Fire by Kristin Cashore

Fire is a sort of prequel for Cashore’s Graceling. (On the book’s cover they call it a companion novel, but it takes place before hand, so I choose to call it a prequel.) It takes place primarily in the Dells, a kingdom in the mountains above the seven kingdoms where we spent Graceling, during the childhood of the King Leck. We learn about Leck’s childhood and how he became the evil king we know him to turn out to be. But though he plays his part in the story, it is actually Fire who we follow.

In the Dells, instead of having Gracelings (people with extreme gifts), there are monsters, beings of extreme beauty and allure. Fire is a human monster, so painfully beautiful that people instantly love or hate her, with the ability to exert her will over other people’s. She spends her life hiding her hair and wearing the simplest clothes she can manage to avoid attention–monster creatures desire her blood and men desire her in one way or another. Her father, also a human monster, was a destructive force in the kingdom and nearly drove the kingdom to ruin. The kingdom is still in trouble as other lords want to overthrow King Nash. Despite their distrust of her, this king and his family ask Fire to use her unique abilities to help save the kingdom.

Like Graceling, Fire is an engrossing novel of love and self-acceptance. It’s easy to love Fire’s personal journey and connect to her attempt to find herself in an unfamiliar world. She fights to resolve who she is against who she knows her father was. Is she, by her very nature, really a monster? Does that make her superior to other humans and give her the right to control them–as her father believed? Is it her responsibility to use her abilities to help protect the kingdom? On the one hand, her extreme beauty is something that teens may find it difficult to connect with. You can’t help but think “if only my biggest problem in life was that I was too beautiful.” At the same time, self-conscious teens might appreciate the idea that beauty is not as great as you would think it is.

My biggest issue is that I dislike this blending of worlds where there are Gracelings and monsters. It seems almost redundant, like the author couldn’t decide which magical world she wanted and which magical system she wanted and so she just threw them both in. While it was nice to see how Leck became Leck, it seems like the story would be stronger without the Graceling world at all. At the same time, Fire did need someone who could compete with her on her level, so I understand why she felt the need to include him. Perhaps what we needed was a second monster, a true equal, instead of a pseudo-equal.

I didn’t like this book as much as I liked Graceling, but it was still an enjoyable book. It’s strong point, for me, was in the way it dealt with Fire and her father.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Gracelings are people with exceptional skills. Where the average person can run fast, a Graceling with the gift of running can run like Flash. Where a regular person can be a very good cook, a Graceling with the gift of cooking can make even better food. But for all their amazing abilities, Gracelings are feared. They are property of the king of the kingdom they are born to. Katsa is one such Graceling, the king’s niece, able to kill with her bare hands since she was a child. She had been the king’s private assassin for many years. But when she meets another Graceling from another kingdom, she has no idea how much her life will change. She is forced to examine everything she’s ever believed about her abilities and where her place in the world is meant to be.

This is a strange series, since it doesn’t follow the conventions of a typical book. It’s almost like a TV show, where you’re watching a bunch of episodes back to back. They have some underlining threads running from one section to the next, but for the most part, they have their own stories that are more or less resolved before moving on to the next one. It’s not a good or bad thing, only an unusual one. (Somewhat similar to the way the Alanna series by Tamora Pierce works.)

The reason this works, is because Cashore manages to make Katsa a multi-dimensional character. Her emotions feel very real and you can relate to her every thought and confusion. While the plot seems to change, we have Katsa to hold on to and care about throughout.

Not all of the characters are as well-rounded. Bitterblue, who becomes important in the second half or so of the book, is one of the least developed characters. She’s sympathetic and sweet, even stronger than the average child, but little more. (This is all right, especially since she is getting her own book soon so we will undoubtedly learn more about her then.)

The place I find the story most lacking is in the structure of the world itself. There are seven kingdoms, each ruled by a different king, that are close enough that their politics and commerce are closely connected. But the truth is we don’t get enough of a look into the seven different kingdoms. Why do we need so many? I would have preferred fewer, say four, that we could get to know more intimately than a larger number where we only got bits and pieces of each. Even the important ones didn’t feel fully developed. We spend a large portion of time in Monsea but I don’t feel like I know anything about the place (aside from the king itself).

The love story, though predictable for the most part, is still well done. You still feel a deep connection to Po and Katsa that you don’t always feel with other fantasy couples.

It’s a solid book, not a top ten, but definitely on the positive list.