her promise. This leads Asha on a journey of discovery as she endeavours to fulfil her fathers wish and free herself from her fate.
So why didnt I love it? I found it a slow story. It wasnt as fast paced as I expected from the blurb and there are times when a lot of storytelling is devoted to not a lot happening. I didnt like Asha. I found her moody, elitist and often unlikable. I found that her moods and position changed so much that it made me uncomfortable.I didnt find the romance between Asha and Torwin believable at first. I couldnt see why he was so attracted to her (early Asha is vile to him).
That out of the way, The Last Namsara, had some excellent features.
The stories of the Dragons and the old magic were brilliantly written. I adored Kozu as a character and I wanted to see more of him and his interactions with Asha. The addition of storytelling as a powerful, old magic was wonderful; the stories were beautiful in their concept and the way they were written. The legend of the Namsara and the Iskari was a highlight of the novel for me.
Part of the ending I guessed at but part was a complete surprise and left the story in an excellent place for the second book, which I will read because I do want to know how this story continues, I just hope the pacing of the second book is a little more exciting.

This. BOOK.

I haven’t fallen so hard for a book in a long time. Everything about it was perfection from start to finish and I devoured it so quickly that I am now suffering the biggest book hangover. The world was so well thought out, and the characters…Asha has stolen a fierce place in my heart, and I will forever be in love with Torwin’s freckles.

I raged. I laughed. I cried (thanks for THAT SCENE, Kristen). If this book makes you do anything, it makes you feel. Asha’s journey is one I was so pleased to get to witness.

I’m gonna keep this spoiler free, but I’ll say with ease that The Last Namsara is definitely one of my favourite reads of this year…and of all time. I can’t wait to read more of Kristen’s work, because she is, at heart, a true storyteller <3

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