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A review by rosemarieshort
Fire by Kristin Cashore
5.0
I was, it has to be said, absolutely shocked by the fact that I loved this book.
At first glance the premise is something I would usually avoid at all costs. A character with an 'irresistible appearance' who turns people to jelly with her stunning good looks, but is really very sad about that, sounds like, frankly, a cop out.
Fire is anything but a cop out.
For one, I felt that whilst the premise was imperfect it was absolutely the best version of itself that I had seen. I've passed by multiple attempts at "beauty being a curse" novels - this is the only one which worked hard enough to make me actually like the beautiful outcast protagonist. Fire is a complex character - she is young and therefore whilst kind and often sensible, she can also be unlikable in her naivety and incredibly, incomprehensibly stubborn. However this is balanced - for every infuriating thing Fire does there is a reason. For every brave and heroic thing she does there is that youthful balance to remind you she isn't the perfect, cliched heroine one would expect. This complexity runs over into her appearance - Fire hates her beauty because of what it does to others, not what it is in itself. She hates that people are manipulated by her without her having to lift a finger towards that manipulation. That very few people can be their true selves around her - whether she wants them to be or not. Much of her fear and anxiety concerning her powers runs back to the difficult relationship she had with her Father - a monster who most certainly did not have the same reservations concerning human manipulation that Fire herself has.
Another thing that is incredibly well done in this novel, in my opinion, is the approach to romance. I am a hopeless romantic, but am sick to the back teeth with romance in all novels (most especially YA ones) being Girl + Boy = Happily Forever After. What Fire explores is two important distinctions to this. The first being that once in love and showing this love physically, that love may not necessarily last forever. Characters who could be soul mates by the romance formula do not stay so. I like this because it's a way to introduce the second important distinction found here - sleeping with someone without being their soul mate does not make you a slut or a man whore. For me this is a great step in the right direction - sex is important and should be respected as such, but it doesn't have to be sacred. It's about time fantasy YA caught on to that fact and started giving young people a healthier, more realistic view on physical relationships.
Speaking of romance; it is remarkably well done here. I love a good slow burn, with depth and build. Still I felt there was a tiny bit of a rush to the finish, but other than that I really enjoyed the progression of the relationship between the two characters involved in the principal romance.
World building is strong - in part because Cashore is building upon her already strong start with [b:Graceling|3236307|Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)|Kristin Cashore|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1331548394s/3236307.jpg|3270810]. However she is a great fantasy writer and understands what a strong vision of the world in which she plays is a great big chunk of what writing good fantasy is all about. I felt that there could have perhaps just been a little bit more time put into this development, as it was what greatly bound together the antagonists to the story and was at times a little vague in doing that. In a battle for land in which the enemies are little described or seen, it would help to have a better lay of said land. However the richness and beauty of this monster filled kingdom was certainly fun to visualize.
Supporting characters really lift the story. I love the royal siblings and their extended family (guards included). There were few surprises there but I felt that didn't really have a negative impact on the story. Everything came together nicely with the neat packages not, for me, feeling twee. As mentioned about my only character let down were the villains of the piece. Though there were multiple people up against Fire and her allies, I felt that none of them were truly well enough characterized to give them grounding (except perhaps for Immiker - though this is not his first appearance in the series - so perhaps that's cheating!)
I would massively recommend anyone interested in great fantasy to read Fire, in particular after reading its predecessor Graceling. It's a great, slightly different to the norm, fantasy that kept me gripped (despite my reservations) and left me turning pages right until the very end.
At first glance the premise is something I would usually avoid at all costs. A character with an 'irresistible appearance' who turns people to jelly with her stunning good looks, but is really very sad about that, sounds like, frankly, a cop out.
Fire is anything but a cop out.
For one, I felt that whilst the premise was imperfect it was absolutely the best version of itself that I had seen. I've passed by multiple attempts at "beauty being a curse" novels - this is the only one which worked hard enough to make me actually like the beautiful outcast protagonist. Fire is a complex character - she is young and therefore whilst kind and often sensible, she can also be unlikable in her naivety and incredibly, incomprehensibly stubborn. However this is balanced - for every infuriating thing Fire does there is a reason. For every brave and heroic thing she does there is that youthful balance to remind you she isn't the perfect, cliched heroine one would expect. This complexity runs over into her appearance - Fire hates her beauty because of what it does to others, not what it is in itself. She hates that people are manipulated by her without her having to lift a finger towards that manipulation. That very few people can be their true selves around her - whether she wants them to be or not. Much of her fear and anxiety concerning her powers runs back to the difficult relationship she had with her Father - a monster who most certainly did not have the same reservations concerning human manipulation that Fire herself has.
Another thing that is incredibly well done in this novel, in my opinion, is the approach to romance. I am a hopeless romantic, but am sick to the back teeth with romance in all novels (most especially YA ones) being Girl + Boy = Happily Forever After. What Fire explores is two important distinctions to this. The first being that once in love and showing this love physically, that love may not necessarily last forever. Characters who could be soul mates by the romance formula do not stay so. I like this because it's a way to introduce the second important distinction found here - sleeping with someone without being their soul mate does not make you a slut or a man whore. For me this is a great step in the right direction - sex is important and should be respected as such, but it doesn't have to be sacred. It's about time fantasy YA caught on to that fact and started giving young people a healthier, more realistic view on physical relationships.
Speaking of romance; it is remarkably well done here. I love a good slow burn, with depth and build. Still I felt there was a tiny bit of a rush to the finish, but other than that I really enjoyed the progression of the relationship between the two characters involved in the principal romance.
World building is strong - in part because Cashore is building upon her already strong start with [b:Graceling|3236307|Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)|Kristin Cashore|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1331548394s/3236307.jpg|3270810]. However she is a great fantasy writer and understands what a strong vision of the world in which she plays is a great big chunk of what writing good fantasy is all about. I felt that there could have perhaps just been a little bit more time put into this development, as it was what greatly bound together the antagonists to the story and was at times a little vague in doing that. In a battle for land in which the enemies are little described or seen, it would help to have a better lay of said land. However the richness and beauty of this monster filled kingdom was certainly fun to visualize.
Supporting characters really lift the story. I love the royal siblings and their extended family (guards included). There were few surprises there but I felt that didn't really have a negative impact on the story. Everything came together nicely with the neat packages not, for me, feeling twee. As mentioned about my only character let down were the villains of the piece. Though there were multiple people up against Fire and her allies, I felt that none of them were truly well enough characterized to give them grounding (except perhaps for Immiker - though this is not his first appearance in the series - so perhaps that's cheating!)
I would massively recommend anyone interested in great fantasy to read Fire, in particular after reading its predecessor Graceling. It's a great, slightly different to the norm, fantasy that kept me gripped (despite my reservations) and left me turning pages right until the very end.