Fire by Kristin Cashore

After finishing Don Quixote, I was ready to indulge in a lighter read. I have been trying to finish reading series in a timely fashion lately, so I decided to continue on with the Graceling books and give Fire a shot. I've heard a few reviews say that this novel was their favorite out of the series, so I went into my reading with high hopes.

Fire is a companion novel to Graceling. It's set in the same universe, but contains most of its own characters, locations, and storyline. The graces from the first novel don't exist here. Instead, this part of the realm contains creatures called monsters. Monsters are dangerous versions of humans and animals. Distinguished by their brilliantly colored hair, feathers, or fur, monsters are irresistibly beautiful to normal people. They have the ability to enter into the minds of others, read their thoughts, and make them do things. Monster animals use this ability to attack their prey, including humans, mercilessly. Monster humans can use these abilities in similar ways, although the way they choose to exercise their powers depends more on their personality and motivations. Monsters are a blight on the land. The animals are hunted and the people are regarded with deep suspicion. The issues with monsters in the kingdom form an extra layer of complication on top of the deep political issues currently dividing the realm.

The plot of the novel follows a young woman named Fire. She lives in a part of her kingdom called the Dells, in relative isolation with a few trusted advisers and friends. She is tangentially related to King Nash, the ruling monarch in the area. Her father, a monster, was the previous king's closest adviser. He used his monster abilities for evil; he lived selfishly and helped lead the kingdom to near-ruin. Both he and the king he advised are dead now, but people haven't forgotten his cruelty and the effects of his destructive decisions still linger across the land. Fire, who is a monster as well, tries to lay pretty low as a result of this. She isn't at all like her father; on the contrary, she is extremely kind and compassionate, but she lives under his dark shadow in the minds of the people.

She has to abandon her quiet life, however, when some mysterious events start happening in the forest where she lives. Strangers with dubious intentions and oddly empty minds begin appearing, and a political scheme from a neighboring kingdom is suspected to be behind it. King Nash supposes these strangers are spies, and requests Fire's services at the castle to get to the bottom of it. As a monster, Fire has the ability to read minds and influence people, but she is hesitant to use her powers, lest she becomes like her father. She decides to travel to the castle anyway and see if she can help without compromising her principles.

Her arrival at the castle is fraught with complications. Her monster blood drives people with weaker minds insane with lust or anger at the sight of her, so she must constantly be alert to danger. Aside from that, the relationships she begins to develop with the royal family, and especially with the king's brother, Brigan, make her want to forget about her previous resolutions not to use her power and throw herself into their politics wholeheartedly. Eventually, she is drawn deeply into the affairs of the royal court and must decide how far she is willing to go to undo the destruction her father wrought before she was born.

I actually really liked Fire, but I kind of feel ashamed that I did. It's a ridiculous novel with some really questionable plot elements, and I could never recommend to anyone other than a dedicated young adult fantasy fan with a straight face. Even so, it had me after the first couple of chapters. I liked the idea of the monsters, I liked the unlikely plot twists, and I liked the romance. I was genuinely invested in the story and was anxious to see how it would end. It's tough to explain why, because there were parts of it that I know were objectionable, or weird, or self-indulgent. However, buried underneath all the menstruation updates and sexual harassment was a compelling story. I was into it.

One of the strongest points in the novel for me was characterization. The main characters are very well developed, with conflicting wants and needs and clear growth arcs throughout the story. Fire is a particularly good example of this, as she struggles mightily with her feelings for her father and defining her morals. She is tormented by the love and hatred she still feels for him, and coming to terms with these emotions plays into her willingness to start exercising her monster abilities. As Fire moves through the plot, she comes to see how people have the capacity for both good and evil; it's possible to be both things at the same time. It's hardly a startling revelation, but it is a more nuanced view than a lot of young adult fantasy adopts.

The pacing in this novel was also excellent. Cashore did a nice job revealing information strategically. There were a lot of pretty juicy plot twists that made sense and felt like they belonged in the story, while still being surprising. The series of events was very well-crafted and engaging. Some stories feel like they meander from point to point, but that wasn't the case here. Fire's plot was deliberate and focused. I finished the whole novel in a few days, and it's nearly 500 pages long.

Part of what kept things so interesting was the inclusion of realistic and serious topics. Cashore is writing for a young adult audience, and her story is set in a fantasy realm, but she certainly doesn't shy away from modern (and some might say mature) ideas. I was surprised by a lot of the elements she chose to include. Fire has sexual relationships with both men and women. Birth control, menstruation, and abortion are frankly discussed. Pregnancy, being a single parent, and sexual assault feature prominently in the plot. There is even a sexual relationship between a fifteen year old girl and a twenty one year old man, which Fire roundly condemns. Ideas like this helped keep the story relatable. It was an interesting combination of brutal reality and fantasy.

So clearly, I felt like this novel had a lot of strengths, but my embarrassment at liking it so much springs from the handful of moments that were really weird or objectionable. One of the more innocuous examples of this is Fire's monthly cycle. One of the characteristics of monster animals is that they prefer to prey on other monsters. The smell of monster blood attracts them, so Fire's period is actually a somewhat relevant plot point in the story. When she is on her cycle, all of the monster animals around, including birds, bugs, and larger predators, attack her relentlessly. She has to travel with extra guards at this time and is always embarrassed by it. Maybe that's a realistic element to include in this universe, but what Cashore does in addition to this is lets the reader know every single time Fire's period is about to start, even if it's not going to affect the story at that particular month. It was weird. I didn't feel like I needed to know about her menstruation all the time.

One example of a more objectionable element was the frequent inclusion of sexual assault and rape. As a monster, Fire is irresistible to weaker men and women. Throughout the story she is groped, kissed, hit, and verbally harassed all the time, and it felt inappropriate. There was another instance in the story in which the previous king of the Dells sent a man to rape the wife of one of his enemies, which the man did successfully. This rape produced a much-loved child for this family, which was a really mixed message to put in a young adult book. Add to this the sexual relationship between a fifteen year old girl and a twenty one year old man I mentioned earlier, and it was too much. Sexual assault is too serious and sad for this.

There were a couple of other weird elements present throughout the story that took away from all the things Cashore did really well, but it wasn't enough to take away my overall enjoyment of the book. It was meatier than Graceling, and I did enjoy it a bit more than that novel. I appreciated the nuanced themes, complex story, and interesting ideas, and I look forward to finishing the series with Bitterblue next. Fire was most definitely a guilty pleasure read for me, but hey, summer is made for easy reads, right? 


Challenge Tally
Finally in 2019: 17/6 Books Read - Complete!

Total Books Read in 2019: 33