Firefight: The Reckoners, Book 2

I am not big on listening to YA books; however, I absolutely loved this series! This book has a lot of great elements - mystery, action, villains, super heroes and even love. Tie that in with M. Andrews amazing narrating skills and you're in audio book heaven!

If you didn’t understand that metaphor than you will love this book. If you did understand it then you HAVE to love this book. I was a marine in Desert Storm and lost my eye sight. I am not saying this so anyone will feel sorry for me but to illustrate how impressive the writing is with Brandon Sanderson. How well he takes me to a place I can visualize and really just transport me to these worlds of wonder and amazement. Never has an author been so consistent with so many titles in being “AWESOME”. I first tried the Rithmatist and I really liked it. So I thought I would give the author a second chance. I listened to Mistborn, then another Mistborn, then another, then the Stormlight archives, then the sequel, then Elantris, then Steel Heart, Mitosis and now FIREFIGHT and after this book.. EVERYTHING else Brandon (we are not really on a first name basis), has written! If you have not listened to Sleelheart DO SO NOW! The sequel picks up with the Reckoners doing their best to deal with the aftermath of the events that took place in Steelheart. Brandon, does a fantastic job of realistically portraying what happens when things change, for good or bad change is hard. Our protagonist, David, has to question his motivation. What happens when you have one goal guiding your life and you achieve it? What makes a hero? Is there a cause for evil in people? Is the cause justifiable? And if so does that make them Evil? Be prepared to have these questions answered. Fear VS LOVE.. That’s where David is at now. I don’t want to give too much away so I am being as vague as possible. This book, I promise you, will keep you guessing right up until the very end. Right when I thought I had everything figured out, BAM!!, another awesome twist. I loved listening the this with my children and then being able to talk about what they would of done if they were David and trust me all of the answers were different. This is a great sequel and it will leave you wanting the third book right away. The narration is incredible. All voices have their own inflection, accent and pitch.(How he does this I don’t know). Please Listen to SteelHeart and then FireFight then thank me for the recommendation! And If I ever get to meet Brandon, I will give him a hug and shake his hand for in his work I have found great Joy.

I have waited and waited for the sequel. After loving the first installment, which is a bit of a cliffhanger in some respects, I was looking for an engaging follow-on -- and this one delivered. The Reckoners are back. After killing Steelheart in book one, they focus on a new Epic in good old New York City. Except the city is new called Babylon Restored and I will say is that is involves water but no more.

Sanderson paints another stunning mini-universe in Babylon that is just as impressive as Newcago. We get some new Reconkoners as well in the new high epic to have. MacLead Andrews narrated the last novel and he pulls out another excellent performance in this once as well.

If you are a fan of Divergent, Hunger Games, X-Men, and YA type novels in general , you will love this series. Since this is only book two, I highly suggest you go back and read book one before you read this one or you are going to 1) get too many spoilers for book one early on in this book; 2) miss a ton of back story that is needed to really appreciate this installment; and 3) well, book one is great. What are you waiting for?

In “Steeheart” we learned that “Calamity” came to earth and somehow changed certain people giving them extra-ordinary powers; they were named “Epics.” The Epics felt superior to “normal” humans and used their new powers to rule and subdue any one standing in their way. Epics are not created equal, however, and there was quickly a hierarchy established with the strongest epics at the top; they were called “High Epics.” High Epics were thought to be invincible and they ruled their own territory with a god-like hand challenging any other epic that tried to challenge them; “Steel heart” was one of those “High Epics.” He ruled “Newcago, where a boy named David lived. As a small boy David’s father was killed by Steelheart and the boy vowed to get his revenge. He studied all of the epics searching for their weaknesses in hopes of destroying them and eventually joined a group called “The Reckoners,” that were also on a mission to eliminate the epics.
At the end of the book we learn that David finally found a way to kill Steelheart and achieve his revenge. He thought life would be easier after the fall of Steelheart but there are still more High Epics out there and the story continues.
Before listening to/reading “Firefight,” I would recommend Sanderson’s short story “Mitosis. It tells a little bit about life after the fall of Steelheart as another Epic tries to fill the void Steelheart left in “Newcago. “Mitosis,” is a great short story and shouldn’t be missed if you’re following the entire “Reckoners,” series.
In “Firefight David and the Reckoners must travel to “Babylon Restored,” the new name of the area that was once called Manhattan, to deal with another High Epic, called, “Regalia.” Sanderson creates some amazing images describing the very startling yet fascinating environment that the Epics have created. In this second installment of the trilogy Sanderson answers some questions that were left hanging from the previous book as we go deeper into Calamity and yet there are still more waiting to be answered in the last book that will be called, “Calamity.”.
There are some interesting new characters introduced in “Firefight,” but some others’ that were left out from the previous book that I liked, but there is always David.
Like most of Sanderson’s books the ending is very satisfying, exciting but still leaving you wantingt more.
The narrator, MacLeod Andrews, gives a good performance.

