Product Description

For the beautiful young woman Ash, life has always been arquebuses and artillery, swords and armour and the true horrors of hand-to-hand combat. War is her job. She has fought her way to the command of a mercenary company, and on her unlikely shoulders lies the destiny of a Europe threatened by the depredations of an Infidel army more terrible than any nightmare.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #136836 in Books
• Published on: 2001-02-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 1120 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Mary Gentle's Ash kills her first man when she is eight, and at 20 is an experienced captain of mercenaries in the small wars of the late Middle Ages--but not quite the Middle Ages we know from history. The more scholar Piers Ratcliffe works on the evidence, the more knowledge and recorded history and the rules of evidence crumble under him--this world of Visigoths with ceramic robots and of the religion of the Green Christ is nothing he knows of. Ash hears voices, but not like those of Joan of Arc--voices that give her very specific advice about the winning of battles. Married against her will to a man who despises her, but whom she lusts after; finding that the Visigoth general is her twin; coping with the day-to-day problems of battle and siege and mayhem, Mary Gentle's Ash is a magnificent creation. This long, passionate novel, blending historical fantasy with thoughtful speculative fiction, is as smart about the minutiae of medieval war-making and manners as it is about the wilder reaches of contemporary cosmology. --Roz Kaveney

Amazon.co.uk Review
Mary Gentle's Ash kills her first man when she is eight, and at 20 is an experienced captain of mercenaries in the small wars of the late Middle Ages--but not quite the Middle Ages we know from history. The more scholar Piers Ratcliffe works on the evidence, the more knowledge and recorded history and the rules of evidence crumble under him--this world of Visigoths with ceramic robots and of the religion of the Green Christ is nothing he knows of. Ash hears voices, but not like those of Joan of Arc--voices that give her very specific advice about the winning of battles. Married against her will to a man who despises her, but whom she lusts after; finding that the Visigoth general is her twin; coping with the day-to-day problems of battle and siege and mayhem, Mary Gentle's Ash is a magnificent creation. This long, passionate novel, blending historical fantasy with thoughtful speculative fiction, is as smart about the minutiae of mediaeval war-making and manners as it is about the wilder reaches of contemporary cosmology. --Roz Kaveney

About the Author
SALES POINTS ASH marks the full-flowering of the talent of one of the world's most acclaimed writers of fantasy "The writing is as intricate as filigree but as tough as wrought-iron" The Times The largest single fantasy work ever - longer than The Lord of the Rings The authentic details of Bernard Cornwell, the magical storytelling of Terry Goodkind Lead title marketing campaign The hardback and trade paperback were bestsellers

Customer Reviews

Earthy, bloody and absorbing fantasy of the highest quality
This is the best fantasy of any sort which I've read for a long time. In the character of Ash, Mary Gentle has given us a wonderful robust alternative 15th century mercenary with a decidedly politically incorrect attitude to the morality of death and battle but one which is believably of its time and with which the reader cannot help but empathise. If on occasion the development of some of the supporting characters seems a little weak this is more than made up for by the "main cast" of well drawn and intriguingly flawed soldiers and camp followers. The author has obviously researched the period in loving detail but it is the fascinating deviations from history and religion as we know it which keep you guessing about the nature of the ultimate threat. The battle scenes are intense and vivid and although this is a long book I never found it dragging. Other reviewers have complained about the mix between the history and the historian but I found the two styles worked well together, the modern stuff giving me chance to catch my breath between the great chunks of ever thickening late medieval mayhem. The siege of Burgundy is a superb "set piece" and the resolution managed to surprise me despite the hints that had been dropped earlier.

Don't miss this book. It's a long, sumptuous and totally gripping read.

Weird but intriguing
Ash - A Secret History seems to have ended up with a fantasy label, but I don't think that's where it belongs. There are fantasy themes in it, but overall it's rather difficult to categorise. I would say that it starts out as historical fiction, but gradually turns into a pure Science Fiction novel. That probably sounds like an unusual combination, and this is indeed a very original book. Some would most likely even say weird.

I was confused right away. Having passed the title and publication info pages I found myself reading an introduction by a historian named Dr Pierce Ratcliff about how he was proud to present a new translation of the famous "Ash material", with references to obscure medieval documents, previously unpublished material, 19th century translations, yadda yadda... "What in the name of the Light is this?", I thought.

Luckily the confusion wore off after a while. It is Mary Gentle who wrote everything in this book, but she presents it as if it is an authentic medieval document that has been translated by Dr. Ratcliff. Not only that, every chapter is followed by printouts of the e-mail correspondence between Ratcliff and his editor, turning this into a story with a past and a present plot line. At first this seems odd and rather boring, but when you get into the book it actually makes sense.

However, the main part of the book is set in late 15th century Europe and is an autobiography of a female mercenary captain named Ash. A woman leading mercenaries during that era is something of an anomaly, but that is only the beginning. The reason she became the leader of the band is that she never loses, and the reason she never loses is that she has a voice in her head that gives her tactical advice during battles. Suspended disbelief yet? If not, I have more for you. At first the story seems to follow the acknowledged history of that time, but one after another oddities start cropping . And I don't mean minor things like dates not matching the history books or battles not known to us. There is a whole new version of history coming your way! I'm not going to reveal more since it would spoil part of the fun. Ratcliff finds it increasingly difficult to explain the divergence from established history to his editor, and I was no less sceptical. But in the end Gentle does reward us with an interesting explanation for the anomalies.

Except for the intentionally strange stuff, there was one thing that bothered me throughout the book, and that is the atmosphere. Gentle has obviously researched the time period extensively, but even so it has the angle of a book written by a 20th century person, not a document that is over 500 years old. By "angle" I mean the personal issues Gentle focuses on, and the moral values of her main character. Otherwise this is a very well-written and impressive story, though a bit too long-winded. It took me a couple of days to digest before I could decide what I thought about it, since it was so strange. I do like strange stories though, so I'll give Ash - A Secret History 4 stars. It's not a masterpiece like Golden Witchbreed, but well worth reading if you have the time to spare.

1100 pages and worth it!
OK, maybe it could have been condensed to 800 pages, but I found it enthralling. There was only one point where I found the pace noticeably too slow. The story starts as mediaeval fantasy but gradually the Sci-Fi element creeps in. The way Gentle takes us along with that transition is impressive. It's a combination I would have expected to jar, but for me it works. I first read it in 2001 and have just re-read it in 2006. It was just as good second time through.