A Shadow in the Ember

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Download PDF

Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 9

Chapters 10-21

Chapters 22-35

Chapters 36-40

Chapters 41-45

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Background

Series Context: Flesh and Fire and Blood and Ash

A Shadow in the Ember is the first book in the Flesh and Fire series, followed by A Light in the Flame (2022), A Fire in the Flesh (2023), and Born of Blood and Ash (2024). This series serves as a prequel to Jennifer Armentrout’s Blood and Ash series. A Shadow in the Ember takes place hundreds of years before From Blood and Ash (2020) and establishes the origin of many events and characters in the shared timeline.

In A Shadow in the Ember, Armentrout glosses over explaining the world, as it is described in greater detail in the Blood and Ash series. This is especially true for the Chosen (children born with eather, a divine essence) and Rite of Ascension (during which the Chosen are Ascended, made immortal). While these terms only surface in Chapters 14-17 in this novel, they play a significant role in Blood and Ash because the protagonist, Penellaphe “Poppy” Belfour, is one of the Chosen. However, A Shadow in the Ember explains the origin of other entities that inhabit the world. For example, the deal that created the draken, the dragon-like shapeshifters who protect Primals, stemmed from Eythos when he was still the Primal of Life. The current Primal of Life, Kolis, creates undead Revenants by experimenting on the Chosen. Because he is not the true Primal of Life, his power is incomplete, with Revenants being his attempt to create life—to save the true Primal Seraphena “Sera” Mierel. The protagonists of Armentrout’s two series, Sera and Poppy, share a direct connection: While Sera repeatedly states mortals and Primals cannot have children, this is not the case. She and the god Nyktos (Ash) are later revealed to have twin sons, Malec and Ires, and Poppy is the daughter of the latter. Furthermore, due to either immortality or longevity, several characters appear in both of Armentrout’s series. Nyktos appears in both series, with Sera being unable to wake until her son Ires returns. The drakens Nektas, Reaver, and Jadis appear in both series, with the latter two being children in the Flesh and Fire series.

Finally, the prophecy that the Arae Penellaphe (who shares protagonist Poppy’s full name) shares at the end of A Shadow in the Ember makes repeated appearances throughout the novel and invites various interpretations. Penellaphe’s prophecy at the end of the novel also addresses the events of the Blood and Ash series. Furthermore, the titles “A Queen of Flesh and Fire” and “A King risen from Blood and Ash” (609) are direct references to Poppy and her love interest Casteel Da’Neer.

Cultural Context: Adapting Greek Mythology

Many elements of A Shadow in the Ember draw direct inspiration from Greek mythology—the most obvious reference being Armentrout’s reimagining of the Greek Underworld and Nyktos’s domain, the Shadowlands. Nyktos’s palace is called “Haides,” and the adjacent city is “Lethe.” “Hades” is both the Greek God of the Underworld and the Underworld itself. “Lethe” is a river in the Underworld, which causes forgetfulness or amnesia in those who drink its water. In the Shadowlands, the judged souls of the dead go to one of two realms: Abyss for the bad and Vale for the good. This structure closely mimics the Christian view of the afterlife with Heaven and Hell. However, there is still a Greek connection. In Greek Mythology, souls go to one of three places: Elysium for the righteous, Tartarus for those sentenced to divine punishment, and the Asphodel Fields for “normal” souls. Likewise, in the Shadowlands, judged souls pass through the Pillars of Asphodel. Other mythological references include the Fates or the “Arae.” In Greek mythology, the Fates or the “Moirai” ensure every being follows their predetermined path. In A Shadow in the Ember, the Arae—the Spirits of Fate—perform a similar function by guiding characters. While figures called “Arae” appear in Greek mythos, they are instead the personification of curses. Finally, the name “Nyktos” translates to “Night” in Greek, connecting the Primal of Death to darkness and death.

From a narrative perspective, A Shadow in the Ember is heavily influenced by the Myth of Hades and Persephone. Nyktos, the Primal of Death, takes on the role of Hades, while Sera is the true Primal of Life and takes on the role of Persephone, Queen of the Underworld. Firstly, Sera’s destiny as the Maiden is a reference to Persephone’s previous name “Kore”—which translates to “maiden” in Greek. Sera is brought to the Shadowlands on horseback, mirroring Persephone’s abduction by Hades. The Rot threatening her kingdom as her death approaches mirrors Persephone’s mother, Demeter, letting the land wither out of grief. The Myth of Hades and Persephone also plays out in the story of Kolis, the false Primal of Life, and Sotoria, his lover. Their love echoes the beginning of the myth, when Hades finds Persephone picking flowers and steals her away. Sotoria’s reincarnation, the current iteration being Sera, also mirrors the cycle of Persephone entering and leaving the Underworld every year to progress the four seasons.