There’s no spoilers for Firefight, but if you haven’t read Steelheart yet, then you’ll probably want to skip this.

The second book of the Reckoners series takes the action and the plot to another level but it leaves some of the dialogue charm of the first one behind. This is probably due to the tension inherent in the David/Megan relationship and the switch to another Reckoner cell. However, on a whole, Sanderson has expanded the Reckoner universe in a good way. He gives depth to the characters that have been a little thin up till now. More understanding is brought to the Epics dealing with their powers and the source of them. The ante is raised going from Newcago to Babylon Restored (Manhattan) ruled by the enigmatic Regalia. All in all, Firefight survives the sophomore slump with a strong sense of its own identity.

Following Steelheart’s overthrow in Newcago the Reckoners, led by Jonathan Phaedras, find themselves drawn by clues to Babylon Restored – the mostly underwater remnants of Manhattan island. There Prof and David (now increasingly known as Steelslayer) must figure out Regalia’s plans to keep the city and its many inhabitants from being destroyed. Of course along the way, David wants to find Megan and save her from the corruption of Epic powers. He believes that together she may be able to overcome Firefight. The local Reckoner cell doesn’t make it easy for David to fit in, but they’re all working on the same side….right?

The issue with stories where key characters are getting corrupted by some force is how to keep the characters true during their corruption phase. I felt like Sanderson walked the line with this in Firefight. Prof and Megan’s struggles seemed to sometimes be no big deal and at other times almost without hope. I’m sure this is to keep the tension high in the struggle, but it came off as forced and somewhat arbitrary. Again, I think that this is an issue with first person perspective – trying to reveal the heart of other characters while stuck in the head of the protagonist. But, kudos to Sanderson for at least wrestling with humanity as opposed to just having superheroes with issues. That is what mainstream media keeps offering up as depth.

Like all middle books, there’s still plenty of more answers to be solved. If the third book was already out I’m sure that I would go ahead and read it, but this isn’t the type of series where the months of waiting are going to be taxing…looking at you Patrick Rothfuss. If you like superhero stories or just fun action, these will please.

Audible readers: Again MacLeod Andrews does a fine job of narration.

6.5 stars out of 10

A great addition to the Reckoners series is well written and full of action, adventure and great characters. The story shifts from Newcago to Babylon Restored (Manhattan) which is an amazing city full of mystery. The listener hears a number of changes which occur during the book and I thought I had the story figured out but then the end came and I was WAY off. Can’t wait until I can get my hands on the next book!

Mr. Andrews does an amazing job bringing this book to life.

The amazing world building that Sanderson does with his writing.

The Bone Season, the world building and fantasy aspects are similar. And both are very well written.

That he can give the various characters their own voices.

The Anti-Hero

it has so many twists and turns and keeps you engaged

when Megan was still alive

David

NO

I dont understand why there are not more books like this
Great entertainment with Sci Fy yet enough reality to make it believable
Cant wait for the next book

You know. It's really good, but you're done too quickly, and it'll be a long while until you get more.

Firefight pick up shortly after the events of Steelheart/Mitosis and David Charleston returns to unleash more bad metaphors (and similes) upon a post-apocalyptic world still struggling to survive. This time the action moves away from Newcago over to Babilar (Manhattan) where another cell of the Reckoners struggle against the High Epic Regalia.

The good news is this book is more than just another episodic fight against a High Epic. It starts to shed some light on just what Calamity is and why the Epics started to appear after it arrived. Details of Prof's history come to light and David finds himself at odds with his leader on how to best fight the Epic scourge. And as you can probably guess from the name of the book, Firefight returns to make young David question his understanding of Epics and also turn his heart into knots. David's feelings for Firefight cause him to change his understanding of the world and he begins to discover that he is more like his Father than he ever knew.

MacLeod Andrews is once again on top of his game as is Brandon Sanderson so fans of Steelheart can't go wrong with this one.