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readwithmesashamarie 's review for:
Fire
by Kristin Cashore
My reread and review: 8 years later!!
The second book in the Graceling Realm takes us back in time and into a new land. While there is no mention of Katsa or Po in this novel (because they hadn’t been born yet) we meet many new characters who attempt to fill their void.
The theme of good and evil is extremely prevalent in this novel. A daughter must come to terms with her father’s atrocities and decide if she will follow in his dark footsteps or forge a new path. All of Fire’s relationships are built on the foundational knowledge of who her father was, and who she might be as a result. As the novel expands, so does Fire’s understanding of her true self.
Another theme began to emerge in this second novel that we saw briefly in the first. The concept of female purity and promiscuity is challenged by the day to day actions of these characters. Both Katsa and Fire are women who do not wish to become mothers (for their own various reasons) and who do not treat sex as something that is taboo.
On the other side of the coin we watch men who take little care of the women they sleep with, and monsters who did not falter before committing rape. While this is not the case for every male character in this story, it is a theme that will play out largely in the third novel.
This book allowed the Graceling Realm to expand into a larger universe for later stories, and helped us understand the people, creatures, and culture. Instead of humans with graces, people are born as monsters. They are beautiful, ensnaring, and sometimes have the ability to control one’s mind.
This novel mostly felt like a character study and a way to expand our understanding of the realm at large. It also creates a really interesting contrast between two women in two different lands and time periods struggling to be seen beneath their fathers’ obsidian shadows.
So good! Semi predictable but still a wonderfully addicting read. This is really more of a 4.5 star rating but not as good as Graceling so it stays at the 4 star mark.
The second book in the Graceling Realm takes us back in time and into a new land. While there is no mention of Katsa or Po in this novel (because they hadn’t been born yet) we meet many new characters who attempt to fill their void.
The theme of good and evil is extremely prevalent in this novel. A daughter must come to terms with her father’s atrocities and decide if she will follow in his dark footsteps or forge a new path. All of Fire’s relationships are built on the foundational knowledge of who her father was, and who she might be as a result. As the novel expands, so does Fire’s understanding of her true self.
Another theme began to emerge in this second novel that we saw briefly in the first. The concept of female purity and promiscuity is challenged by the day to day actions of these characters. Both Katsa and Fire are women who do not wish to become mothers (for their own various reasons) and who do not treat sex as something that is taboo.
On the other side of the coin we watch men who take little care of the women they sleep with, and monsters who did not falter before committing rape. While this is not the case for every male character in this story, it is a theme that will play out largely in the third novel.
This book allowed the Graceling Realm to expand into a larger universe for later stories, and helped us understand the people, creatures, and culture. Instead of humans with graces, people are born as monsters. They are beautiful, ensnaring, and sometimes have the ability to control one’s mind.
This novel mostly felt like a character study and a way to expand our understanding of the realm at large. It also creates a really interesting contrast between two women in two different lands and time periods struggling to be seen beneath their fathers’ obsidian shadows.
So good! Semi predictable but still a wonderfully addicting read. This is really more of a 4.5 star rating but not as good as Graceling so it stays at the 4 star mark.