My Initial Reaction...
Despite a slow start, Heir of Fire ended on an epic note. I always enjoyed it, but my attention did wander until about 3/4 of the way through part one - "Heir of Ash". But once things really took off, I could hardly put it down.
Note: There are series spoilers, but no book spoilers.
The Characters...
Celaena is a big part of why Heir of Fire dragged for me. After Crown of Midnight she's down and understandably so. And I'd probably be complaining if Maas hadn't adequately written her despair, because no one just bounces back from this level of devastation. But it was rough going. You know that song "I get knocked down"? Well I was wondering what happened to Celaena's "but I get up again"! Thankfully we get the old Celaena back and THEN SOME. The THEN SOME makes all that waiting so worth it. Yeah. Celaena keeps amazing me. Gah!
Another reason that Heir of Fire dragged a lot in the start was the multiple POVs - there were too many of them and they were too quick... sometimes as short as a couple pages. That might have been okay if it was just Celaena, Chaol, and Dorian, because I really did want to know what was happening with all of them. But then we had this other person - Manon. And I was like, "Where the eff did she come from and why am I supposed to care?"
Well - I very gradually changed my tune about Manon and I'm so glad she was such a huge part of Heir of Fire. I just wasn't ready for her from the get-go. So Manon Blackbeak is Heir of the Blackbeak Witch-Clan... and if you remember, witches in this world are not just spell-casters. Nah, there incredible and intense. Claws and iron teeth intense. And Manon is at the top of the top. For a while, I think I liked her but didn't want to admit it because GAH this girl is brutal! But I finally accepted that I LOVE her.
Besides the greatness of Manon and the witches in general - I'm glad they had such a dominant role because there working with these bird-like creatures - Wyverns. I won't say too much on this front, except that if you're someone who likes animal companions in your books you're going to fall for these creatures. I sure did!
If you're like me, you're going crazy wondering what's up with Dorian. Crown of Midnight was pretty monumental for him and also very isolating. This scared me, because I really worried how he'd deal so alone. I enjoyed every minute of watching him try to deal with who he's becoming and what that means for his - and his father's kingdom's - future.
Chaol had quite the huge - EPIC - revelation smacked on him at the close of Crown of Midnight and it's really messing with him throughout Heir of Fire. It's time for Chaol to think about what being honorable really means and figure out where his loyalty lies!
I'd be amiss if I didn't also introduce you to the TWO new male characters on the scene because they were... YEAH!!
First, there's Aedion Ashryver. He's Celaena's cousin and one of the few people that probably would recognize her for who she really is. But he's one of the King's most ruthless generals, lording it over his and Celaena's homeland. He was a great addition to the story - particularly as we start to understand Celaena's past much better.
And last - but most definitely NOT least - is Rowan. *sigh* He actually made me start to question how Team Chaol I am, though I don't really see a romance between him and Celaena. But I'm totally into him because I have a thing for Alpha males - especially ones that seem like total annoying jerks from the get-go. That's Rowan for you. He's a fae (SQUEE!) and he's annoyed to be stuck working with Celaena. But really, he's totally complex and I dare you not to love him by time you're done reading Heir of Fire
Phew! There's just so many characters and would you believe I've left some out? The thing is, there ALL so complex and as a totally character driven reader, that makes this series like a drug for me. I'm addicted and NEED IT!
The Story...
With all the complex character building you'd think the story wouldn't match up, but that's why Maas is just wonderful - because Heir of Fire delivers the same kind of complexity in the story as it does in the characters.
I, however, will not go into nearly as much detail here because that would be the stuff of spoilers. Let's just say - get ready for: HUGE movements on the part of the evil King, AWESOME immersion into the world of the Fae, TOE-CURLING insight into the Iron Witch clans, OMG insights into a mounting rebellion, and HOLY SHIT details about Celaena's past. Yep, it's that good.
My one beef in the story was the way time passed without any clear reference to Celaena's deadline. She left at the end of Crown of Midnight on the orders of the King and yet, as week after week goes by, we have no idea if her deadline is approaching or already past. And that seemed pretty significant to me, because if she didn't fulfill her mission then that's like a HUGE deal, especially for everyone still in Rifthold.
Concluding Sentiments...
Clearly you can't write a short (or even medium length) review for a book this long and great... so sorry for going on and on. Point is: We're setup for another incredible book, hopefully we won't have to wait too long!