• Written in Fire

  • The Brilliance Trilogy, Book 3
  • By: Marcus Sakey
  • Narrated by: Luke Daniels
  • Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (2,765 ratings)

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Written in Fire  By  cover art

Written in Fire

By: Marcus Sakey
Narrated by: Luke Daniels
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Publisher's summary

The explosive conclusion to the best-selling Brilliance Trilogy.

For 30 years humanity struggled to cope with the brilliants, the one percent of people born with remarkable gifts. For 30 years we tried to avoid a devastating civil war.

We failed.

The White House is a smoking ruin. Madison Square Garden is an internment camp. In Wyoming, an armed militia of thousands marches toward a final, apocalyptic battle.

Nick Cooper has spent his life fighting for his children and his country. Now, as the world staggers on the edge of ruin, he must risk everything he loves to face his oldest enemy - a brilliant terrorist so driven by his ideals that he will sacrifice humanity's future to achieve them.

From "one of our best storytellers" (Michael Connelly) comes the blistering conclusion to the acclaimed series that is a "forget-to-pick-up-milk, forget-to-water-the-plants, forget-to-eat total immersion experience" (Gillian Flynn).

©2016 Marcus Sakey (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

What listeners say about Written in Fire

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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant! Incredible! Wonderful!

Written in Fire completes the three novel Brilliance Saga. Note that these books MUST be read in order written or they will make no sense at all.

The genre of the Brilliance Saga is contemporary sci-fi; that is, it occurs in a fictionally faltered present. One percent of the populations are classified as brilliant. That one percent is discriminated against and they rebel violently.

These three books are likely destined to be classics, but probably as a single book. This saga is a must read even for those who do normally like science fiction. Luke Daniels does a great job of narration.

It is ironic that Written in Fire was released on the same day as Destroyer: Rewinder Book 2 by Brett Battles which is another much anticipated and unusual contemporary science fiction novel.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Could do without all the sex

The story was good, the narration excellent. The story could have been excellent if the unnecessary sex was removed. Clearly the author believes that personal sexual gratification is more important than raising children you've already spawned. I'm not a big fan of that way of thinking.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Sad ending to this trillogy

I was jumping out of my seat with bliss reading Brilliance. That book was pure joy in my mind. I loved it.

However, the two sequels were poorly thought through in my mind. What made Brilliance special was the weaving plot and character development. The sequels tried to have intricate plots, but they are so full of holes it makes for laughs rather than tense expectations. Also the characters dont change in these stories. They are already fully developed. Sakey pulls punches. You can tell he cares about those he created and does not do anything to further the character development a novel needs to live.

This story was decently written. The style is crisp and moves along. Its just where it moves to is goofy. Its the end of the world and only one man can save us. Blah.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great end to series with excellent narration

Marcus Sakey has written a wonderful trilogy, with another one in the future, I'm guessing. He understands the concept of creating stakes with his writing, & amps them up across multiple character arcs & storylines with a lot of shades of very deep grey. Flew through the series because I just couldn't stop listening.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Marcus Sakey is the man!

This is the 3rd installment in the Brilliance saga. As conflict comes to a devastating head in the "normals" vs "brilliants" Nick Cooper once again finds himself risking everything to negotiate a compromise that will allow America to survive.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

almost didn't make it to the end

this book is a great example of no rest for the weary and the listener is the weariest. I'm supposed to like the main character and think of him as a hero. but for the most part he's just a constant victim. this whole book could have been resolved and half the time. I'd return it but I finished it.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

More of the same (which is not bad)

The good: Like the predecessors, this book is non-stop action. And for better or worse, the conflicting parties (Sons of Liberty vs Children of Darwin) are extremely realistic and mirror many of the horrible world events going on lately. I found myself actually growing anxious about what they would do next.

The mediocre: It's just more of the same. The characters stay the same, the locations stay the same. In the first book, meeting Eric Epstein for the first time was a truly great scene. Epstein in book 3 was exactly the same - sitting in his cave and being socially awkward. There was an attempt to show stress and fatigue, but it was superficial.

The bad: Without giving away anything, I was disappointed in the ending. I thought the main antagonist broke out of character at the end (or at least did not use his gift consistently). John Smith's master plan (or most of it) was disappointingly convoluted and inelegant. The final resolution made me face palm.

On the other hand, I did like the epilogue, unlike some other reviewers.

All in all, it's good to have closure, but as you can tell, I was disappointed. The series started off strong but did not live up to its potential. Overall, I'd give the series 4 stars, but I thought this book individually was closer to a 3.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Too much review

Excessive repetition of story in Books 1 and 2. I understand it's there for those who didn't read the earlier books, but way too much. It distracts from the story for those who DID read the earlier ones.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Read!

All of the book in this series are fast paced and fun to read. The characters are well written and believable, I recommend them all.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

4.5 stars for the book, 5 for the series

this was a fun and interesting series. the premise is great, the characters interesting, and you care about them (or fear some of them). The story escalated through the books without jumping the shark. Interesting that the end of this book leaves things open for another.

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2 people found this helpful