Why the novel "Fire" is perfect for 2018

Fire by Kristin Cashore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Like her father, Fire is a monster in a world filled with monsters. In this land, monsters are outrageously beautiful but also able to sense and influence the minds of others. Monster animals, like raptors and big cats, use their gift to lure the dull-witted out to be killed. Her father, a human monster and a true psychopath, used it to control and hurt others. Fire, however, isn't like her father, and uses her power a different way. This is her story, and it's thought-provoking as well as being a genuine pleasure to read.

Fire is a great character--round, dynamic, well-drawn and empathetic, with an arc that makes sense. Surprisingly, although it's almost a decade old, it feels like her story was written for 2018. The themes, of course, are timeless: the abuse of power; the right of women to be treated with dignity and respect; the right of women to feel safe; the ethics of "the greater good"; and others. What is most striking, though, is Fire's constant need to protect herself from men who desire her and want to possess her and want to hurt her because of her incredible beauty and desirability. Men literally lose their minds around her, and though they have a variety of reactions, from annoying to deadly, they all reduce her to a single external attribute, and they almost always fail to control themselves or restrain their impulses. Because of them, she needs to constantly protect herself.

It is striking to see the world through her eyes, to see the men who fall at her feet in adoration, or those who want to rape her or possess her, to see her strategize moment by moment, month by month, how to avoid the worst of them and how to defeat or escape or manipulate the others. She is the desired object, harassed and attacked and adored and coveted and fought over, who, with allies, insists on her right to be a person and not a possession.

To be in her mind, to feel her revulsion because of the relentless male gaze, the unrestrained waves of toxic male desire, is an education. She is not flattered or enchanted; she is repulsed, and frightened, and wants to be left alone. In the course of the story she is forced to learn new ways to use her gifts, to fight back, to assert her rights, to demand to be seen as herself and not as the object of desire and fantasy. It is this dynamic that makes the story feel so current.

To be clear, this is not a rant or a political tract. It is a fantasy novel, with brilliant action, a well-conceived world, and many engaging characters, and it is entertaining and a joy to read. It just also happens to be deeper and more provocative and more eye-opening than most.

Highly recommended.

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Where, with unearned confidence, I both praise and critique a very fine author. With apologies. ;)

The Providence of Fire by Brian Staveley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Brian Stavely is a good writer, and deserves the reputation he has earned for being a serious author of fantasy. He is inventive, creating an exciting world and cosmology, but also knowledgeable enough about religion and philosophy and history (subjects he has apparently taught) that his world works. It is believable rather than contrived, which makes the action feel more real and more plausible, and makes the characters more human. The intersection of religion and politics is treated in a sophisticated way that gives the novel real depth and even actual meaning outside the imaginary world where it takes place.

One of the things I enjoyed in this novel is that the main characters mostly move forward and succeed by using their skills--awesome characters being awesome. (™!) Too many novels create conflict by having the MC screw up constantly, making bad decisions, or ignoring good advice, and the author doesn't give us too much of that. The characters have skills and intelligence that they apply to their problems in a rational but human way, and their success is generally through their hard work and sincere effort. Though they do fail sometimes or choose wrong sometimes, it is in keeping with their personality and the laws governing all of them, in the same way that great teams don't win every game. In other words, it feels natural or organic. These interesting people are doing the best they can, and I'm still feeling sympathetic towards them two books in, even some of the bad guys.

I wish the novel had moved along a bit more, though. I almost stopped a couple times when the strategizing and arguing and other slow-moving sections made it a chore, with 300 dense pages still to go. It was worth it in the end, obviously, but I didn't always pick up the book with pleasure or put it down entertained. (After reading a few books where characters cross the open steppe, I'd have to conclude that it's just not a good idea, from a narrative perspective.) Personal preference, I suppose. YMMV.

Yes, I will look for book three. I'm still cheering for the characters, and rooting for the author. Hopefully, that's where all the questions will be answered, and all the awesome characters do awesome things.... ™ ;)

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Another awesome Arizona writer

Hunters Rise by Joseph Hutton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a fun, fast-moving supernatural action novel. I liked it better for reading a copy signed by the author (actually Joe Nassise, writing under a pseudonym) who is an Arizona writer. (It took several attempts to catch him at the right time down at Comicon, but I'm glad I did.)

He writes a nicely-paced, straight ahead kind of pulp fiction, and I mean that in the best way. If you are in the mood for a book in the vein of The Destroyer or Mack Bolan--you know, pulp fiction action, with just the good parts--but you'd like to see it filled with inventive and surprising supernatural elements, this is a great choice. Lots of fun, and lots of books already published.

Here's to getting book 2.

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