Title: Fire
Author: Kristin Cashore
Date Published: 5/10/09
Synopsis: Her beauty is a weapon – and Fire is going to use it.
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.
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.
Reading Fire feels like coming home to a world you’ve never seen, yet somehow you’ve always known. Perhaps this is due to the fact that, though standalone, Fire is inextricably linked to the world of Graceling, but there is something so incredibly familiar and intensely comforting about Cashore’s writing and characters that transcends the ties it has to other books. The deep sense of nostalgia these books hold, even if read for the first time, draws on the genre of classic fantasy, while still upholding its sense of uniqueness and relevance to the modern day. The plots are complex and mature, existing on a level both within and outside the YA genre; these books feel timeless and ageless, and seem to have retained their quality even as many series fall short in comparison to the YA literature of today. But Cashore’s true strength lies in her ability to build character – I felt this way about Graceling, when I fell hard for the complexity, yet core strength and goodness of Katsa’s character. And the character of Fire is no different.
I think what makes Fire such a compelling character is her internal strength, of a different brand to Katsa’s but no less valuable because of it. As a monster, an ‘almost human’ who possesses the ability to control and influence the minds of others through their incredible beauty, Fire grapples with her guilt over something she cannot wish away throughout the book. She is also maternal, soft, vulnerable, but sticks steadfastly to her morals, and thrives on her ability to connect with others, assist them and offer up her power for their use. The way Cashore positions her character is a perceptive allegory – or in some parts, incredibly literal – of how beautiful and attractive women are deemed monsters for provoking the actions of men, despite how, in this world and in reality, men do have the choice to control their actions. It is frustrating, the treatment Fire is subject too, and sometimes I wished that she wasn’t so forgiving, but at the same time I think there is something incredibly powerful in her pity, that she can so easily move on from those who demean and belittle her.
A word for the side characters – the utter complexity of these characters is so telling of Kristin Cashore’s talent for constructing people who almost feel real. Though Fire is fundamentally a good person, and tries to surround herself with similar people, all of her relationships are slightly skewed by the flaws that her friends possess, particularly that of Archer and Nash, who seem to be victims of some patriarchal entitlement. But what is important is that they learn and grow throughout the novel, and that Fire is able to make the emotional, rather than superficial, connections she has always sought. Personally, I loathed a little that Fire herself had to teach Nash to overcome his own flaws, particularly when we are explicitly informed that Nash chooses to give in constantly to Fire’s influence. Supposedly we learn that her power is not what defines her, only the reactions of those too unwilling to change and therefore never deserved her in the first place, but I never truly agreed with the love and forgiveness that Fire offered Nash, when he often chose to take advantage of her desirability for his own pleasure.
Obviously, our central ‘side character’ is the love interest, Brigan. To Fire, Brigan represents her ability to be loved for her mundanity and humanity, on a level far deeper than her status as a monster. He represents the respect she needs and the tenderness she craves, as well as the family he can give her that she has always denied herself. I think there was some lack of connection between his sudden reversal of opinion of Fire; he begins the novel irrationally hating her, and once she saves him and his army, suddenly he is more amiable and kind. Apparently all the men need to be shown exactly how a woman is of worth before she can be respected. However, ultimately I did like their romance, though I maintain that Katsa and Po are the superior pairing in this series thus far.
Finally, I admire Kristin Cashore’s ability to craft such a comprehensive world in only one book. The Dells are completely separate from the parts of the world established in Graceling. Here we have no Gracelings, but brightly coloured monsters, which can be of any species, who entrance, hunt and kill their prey. Somehow it feels reminiscent of Graceling whilst also being entirely separate, and of course we have that particular connection, one I will not disclose in this review as it is fairly central to the plot. Perhaps the world was a little reductive in terms of the other countries, and I feel the political intrigue and war wrapped up a little quickly, but this is fairly minor and also I don’t think was the main focus of the book. One could argue this is a fantasy romance but I don’t think that is accurate either. Ultimately the book belongs to its eponymous character Fire, and perhaps I too have fallen prey to her powers, because I was enchanted by her throughout.
The Bookish Courtier 