Fire by Kristin Cashore – a Review
“Fire” by Kristin Cashore is the second book, in her Seven Kingdoms Trilogy. Fire is a prequel to the first book, Graceling. It takes place 30 years earlier, where you also get to see the early days of the villain in making from Graceling.
Synopsis: She is the last of her kind… It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. In King City, the young King Nash is clinging to the throne, while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. War is coming. And the mountains and forest are filled with spies and thieves. This is where Fire lives, a girl whose beauty is impossibly irresistible and who
can control the minds of everyone around her.
Review:
Fire is the heroine in this story. She is considered a human monster, because of her shimmering red hair. Fire’s unparalleled beauty is also her curse, for all those who look on her – human or animal alike – long to possess her, to woo her, to love her, to kill her. As a human monster, she is one of the most powerful, as she can read, and persuade people to do what she says. However, Fire does not like to use this power. She lives with the memory of her father, Cansrel, who was the last King’s advisor. Fire’s father was cruel, and abused his beauty and power by forcing many to his will, as well as torturing people and animals alike. Cansrel close contact with the King, caused despair and discontent in the kingdom. It is his legacy of depravity and fear that Fire continually has to face in the animosity of others. Besides the people, Fire always has to be on guard against the dazzling beautiful animal monsters, who are drawn to her, and want to kill her.
Having suffered all of her young life, Fire is scarred from all her battles and is determined to never have children, for she would never bestow her curse upon another.
Fire lives in a small village with Archer, and his father, who brought her up. Archer, is like his name, one of the best archers. He loves Fire, and she cares for him, but not enough to let him become too serious. A war is coming, and new his King Nash and his brother Prince Brigan, who is commander of the armed forces, enlist her aid to help them. Though she is hesitant to be around others, Fire agrees and leaves Archer, and her quiet life in the Dells for the excitement and danger she will face. She travels with Prince Brigan, who at first hated her for what she was, but over time this will most certainly change. They journey to the King’s castle through different landscapes, allowing Fire and Brigan to get to know each other, though neither recognizes the beginning of their attractions.
Once the royal Nash family, gets to know Fire, they all begin to care for her, and see beyond the color of her making her a so called human monster. She will eventually use her powers to help them find the betrayers, who have done serious damage to the kingdom. The last third of the story is very exciting, as they must face the other leaders who want to overthrow the King. During the unraveling of the plots, Fire is kidnapped by a group, led by a young child, with persuasion ability. This is the young child, who will grow up to be the villain we met in Graceling. She is eventually rescued, and Brigan faces his demons from his past, and they both consummate their love. Throughout the book, there is the backstory of Fire’s father, which tells us more about her. Excellent story, very different then Graceling, but as a prequel, it was done very well. I look forward to the third book, Bitterblue, which should pick up where Graceling left off.
Reviewed by Barb
