Review: Fire

Fire by Kristin Cashore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

July 19, 2010

I believe I liked this even more than Graceling. More moral questioning, more ambiguity, although less fighting.

***

A week after finishing it, I'm still impressed by Cashore's decision to write a companion volume, rather than a sequel. I enjoy sequels, really, up until number 10 or so usually, so it's not a general aversion. But the world of Graceling was rich enough to support lots of very different stories, and this one was good. Ambiguous, with hints of noir, although not everyone dies, and a bawdy humor, too. It's not Hamlet and it isn't at all pretentious, but it's got far more depth than one might suppose at first glance.

***

June 19, 2015

This one, too, I enjoyed even more on re-read. For one thing, I better understood where it fit in the overall arc. For another, I liked how different it was. A huge portion of the book is devoted to the protagonist making friends, an important part of traditional fantasy, but one that doesn't usually include women on either side.

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