On the Bookshelf

Fire is more than attractive,

Fire is mesmerising.

Fire's exceptional beauty gives her influence and power. People who are susceptible to it will do anything for her attention, and for her affection. If she wished, they would abuse their power, crush nations and even destroy their own kingdoms to please her.

But beauty is only skin deep, and beneath it Fire has a human appreciation of right and wrong. Aware of her ability to influence others, and afraid of it, she lives in a corner of the world away from people - not only to protect them but also to protect herself from their attention, their distrust, and even their hatred.

Yet Fire is not the only danger to the Dells. If she wants to protect her home, if she wants a chance to undo the wrongs of the past, she must face her fears, her abilities and a royal court full of powerful people with reason to distrust her.

Beauty is a weapon - and Fire is going to use it.


I really enjoyed reading Fire, which is often described as the "prequelish companion" to Graceling. In fact, I think that I may even have liked it more than I did Graceling.

Fire, like Katsa, is a strong female character. As she did with Katsa, Cashore once again introduces reservations about marriage and reproduction with her female lead. I felt, however, that with Fire these concepts where much better handled in the way that Fire comes to these decisions and how she copes with the choices that she makes in regards. Beauty plays an interesting role in Fire, with Fire herself losing her own breath at the site of her reflection. Cashore walks a fine line here between balancing strength, beauty, and femininity. I see Fire as a character who could have easily become a Mary Sue but I feel that Cashore has avoided this and has made Fire balanced and believable.

Fans of Graceling will also recognise a certain cross-over character. I found discovering this characters background and what lead to him becoming the person that we know in Graceling to be a really fascinating aspect of the story.

I am really excited that these books are now planned as a trilogy, The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy, with the third book tentatively titled Bitterblue. Bitterblue was a character in Graceling and I am most certainly curious as to what Cashore has in plan for her.

Fire gave the "more" that I had been wanting from Graceling and I am sure that fans of Cashore's debut book will enjoy Fire just as much if not more.

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Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Terra

All across the seven kingdoms there are people born with Graces, special skills above and beyond the norm. As a girl Katsa killed a man with her bare hands without even trying and from hence forth her Grace was recognised as killing. Her Grace is used in service to her king who has her punish any who displease him. While Katsa is feared by many for her horrific role, she is not without a conscious and in secret leads a Council with the goal to do good. One such mission leads her to Prince Po, a Graced fighter who is the only person that she has ever encountered who can match her in a fight. Together they seek the truth behind the kidnapping of Po's grandfather and discover a terrible secret that could be the downfall of all the seven kingdoms.

A massive thank you must go to my brother for buying me this book because I really loved it. Kristin Cashore has made a wonderful debut with Graceling.

The romance aspect was interesting in terms of Katsa's strong anti-marriage stance. Katsa views marriage as being like a cage, something that will tie her down and give a man ownership over her. Considering what Katsa then goes on to experience in a romantic relationship I found it disapointing that those experiences did not bring her to consider her views on marriage even if such considerations did not change her mind. Aside from the issue of marriage that could very nearly lend towards making her too strong, I thought that Katsa was well balanced as a strong female protagonist with both strengths and weaknesses, often tough but with occasional moments of softness.

The fantasy aspect of Graceling I enjoyed thouroughly. The antagonist was well matched to provide Katsa with a believable opponant, seeing as she is near unmatchable as a fighter. This was such an important aspect because, in knowing Katsa's physical capabilities, it was difficult to ever worry that her physical journey, however harrowing, was truely a threat to her.

The only other thing is that I would have liked Graceling to have been a bit longer, to have Cashore go into deeper detail with her world and the characters.

Some of the twists in Graceling I could guess while others took me entirely by surprise. I thouroughly enjoyed Graceling and after reading the preview at the end of the book of the "prequelish companion", I cannot wait to get stuck into Fire.

Terra