Firefight (Reckoners, #2)

by Brandon Sanderson

[jnikkir]

This SPOILER-FREE(!) review can also be found at my blog, There were books involved...

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OH MY GOSH YOU GUYS. I've been waiting FOREVER to post this review. I read Firefight over two months ago, thanks to Mark letting me and a few other bloggers borrow his ARC (thanks again, Mark!), and omg. This book has been burning a hole in my brain ever since.

First off, though -- have you read Steelheart? Because if you haven't, it would probably be better to start by reading my review of that book, rather than this one. See, Firefight is a sequel, and A) We wouldn't want you to get spoiled (the synopsis above IS SPOILERY, thus the warning, but this review is spoiler-free -- unless you really don't want to know whether the main character dies at the end of Steelheart or something). But also, B) If you read this review first, well, that would just be like eating dessert before dinner: You'll never want to go back and read that earlier review if you read this one fir -- wait, no... umm... It's like dessert before dinner because this book, like dessert, is just better than the first course -- wait, no... "better"? Maybe... but also just "different"... But it's necessary to eat dinner first, you know? And then, obviously, dessert is also required. Um...

Oh gosh, someone please shut me up, I'm channeling David and I don't know how to make it stop.

(Don't know who David is? *coughclickthiscough*)

OKAY, now we've got that out of the way, I guess maybe you want to know how I liked this book.

Well, I liked it. I liked it a lot. If you're smart, and you've already read Steelheart, CONGRATULATIONS: Here's an easy test for you to see if you should read this sequel: Did you like Steelheart at all? No, seriously, like, at all. A little, OMG SO MUCH, whatever? ...Yes, you did? Well, then, there's no question: You need Firefight in your life. Immediately. Really, that's all you need to know. But read on if you want more information. ;)

The Reckoners series reminds me of what I imagine a superhero comic book would be like (confession: I have never read a comic book... or a graphic novel... please don't kill me...). But seriously. It's super fun, vibrant and cinematic, absolutely action-packed, a bit lighthearted, but also full of heart... It makes me think of movies like "The Avengers," except the superheroes are all bad guys and the little humans get to be the heroes. I mean, sometimes in movies like that, the heroes are a little over-the-top idealistic, but we forgive them, don't we? Because we want to root for them, we want them to vanquish their foes, we want them to save the world amidst these epic circumstances... Yeah, Firefight is like that.

Carrying straight over from the end of Steelheart (or rather, the end of Mitosis... seriously, you should read Mitosis, it's a great gap-bridger), Firefight deals with the aftermath of Steelheart's epic conclusion. Instead of making David's and the other Reckoners' lives simpler, their actions at the end of Steelheart just made things even more complicated, and they end up having to go to Manhattan (now "Babylon Restored") for answers. I was super excited to see a new location after being confined to Newcago in book 1, and Babylon Restored does not disappoint. But wow, getting to see outside of Newcago... well, the outlook is bleak. This series isn't post-apocalyptic, it's post-Epic -- and it's pretty terrifying out there. These cities ruled by Epics are really the only bastions of civilization left, which is... yikes. I really don't want to say too much about Babylon Restored because I don't want to give away any surprises, but I will say that, while terrifying, it's also seriously beautiful and I would really like to go there. For like, a couple hours. With a safe getaway planned.

In addition to a new setting, we also get to meet some awesome new secondary characters. A few of the "regulars" from Steelheart don't really play much of a role in Firefight, which was a bit disappointing for me, but that's ok! These new characters are pretty great, as well. I sort of wish I'd felt like I got to know them a little bit better than I did, but by the end I was definitely a fan of all of them -- especially a girl who kind of reminds me of Leo Valdez from Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series... (Yeah, I went there.) I really can't wait to see my old favorites and some of these new characters team up in Calamity. (I mean, that is what's gonna happen right? RIGHT?!?!)

One character who didn't disappoint at all, however, was David. I mean, he's David. (I love David.) David's growth from his drive to revenge in Steelheart, to finding a new purpose in Firefight, was just so well done over the course of these two books. He's a character who is willing to admit when his outlook is wrong, to reevaluate his goals, and to always fight for what he believes in. Also, his faith in people is just... okay, yes, it's rather idealistic and often comes across as unfounded or flat-out stupid -- he throws his whole heart behind people, all of his will and faith and belief that they can pull through, that everything will turn out okay -- but I love that about him. Plus, of course, his metaphors. They make me giggle, what can I say?

As for the plot... well... spoilers, ugh!! But I will say that this book does not drag. It's just as action-packed as Steelheart -- if not more. Questions that were left unanswered in Steelheart are dealt with a lot in this book, as well, like, Can Epics really fight against their natures? *GASP* Yes, that question is fully explored in Firefight, and it is intense. I just... yeah. I have a lot of feels about this.

And then the ending... I mean, if you've read Steelheart, or any book by Brandon Sanderson, you know his endings are insane. Firefight is no exception. There are so many revelations and mind-blowing occurrences, and it will leave you dying for book 3. Sorry, there's just no way around it. But it is so worth it.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, the "mind-blowing ending" is really just the last quarter of the book. I can prove this scientifically, because the capslock in my Goodreads updates gets a bit out of hand...





In conclusion...

If you've read Steelheart and liked anything about it, you definitely need Firefight in your life as well. If you haven't read Steelheart... fix that immediately, because these two books are worth reading just for the explosive ending of Firefight alone (not to mention the explosive ending of Steelheart, duh). This series is super action-packed, super intense, but most of all, it's just super fun.

IT'S JUST SUPER, OKAY. Read it.

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There were books involved...