Fire by Kristin Cashore
Feb. 21st, 2010 04:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Fire is more than attractive. Fire is mesmerising.
Fire’s exceptional beauty gives her influence and power. People who are susceptible to it will do anything for her attention, and for her affection. If she wished, they would abuse their power, crush nations and even destroy their own kingdoms to please her.
But beauty is only skin deep and beneath it Fire has a human appreciation of right and wrong. Aware of her ability to influence others, and afraid of it, she lives in a corner of the world away from people – not only to protect them but also to protect herself from their attention, their distrust and even their hatred.
Yet Fire is not the only danger to the Dells. If she wants to protect her home, if she wants a chance to undo the wrongs of the past, she must face her fears, her abilities and a royal court full of powerful people with reason to distrust her.
Beauty is a weapon – and Fire is going to use it.
The Dells are home to monsters – creatures of fantastic colours and beauty able to fascinate ordinary humans. Fire is half-monster, her stunning red hair and flawless beauty giving her power over men which is enhanced by her ability to control their minds and influence their actions. She suffers from the reputation of her monster father who brought the kingdom to ruin before his mysterious death. Hidden away in a corner of the Dells, she lives quietly with her best friend Archer and his father Brocker (a disgraced general crippled by the former king).
Fire is shaken from her world when someone tries to kill her – someone whose thoughts Fire cannot read. Soon she finds herself brought to the court of king Nash and his stern brother Brigan – a strong-willed general immune to Fire’s charms - and finds herself at the centre of a civil war, where she must decide whether she will use her abilities and so risk succumbing to the monster within her.
FIRE forms a prequel of sorts to Graceling in the sense that it gives some history on Leck and he plays a small part in the story. Mostly though, it’s the story of Fire’s attempts to come to terms with her powers and the affect that she has on others. Unfortunately, it is difficult to sympathise with a character who is literally, too beautiful for her own good – particularly when Fire is unwilling to use those gifts to help her situation and therefore becomes reliant on the protection of others. Her secret is easy to guess and a potentially moving storyline following her dilemma on whether to have children, but what could have been a moving storyline is thrown away in a one line resolution.
The plot is curiously loose. There’s little development or driving force to the rebellion, with the antagonists being little more than ciphers there to move events and much of the interesting developments (particularly those involving Lark) happening off page. Cashore again relies on using long journeys to develop the relationship between Brigan and Fire to its inevitable conclusion. Some of the world-building raises more questions than it answers, e.g. why Brigan finds it so easy to resist Fire when others (including his brother) do not to the extent that it borders on contrivance.
All in all it’s a disappointing sequel from a talented writer, who’s capable of much more.
The Verdict:
A disappointing prequel to Graceling, I found the central character weak and difficult to care for, while there wasn’t enough plot to keep my interest.
Fire’s exceptional beauty gives her influence and power. People who are susceptible to it will do anything for her attention, and for her affection. If she wished, they would abuse their power, crush nations and even destroy their own kingdoms to please her.
But beauty is only skin deep and beneath it Fire has a human appreciation of right and wrong. Aware of her ability to influence others, and afraid of it, she lives in a corner of the world away from people – not only to protect them but also to protect herself from their attention, their distrust and even their hatred.
Yet Fire is not the only danger to the Dells. If she wants to protect her home, if she wants a chance to undo the wrongs of the past, she must face her fears, her abilities and a royal court full of powerful people with reason to distrust her.
Beauty is a weapon – and Fire is going to use it.
The Dells are home to monsters – creatures of fantastic colours and beauty able to fascinate ordinary humans. Fire is half-monster, her stunning red hair and flawless beauty giving her power over men which is enhanced by her ability to control their minds and influence their actions. She suffers from the reputation of her monster father who brought the kingdom to ruin before his mysterious death. Hidden away in a corner of the Dells, she lives quietly with her best friend Archer and his father Brocker (a disgraced general crippled by the former king).
Fire is shaken from her world when someone tries to kill her – someone whose thoughts Fire cannot read. Soon she finds herself brought to the court of king Nash and his stern brother Brigan – a strong-willed general immune to Fire’s charms - and finds herself at the centre of a civil war, where she must decide whether she will use her abilities and so risk succumbing to the monster within her.
FIRE forms a prequel of sorts to Graceling in the sense that it gives some history on Leck and he plays a small part in the story. Mostly though, it’s the story of Fire’s attempts to come to terms with her powers and the affect that she has on others. Unfortunately, it is difficult to sympathise with a character who is literally, too beautiful for her own good – particularly when Fire is unwilling to use those gifts to help her situation and therefore becomes reliant on the protection of others. Her secret is easy to guess and a potentially moving storyline following her dilemma on whether to have children, but what could have been a moving storyline is thrown away in a one line resolution.
The plot is curiously loose. There’s little development or driving force to the rebellion, with the antagonists being little more than ciphers there to move events and much of the interesting developments (particularly those involving Lark) happening off page. Cashore again relies on using long journeys to develop the relationship between Brigan and Fire to its inevitable conclusion. Some of the world-building raises more questions than it answers, e.g. why Brigan finds it so easy to resist Fire when others (including his brother) do not to the extent that it borders on contrivance.
All in all it’s a disappointing sequel from a talented writer, who’s capable of much more.
The Verdict:
A disappointing prequel to Graceling, I found the central character weak and difficult to care for, while there wasn’t enough plot to keep my interest.
