Highfire

by Eoin Colfer

'A joyous fantasy for grownups' Guardian

'A funny, offbeat adult fantasy novel' Independent

'A dazzling first adult novel from bestselling children's author Colfer' Daily Mail

Highfire is a genre-bending tour-de-force of comedy and action by the million-copy-selling master storyteller.

Squib Moreau may be swamp-wild, but his intentions are (generally) good: he really wants to be a supportive son to his hard-working momma Elodie. But sometimes life gets in the way - like when Fake Daddy walked out on them leaving a ton of debt, or when crooked Constable Regence Hooke got to thinking pretty Elodie Moreau was just the gal for him . . .

An apprenticeship with the local moonshine runner, servicing the bayou, looks like the only way to pay off the family debts and maybe get Squib and his momma a place in town, far from Constable Hooke's unwanted courtship and Fake Daddy's reputation.

Unfortunately for Squib, Hooke has his own eye on that very same stretch of bayou - and neither of them have taken into account the fire-breathing dragon hiding out in the Louisiana swamp . . .

For Squib Moreau, Regence Hooke and Vern, aka Lord Highfire of Highfire Eyrie, life is never going to be the same again.

'Told in crunchy prose, with lashings of earthy dialogue, it reads like an Elmore Leonard Thriller, but with dragons . . . Colfer clearly had a blast writing this, and his sheer storytelling panache brushes aside the quibbles of fantasy-genre agnostics with infectious glee' Mail on Sunday

From the internationally bestselling author of the Artemis Fowl series: Eoin Colfer's first adult fantasy novel is a hilarious, high-octane adventure about a vodka-drinking, Flashdance-loving dragon who's been hiding out from the world - and potential torch-carrying mobs - in a Louisiana bayou . . . until his peaceful world's turned upside down by a well-intentioned but wild Cajun tearaway and the crooked (and heavily armed) law officer who wants him dead.

• ISBN10: 1529402042
• ISBN13: 9781529402049
• Publish Date: 28 January 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Arcadia Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from LibraryThing Early Reviewers and HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I dragged my feet on reading this book a LOT. Partially an act of rebellion because I won the ARC in October and they sent it in March, but also because Eoin Colfer and I have had a bad run lately. Ever since [b:The Last Guardian|9307674|The Last Guardian (Artemis Fowl #8)|Eoin Colfer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1522745526l/9307674._SX50_.jpg|14190669]... nothing holds up.

Well.

I can't promise [b:Highfire|44890077|Highfire|Eoin Colfer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1569074230l/44890077._SY75_.jpg|66176729] will be everything you dreamed of and more... but... it was great world building, great characterization, and really funny. Especially if you've got that 13 y/o boy stereotypical sense of humor. Which I do.

This book was so immersive that I was sunk into the swamp immediately. Colfer builds sympathy well for his characters, but he builds hatred even BETTER and even if you don't love Squib and Vern, you sure as heck will want something terrible to happen to Constable Regence Hook. Who honestly comes up on my list as one of the most devious villains of all time and 100% deserved what he got. So there. The humor is crude, and there's a lot of violence and gore (particular in the last quarter of the book). It's not your normal adult fantasy.

It's not your normal book, period. Highfire is one of those very original, very unique stories. Honestly, I loved it. I loved to hate Hooke, I loved the richness of the world, I loved the bad jokes, and I loved the creativity. This book isn't going to be a fit for everyone. But, well, if Mulch was your favorite character in Artemis Fowl and you're a smidge more grown up now (I am def. not recommending this for 14 y/os)... Highfire may be up your alley.

To dig into some more details, you can check out the complete post on The Literary Phoenix.

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

Let me just say that I think this novel is best enjoyed as an audiobook. The narrator, Johnny Heller, carried this laugh-out-loud "high crime" fantasy story right out of the Louisiana swamp into my car over several commutes.

Colfer reminded me why I fell in love with Artemis Fowl all those years ago — his humor is spot-on and his heroes are unexpected. I don't know the last time a book made me laugh SO hard.

I received a free copy of this book from Libro.fm and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.