Fantasy · Similar reads
Books like An Ember in the Ashes
The best books like An Ember in the Ashes are The Poppy War, Homage to Catalonia, and All Quiet on the Western Front. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir is about oppression and resistance, duty versus freedom, identity under empire. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- The Poppy War
01
R.F. Kuang · Fantasy
Rin is a war orphan from a poor southern province who claws her way into Sinegard, the empire's elite military academy, by acing an exam she was never supposed to pass.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary → - Homage to Catalonia
02
George Orwell · Memoir
Homage to Catalonia is George Orwell's firsthand account of fighting in the Spanish Civil War, which he joined in late 1936 as a volunteer with the POUM militia — a Trotskyist revolutionary organization that was later suppressed by the Soviet-backed Stalinist wing of the Republican forces.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary → - All Quiet on the Western Front
03
All Quiet on the Western Front
Erich Maria Remarque · History
All Quiet on the Western Front follows Paul Bäumer, a young German soldier who enlists with his classmates during the First World War after being swept up in patriotic speeches.
Both dig into survival.
Read the summary → - Beloved
04
Toni Morrison · Literary fiction
Beloved is set in post-Civil War Ohio, where Sethe, a formerly enslaved woman, lives with her daughter Denver in a house shadowed by the ghost of a baby she killed rather than let be taken back into slavery.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary → - Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
05
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Yuval Noah Harari · History
Sapiens traces the full arc of human history from the emergence of Homo sapiens in Africa roughly 70,000 years ago to the present.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary → - A Darker Shade of Magic
06
V.E. Schwab · Fantasy
A Darker Shade of Magic is set across four parallel versions of London — Red, Grey, White, and the long-destroyed Black — each existing in the same location but separated by the barriers between worlds.
Both dig into loyalty and betrayal.
Read the summary → - A Game of Thrones
07
George R.R. Martin · Fantasy
A Game of Thrones is the first volume of George R.R.
Both dig into loyalty and betrayal.
Read the summary → - A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
08
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
Ishmael Beah · Memoir
Ishmael Beah was twelve years old when the Sierra Leone civil war reached his village and he was separated from his family.
Both dig into survival.
Read the summary → - All the Light We Cannot See
09
Anthony Doerr · Historical fiction
All the Light We Cannot See follows two children through the Second World War on a collision course neither can see coming.
Both dig into survival.
Read the summary → - Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted
10
Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted
Suleika Jaouad · Memoir
Suleika Jaouad was twenty-two and newly graduated, living in Paris with her first real job and a boyfriend, when she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.
Both dig into survival.
Read the summary → - Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
11
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Trevor Noah · Memoir
Born a Crime is Trevor Noah's memoir about growing up mixed-race in South Africa during the final years of apartheid and its chaotic aftermath.
Both dig into survival.
Read the summary → - Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
12
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
Dee Brown · History
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, published in 1970, is Dee Brown's account of the systematic dispossession of Native American peoples across the American West between 1860 and 1890.
Both dig into survival.
Read the summary →
Books like An Ember in the Ashes: quick answers
What are the best books like An Ember in the Ashes?
The best books like An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir are The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, Beloved by Toni Morrison, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with An Ember in the Ashes, such as oppression and resistance, duty versus freedom, identity under empire.
What should I read after An Ember in the Ashes?
A natural next read after An Ember in the Ashes is The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang. A kindred fantasy read. Other strong choices are Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, Beloved by Toni Morrison.
What books are similar to An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir?
An Ember in the Ashes centers on oppression and resistance, duty versus freedom, identity under empire. Books with a similar feel include The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, Beloved by Toni Morrison, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
